Do You Ever Wonder Why?

"But always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hop ethat is in you." 1 Peter 3:15

Do you ever wonder why we, as believers, so often fail in this area, even when given the perfect opportunities? I was wondering that of myself this last week when I failed to seize the perfect moment to share my faith with a Jewish man on the plane to Istanbul with me. Why do I so often forget that it is not me who will speak, but the Holy Spirit, if I let Him? Luke 12:12, "For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

I know and believe that the gospel of Christ is the power of God to salvation to those who believe, so why do I act like I am ashamed of it? I am so thankful to the Lord for His mercy and grace that does not just cast me off when I fail Him. What an example of His faithfulness that He so patiently works on our lives, our sinful, prideful, and selfish hearts, to train us into what He wants us to be. I guess I just am sad that an opportunity was lost to share of the greatness of our God with someone who was lost. May the Lord bring someone else into the path of that man and his wife who is more faithful than I. May I learn to listen to the Spirit's prompting and get over the fear of man I seem to have. As a child of God, what can man do to me?

I pray that each one of us will one day be able to hear from our Father in Heaven, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Worship from the Heart

One of the things I love most about the people I am surrounded with is their passion for Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel and how much they desire to serve and worship Him. It is seen in many aspects of their lives. Right now I am listening to a CD of Messianic Worship songs presented by various congregations of believers in Israel. Just reading the translations of the words is so impacting. These believers love the Lord and are not afraid to spread the hope that they have in them even with the persecutions they face on all sides. Last night I fell asleep to the IBEX students sitting around a campfire singing praises to our God (for hours...right after chapel). This morning I walked by the main hall to hear a congregation of Jewish (not believers) men singing their morning prayers. Today in our Shabbat service, hearing the joy of the believers (Jewish, Russian, Finnish, Sweedish, German, Latino, American) as they sang praise to the Lord. It is so wonderful to be exposed to the worldwide family of believers. There are so many people who love the Lord and worship Him in their own languages, with a little different style sometimes, but worship all the same. It's caused me to really consider what our attitude should be about worship. Not just the songs sung, the instruments used, the tempo, or the number of people singing...it is the state of our hearts that is the most important. Worship to sing words does not honor the Lord, what honors Him is worship that comes from the heart. When I am not able to understand the words being sung, I enjoy the chance to look at the translation and consider the words that others are singing to the Lord in their own language. It can be a precious time of focus on what I'm actually singing. I also love how the teaching we get comes straight from the heart. There is a passion that's inexplicable over here about teaching the Word of God. Would that I have such a passion to learn more and apply the truths that I am taught.