SendRDU- Pray for Malaysia

http://equip.summitrdu.com/equip/wednesday-world-prayer-malaysia.html Malaysia was the highlighted nation to pray for in the Summit's Wednesday prayer guide. It really helped focus my heart and attention on the people of Malaysia. Hope you enjoy. Love you guys.

Is it worth it?

Do yall realize we're gonna be on the other side of the world in a little over 2 months?!? What the freak? Anyways, I hope you guys are delighting your hearts in the Gospel. I got in the Word with Phil. 3:7-10 last week and I am still reaping the benefits of how God ministered to me during that time so I thought I would share it with you...

Paul starts by making the point that if anyone should be able to boast in their own reputation and accomplishments it would be him: 1) Circumcised on the 8th day 2) Of the people of Israel, tribe of Benjamin 3) A Hebrew of Hebrews 4) A Pharisee 5) Persecutor of the Church 6) Blameless under the law. By Jewish standards Paul is pretty much the man. Then Paul changes direction. He says, "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ..." When I read this I pictured Paul drawing out a sort of pros and cons list for himself. He's saying these are all the things that I have earned based off of my own merit. These are the things that I'm entitled to. That resonated with me so I made a list for myself. What are the things that I'm "sacrificing" by going to Malaysia this summer:

1. Possible internships that could bolster my resume
2. A job and saving up money
3. Spending time with friends and family
4. Summer school

And there are definitely other things, but I consider these the main "losses". Paul continues, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ...." This is extraordinarily comforting for me. Paul is going through the same struggle. He's facing the same sort of decision that I'm making. Do I trust in my own ability and my plan for my life or do I surrender all my plans to Jesus and trust Him with the course of my life? Paul says it's worth it. He wants to know the "surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." So I made a list; What do I gain by going to Malaysia this summer?

1. Phil. 4:10 I might know God and the power of his resurrection
2. Matt. 6:20 Treasures in heaven
3. Matt. 19:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life
4. 2 Corin. 4:17 This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison
5. 1 Peter 5:10 The God of grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

I could go on and on. The Bible is full of promises for those who step out in faith and trust the Him with their plans. Knowing Christ is far better than any internship, any resume booster, any time with friends/family. Treasuring God as the chief joy of our heart is the sole purpose for why we're here and I want that for my life and everyone's life . Love you all.

-Drew

open my eyes

hey team!

this past weekend someone led me to this scripture and i couldn't help but think of my time raising support and all our struggles:

When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.  “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

2 Kings 6:14-17

so what's happening here is that Elisha and his servant are fighting in this battle God has called them to fight and the day of the battle the servant takes his eyes off God and looks and compares his and Elisha's army with their opponents and sees that they are WAY outnumbered and he freaks out. Alas, my master! What shall we do? the servant knew that there was little chance of escaping or surviving an attack from so many.
and then Elisha, a prophet, said: Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. this seemed unbelievable to the servant. he saw the horses, the chariots, and the great army surrounding them. he could not see anyone who was with himself and Elisha.


this reminds me of support raising. i look at others' achievements and get jealous, i feel like i'm just asking people for money and sympathy, i feel like no one wants to support me, i get lazy and just kind of quit for some days etc etc, and its all because i look to my enemy and the large amount of money i have to raise instead of God and his promises.
but what's cool is that Elisha gave his servant a reason to not fear. this was not empty hope or wishful thinking; it was a real reason for confidence, even if the servant could not see it.


so then Elisha prayed LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. Elisha did not pray that God would change anything in the situation. his only request was that his servant could actually see the reality of the situation. yet, Elisha also did not try to persuade the servant of the reality of those who are with us. the servant could not have this explained to him nor could he be persuaded into it. He had to see it.
what gets me is that Elisha didn't pray that the situation would change but that his servant could see and believe God!!!

Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. God answered Elisha’s prayer. When a person is blind to spiritual reality, only God can open their eyes.

And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. so his eyes were opened, the servant saw the reality that he could not see before. he saw that there really were more with him and Elisha than those assembled against them!!

i just thought this was a cool passage, people fighting for God's kingdom and it looks hopeless (like raising support after a month and getting nowhere) and God reminds us that He is for us, He's not against us and HIS ARMY is greater than the enemy's!!!

i'm praying this for all of us.  i'm praying God would open our eyes and give us clarity on this situation and that God would give us eyes to see that He sent his one and only Son into this world for us, the only display of character God has - love, compassion, delight, and rejoicing over our hearts being satisfied by HIM ALONE.

love you all

__rach

I need perspective.....

Will, this blog thing was a great idea...kudos. I'm gonna need you to get better real soon bro. We're gonna be in the weight room everyday rehabbing that knee. Just b/c you blew your ACL doesn't mean we have to be done with GTL!!!!! In all seriousness....I am praying for you and I know you're bummed, but God has you where you are for a reason and we can trust that reason is good. Love you man.

So here's the deal; I'm feeling pretty discouraged at this point. I feel like I didn't get the most out of my SB as far as raising support goes. I met with the minister of my home church hoping to secure a date to address the congregation about CCP and she said that it probably wasn't the best idea because everyone was real tight on money due to the economy and what not. It's just frustrating because the Summit emphasizes giving out of a response to the Gospel, not b/c you feel like you can afford it. I'm mostly disappointed in the fact that this was an opportunity for me to present the Gospel to a church that is not rooted in the bible and operates out of a very watered down version of the Gospel. So long story short, I'm fighting to believe that God wants to provide for me. I need some help.

Leah and Brooks, how did your talks go??? I prayed for you guys.

"Surely there can be no greater joy than that of saving souls" ---Lottie Moon

WE ARE GOIN TO MALAYSIA!

Yo what up CCP Team! I hope all of you have found this blog and are as pumped as I am to start using it. I  really have no idea what I'm doing, but if you have an questions, call me and we can try to figure it out together.

Just a short update on me: besides my ACL surgery, my spring break has been really restful and encouraging. The trip down to North Myrtle to kick it off was great, and I had some time to make support calls while I was there. It has been really encouraging and I have seen God work in awesome ways in the hearts of people I have sent letters to! Due to my surgery, I had to cancel some of my face-to-face appointments, but I know God is faithful in that and he is bigger than me not being able to meet with some people. Please be praying for my perspective as I go through this time of healing! I'm praying for all of you and I hope your breaks have been great!

-Will