Grace upon grace has been lavished upon us in recent weeks and months by our church body. This past weekend was just another example of the body glorifying God by serving my family through a yard sale on Saturday and commissioning us on Sunday.
For weeks now, our friends have been planning a yard sale of all of our belongings in our anticipated move out of our apartment and into nomadic life...at least for the next few months. When I say our friends planned our yard sale, that does not do it justice. They came to our home, loaded their truck, cars, and vans with our stuff. After that they priced each item, set it all out Saturday morning and stayed until it was all gone. Our role...to do nothing. This is just another way we have been blessed by our fellowship.
It was very strange seeing all of your earthly possessions laying out in someones front yard, watching people pick and choose your things. It was a good reminder that there is one thing in this world no one will ever be able to take from us....our everlasting place before the throne of God. Owning NOTHING reveals my neediness for God....and I love it! What we own we can fit into 10 suitcases that we will take with us overseas. Most of which are the kids toys and schooling supplies. The Lord is sufficient for our needs...we know this because He has proved it over and over again in our lives.
Sunday our church formally commissioned us to be sent out from them to the nations. It was a very bittersweet time for my family. We have never grown more in our walks with the Lord than we have the past three years here, but at the same time we are compelled to "go". We desire to see the name of the One True God praised among the nations. We "go" to see that worship of God exists in places of complete darkness. Not that God needs us, but that we might get to participate in what He is doing among the peoples of Central Asia.
Let us go out from TCC with the reality that "We exist to spread among all peoples a joyful love for Jesus Christ in all things, for the glory of God." This is the benchmark for our ministry on day one; let be the same 40 years from now.
Papa
