Using my Story for His Glory

Using My Story for His Glory

            I had never been on an airplane before, especially not one overseas.  I had never been on a mission trip either, especially not one in another country across the ocean.  But, when my parents asked me whether or not I would like to go to Romania over Spring Break, I jumped at the chance.  As nervous as I was to ride on a plane for the first time and to go on a mission trip for the first time, a little piece of me was excited as well, excited to share the Good News of Jesus.  I hoped that I could make some kind of difference in the lives of the Romanian people, even with the little experience I possessed.

            There were thirteen of us who traveled the fourteen-hour journey to Jibou, Romania, and I was the youngest out of all of them.  But, I served the people there, using the wisdom God had placed inside of me that was beyond my twelve years.  Singing was a big part of the trip, so, even though my voice is not made for singing, I sang along with the rest of our group, sharing God’s truth through lyrics and chords.  A dentist came along with us on the trip, so while the dentist and my mom worked on less fortunate children’s rotting teeth, I played with the kids and taught them about Jesus.  We went into an orphanage and into the marketplace, where I learned how to make balloon animals.  The trip was not like I had expected it to be, but in every little thing that happened, God taught me something big about myself and about Him.

Every night, different members of our team would split up into groups and go into neighboring villages to sing, teach, or share our testimonies.  One specific night, my mom was not feeling good, so she opted to stay at our host home.  My stomach flipped upside down when she said this, because I did not want to go without another female from our team.  But, it was foolish and childish of me to think this way, so one of the members of our team, Pastor Flaviu, and a Romanian pastor, Pastor Aleen, picked me up that night.  I sat in silence in the back of the car while the two of them chattered off in Romanian.  Not understanding anything they said, I peered out the windows at the beautiful Romanian countryside.  The sun was slowly setting over the hills, and I sat in awe of the small country that God had brought me to, not wanting to be anywhere else at the moment. 

Suddenly, Pastor Flav’s voice wafted over to me in English, “Rebekah, are you prepared to share your testimony at the church?”

I confirmed that I was, the knot in my stomach growing tighter by the second.  I had shared my testimony once already during the trip, but for some reason, this felt different.  Maybe it was because there were no women with me, it was just me and the two pastors.  Or maybe it was because this was at a church with lots of adults, rather than mostly children like it had been when I shared at the orphanage.  Whatever it was, I was not excited to stand up in front of a group of people and tell them all about my life. 

Soon I found myself standing in the very front row of the pews, the only person in the building who did not have a Romanian background, the only person who did not know the words to the worship songs.  When worship ended, Pastor Flav called me up to the front and introduced me.  Nervousness enveloped my body as I stood up to face the small congregation.  My long skirt folded around my legs, and I smoothed out my blue shirt.  There was no need for a microphone; I do not think the church owned one anyways.  But, as I began to talk, my voice grew louder and more confident. 

“I’ve grown up in church all my life,” I began in English, with Pastor Flav translating between every sentence.  Every person in the pews had their eyes locked on me, and I looked back at them.  On one side of the church sat all the women and girls, and on the other side sat the men, an example of the strange Romanian tradition that occurred in every church.  There was a mix of generations: older men and women, some who looked too frail to be attending a late night church service, parents, and their children.  Two boys sat in the very back, one of whom looked close to my own age. 

I shared my testimony of giving my life to Jesus at six-years old, a fairly young age.  I went on to explain my life after I got saved, and how I had grown in Christ.  During the last bit of my short speech, I talked about being the youngest on the mission team.  “But, being young doesn’t stop me from having just as much impact as adults.”  The truth of my own statement hit me as I realized that there was no need for me to be nervous.  God knew what He was doing, and I just had to lean back on Him.

            After I was finished, everyone clapped enthusiastically and Pastor Flav stood up to preach.  I sat through the Romanian sermon, my eyes drooping with tiredness at the words I could not understand.  Finally, the long service ended after another session of music.  I waited around with the two pastors, smiling at people as they left and shaking their hands.  In the car as we left the village, Racas, I sat quietly once again as the two men up front talked.  But this time, it was mostly Pastor Aleen.  It was almost like he was telling a story to Pastor Flav.  I wondered what it was, but I doubted they would confide in me.

            Finally, Pastor Flav spoke for my ears to hear.  “Rebekah, Pastor Aleen was just telling me that after the service, a woman came up to him and told him that she has a son who is around your age. Apparently after you had finished with your testimony, the boy turned to his mother and told her that he needs to get saved too. Your testimony really affected him, and his mom is hopeful that he’ll become a Christian soon.” 

            I was deeply touched by this story.  I smiled in the dark, remembering the words of Paul the Apostle.  “Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young…”  My own feeble declaration of faith, God used for His glory.  I will never forget this story about the boy in the very back of the church, who listened to me and took my words to heart.  I don’t know for sure if that boy got saved that night or any other time, but I planted a seed and that’s all that God wanted me to do.

__________________________________________________________________________________

This is a true story that happened to me last April.  As many of you probably know, I went on a week-long mission trip to Romania with a group from my church.  I was nervous, not only to fly on a plane overseas for the first time, but to share my testimony in front of a group of people.  We were all told ahead of time that we were going to share our testimony at least once on the trip.  I was ok with that, but I doubted that my own meager story would have any effect on the people in Romania.  When I got saved, I was only a child.  But, God used my story to affect another person my own age and I was overjoyed that God actually wanted to use me to bring glory to His kingdom.  He can do the same for you.  Just because you are young and you don't think your story is very great, God can use you to do great things for Him, if you will just trust Him. 

Guest Post by Kathryn Forrest

The Biggest Sacrifice

By Kathryn Forrest

Comfort zone is the term used to describe being in a state of comfort in your surroundings and/or with your tasks. Being in your comfort zone is relaxing and feels good; leaving it is a decision that isn’t usually made. On the rare occasions where we do leave our comfort zones, there is almost always a good cause motivating us.

For example, you’re working on a group project in school and your team has divided the tasks equally between teammates. The due date is tomorrow. One of your partners comes up to you and asks if you could do their part because a family member recently passed away and they couldn’t do their job. This is a situation that is out of your comfort zone, but helping your team-mate would be the right thing to do. After all, their situation isn’t their fault. So, you would most likely leave your comfort zone by adding a little weight onto your shoulders.

Now, let’s look at this scenario. You’re in the same situation school wise, but this time your teammate asks if you can do their part of the work because they simply didn’t have enough time to finish it. Your teacher had previously given you time to work on your project in class and this person had wasted their time on social media and you know it. Would you leave your comfort zone for them? Jesus would. For all of them, for all of us.
  
We are all sinners, meaning we all make mistakes. No matter how good you are, your bad will always outweigh your good. God is good, He is perfect and has never failed. His perfect nature causes Him to be separate from us, but God didn’t let our sin get in His way. His love for us is unconditional and that means He will do anything to end the separation.
Jesus is God’s only son and is a part of God through the Trinity. God loves His Son and He loves us as well. So, God sent Jesus to our imperfect sinful planet with a plan in mind. God became flesh and left His heavenly comfort zone.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Jesus was born in a place far from royalty: a stable. His cradle was a feeding troth. He was born to a carpenter in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. These places were under roman rule, and sometimes the Romans could be quite harsh. Our Prince of Peace wasn’t exactly welcomed with the royal treatment.

She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:7b

Growing up, young Jesus had to resist many temptations just like other humans. Although He reigned over us, He was on our turf, which meant that the Devil had access to Him. In order to fulfill God’s plan, Jesus had to resist even the smallest temptations, some that might be unrecognizable to man. Sinning was against Jesus’ nature, but was part a part of it at the same time because of His human qualities.

At this point, Satan was probably well aware that God had a plan on the go because His own Son was on Earth physically. Satan, being God’s enemy, had to make an attempt at making Jesus fail His mission. Satan was unable to do so, but made Jesus suffer anyway. Satan tempted Jesus at several occasions and would even show up to Jesus directly. In one case, the Devil tempted Jesus while He was fasting. Jesus was weak physically and was extremely hungry.

Then Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Matthew 4:1-3

Satan tried to use Jesus’ earthly desires to his advantage and failed. Jesus resisted to all temptations clinging tightly to the Word of His Father.

I can just imagine the worldly reaction to Jesus’ unworldliness. The carpenter’s son who never took risks and was just too good, could that have been the world view? As Jesus grew older the pressure from His peers was probably much harder on Him than pressure will ever be on us.

Jesus Christ’s mission was also to love us, to care for us, to protect us, to teach us, and to guide us during His stay on Earth. Plus, He had to fend off the Pharisees, who were planning His death at the time. Jesus had to do all these things for the people, and did them willingly even though He could see the people’s hearts, minds, and deepest regrets. He knew all these things and still went through with the plan.

Then came the crucifixion. Jesus knew it was coming and emotional pain would be inflicted upon Him. On top of that was the spiritual aspect, our sin. He would pay the penalty for our sin and would conquer death to save us from it. Now, Jesus wanted us to be sin-free and forgiven, but His earthly self did not want to go through that torture.

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, as you will.” Matthew 29:39

What Jesus prayed in this verse was that the plan could be changed because He did not want to die. But, in the end, He knew that God was greater and that His Father’s plan would succeed.

Next came the torture. First of all, Jesus was betrayed by a friend who cared only for money. Then, He went on trial as Peter, another disciple, denied knowing Jesus three times in a row. Jesus had gone before many important men for many trials all without getting angry, the Devil was on the move.

Then, a crowd shouted for His crucifixion. Crucifixion was an intense, roman method of punishment that involved nails being driven through your hands and feet and rubbing against your bones. These nails were the only support you had as you hung on a cross for several hours, even days, craving death as a crowd scorned you. This was what Jesus was condemned to. But before death, Jesus was mocked by Roman soldiers. He stood there as they tore His clothes, whipped Him, and placed a crown of thorns on His head. After this, He could barely even hold His cross. All this punishment was inflicted on an undeserving man. The mocking continued as He hung on the cross and His mother and other women He had helped throughout His life were weeping at His feet.

They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. Matthew 27:30-31

Well, there’s most of the bad stuff, although I’m sure Jesus’ life was much worse by our standards than I just described it. That isn’t the end of Jesus, though. After being placed in a tomb, Jesus rose again three days later and completed His mission, His plan to free us from sin and death so that we could live forever in paradise with Him. An undeserving man was tortured so that we, undeserving men, could have a purpose through Him. Isn’t that great!? Jesus loves us SOOOOO much!

Yet, we are still ignorant, we are selfish, we are liars, and the list goes on. No matter how many times we fail, He will forgive us. We don’t have to be labeled by our sin. At the beginning of the post, each of your teammates was labeled, the first one was a good worker, and the second had bad habits. Through Christ, we can have many labels: free, loved, saved, adored, adopted, forgiven, etc. Isn’t Jesus the best?! He is my Savior and He can be yours too. All you have to do is believe. After all Christ has done for you (YES YOU) shouldn’t you pay Him back? Obviously, it is impossible to do so, but serving Him and loving Him is all God needs in return. We must dedicate our ENTIRE lives to God. Jesus left His comfort zone for you, will you leave yours for Him?

For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for just a person – though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! Romans 5:6-8

Let No One Despise Your Youth

I probably wouldn’t classify myself as an adult yet.  I still go crazy sometimes especially when I’m with certain people… (you know who you are if you’re reading this).  I’m not as smart as those people in authority over me, and I don’t have enough money to support myself without the help of my parents.  No, I’m not an adult yet.

But, does this mean I can’t stand up for myself?  Does this mean I can’t work hard towards my future?  Does it mean that I can’t have a close relationship with God because I’m not really old enough yet?

Not at all.

Just because I am young, doesn’t mean I can’t have as much of an impact on the world around me as accomplished adults.  We can all do amazing things as young people.  We can inspire people, teach people, and share our stories with people.  And we can do it well, for the glory of God.

1 Timothy 4:12 is one of my most favorite verses in the whole Bible (that’s saying a lot).  It says, “Let no one despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” 

1 Timothy is the first of two letters that the apostle Paul wrote to a man named Timothy.  From what is understood, Timothy was a younger man, and Paul was kind of like a mentor to Him.  In chapter 1, verse 2, Paul called him a “son in the faith.”  Goodness, that’s a pretty sweet title to be called, especially by an amazing, godly man like Paul.

Timothy may have been a “son in the faith” but, like all of us, he needed some more instruction in how to be a church leader.  So, Paul decided to give him that instruction.

A few verses later in 1 Timothy 4:14a, Paul wrote, “Do not neglect the gift that is in you…” Paul was basically saying that everyone has a gift given to them by God.  Whether your gift is teaching, writing, singing, or you’re very good at sports, God gave that gift specifically to you!  But, He didn’t give you a gift just so you could throw it down and not acknowledge that it is there.  He wants you to use it for Him.  He wants you to glorify Him with your talents and special abilities. 

You may be saying, “I’m only a teenager. How am I supposed to use my talents to glorify God right now?”  That’s what Paul was saying to Timothy in the first verse we looked at (1 Timothy 4:12).  He said that you should “Let no one despise your youth…” Other translations say, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young.”  

So, just because we are young in age, doesn’t mean we have to be babies in spirit.  (Now, this doesn’t mean that you should be allowed to watch R-rated movies even though your parents say you’re not old enough yet.  You should always obey your parents’ rules.)  Paul gives us 5 ways we, as young people, can be an example to others (even those older than us) and glorify God.

1.)   In speech – Ephesians 4:29 says, “No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.” 

o   Think before you speak.  When you talk, always make sure that what you’re saying is encouraging to others and won’t put them down and make them feel bad about themselves.

o   People will notice if you almost always say nice, encouraging things, and it is a good example to set for everyone.

2.)   In conduct – A lot of times, your beliefs will determine your actions.  For example, if you believe that cars are safe to drive and you drive one, you probably shouldn’t act scared because you said that you believed cars are safe.  If you really believed that, you wouldn’t be acting scared to ride in one.

o   So, if you believe in the Bible and that everything it says is true, your actions/conduct should show that.  You should obey all the guidelines God has set for us in His Word.

o   This will be an example to show that you really believe in the Bible if you live out everything it says.

3.)   In love – God is the perfect example of love.  In fact, He is love.  He loves us with an unthinkable amount of love, and we should want to share that amazing love with everyone we meet. 

o   John 15:12 says, “This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you.”  Short, sweet, and perfect.  We don’t deserve God’s love, but He still gives it to us.  So, not only should we love our friends and family, we should love our enemies, even if we don’t think they deserve our love. 

o   Those people that you don’t really like will be shocked when you start loving them.  It’s an awesome example to set and one that could lead lots of people to Christ.

4.)   In faith – Every believer has a personal story/testimony.  Someday, I’ll share mine with all of you.  But, even if you don’t think your story is great, God wrote it and He loves it. 

o   Don’t be scared to share the story of your faith with others. 

o   Whenever times get rough, remember to have a steadfast faith in Jesus, because He will protect you and He is always there.  In Matthew 17:20-21, Jesus explains how faith like a mustard seed can move mountains and work miracles.

5.)   In purity – This is the last one, but certainly not the least.  I love Psalm 119:9 which says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping Your Word.”

o   It is important, especially because of what society tells young people today, to guard your heart and mind.  If you don’t let bad things enter your heart and mind, bad things won’t come out.  But how can we stay pure in a world that tells us purity isn’t important, that it is old-fashioned?

o   David says it here: keep God’s Word.  Meditate on it every day; make sure you remember that time at least once a day when you talk to God and then pause and listen.  Reading God’s Word instead of spending your time on worldly things will lead you to a pure path.  You will be grateful for that pure path you followed once you are married.

Remember these 5 ways that you can be an example to everyone around you.  Even if you are young, God can use you in a powerful way.