This is my (Bryan) first blog post… well unless you count my #LiveJournal that I had back in high school… yikes! So with that said., here goes nothing! Mark 2:17 says, When Jesus heard this, He told them, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do need one. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (HCSB) I love that. The sick need the doctor. Sinners need the Savior. We are sick. We are sinners. We need the doctor. We need the Savior. We need Jesus. I love the verse because I used to think that after being a good Christian for a long time you can become a Sunday school teacher or a youth leader then after that you can be a pastor. Then if you really love Jesus and are pretty much perfect, you can be an evangelist or missionary. I mean think about it. Missionaries and people in full-time ministry probably don’t watch tv (definitely not HBO), they never cuss, they don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t get into fights with their spouse/children/family/etc. They’re just about perfect. They’re like “Super Christians.” I really used to feel that way. I thought God would never use me because I’ve done all of those things that I mentioned before. I felt I was unqualified, incapable, and too broken to be effectively used for God’s ministry. But God doesn’t see who I am in my sin or what I’ve been or what I will be tomorrow, He sees me in the light of His son and who I will be when complete in Him. God uses normal people to do His service. Or as my campus pastor and friend Ben says “God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.” I’m not saying I’m not trying to be a better servant of Christ each day and that I just “continue in sin so that grace may multiply (Romans 6:1 HSCB) but I am saying that I still struggle. I still mess up. I am a normal person with not much more than average talents. But God saw our willing hearts to go and serve and He ran with it. God has opened the doors, He has prepared the way, and is showing His grace and His love to us daily. But even though we’ve made the move to Guatemala and have taken the next step towards what I thought was becoming “Super Christians”, we still have a long way to go. I’ve already struggled with my doubts of His call. I’ve cried when the enemy has convinced me that we’ve made a huge mistake and we’re going to be miserable. But thankfully God didn’t leave me there in my sorrow. Through my quiet time and through the encouragement of my wife, I’ve been able to see again the Lord’s provision in everything. I don’t completely know yet what God has in store for us. But I do know this, it’s not everyday that God equips you for full-time ministry by going to nursing school (Whit) and culinary school (me). So whatever God is going to do, I’m excited to be a part of it and am trying to remember what He’s done for us when I doubt it. If you ever think that God couldn’t use you or wouldn’t want to just remember Mark 2:17. Remember God calls the unrighteous (sick) of this world and makes them righteous (well). He takes us and redeems us so that we will tell others about His incredible love so that more people might experience it. I’m blessed to be serving in Guatemala and to be a full-time missionary. I’m not alone in my normalcy. Most of the missionaries I’ve met would fit into the same category I put myself in. We’re just following what God has called us to do. Thankfully everyone isn’t called into the same ministry, otherwise we wouldn’t have any supporters! But we all have a calling. That’s what I think being a Christian is about. Following Jesus wherever He leads.
Lastly, I must reiterate how important it is that we all have different callings in life. Last week we came back to the U.S. for a visit to tie up some loose ends and also see family and friends. God’s Word tells us to make our requests known to Him and so I’ve been praying for some needs of the kitchens at Hope of Life. One of the biggest needs has been for a industrial strength blender like a Vitamix or BlendTec blender. I had reached out to both companies for donations and had called the local distributors but hadn’t had luck. So after more prayer, God put it on my heart to reach out to Facebook and share with my friends and family while we are here of the need. God has answered this prayer! Three families have radically given from their hard-earned incomes to meet this need and I know that the God we serve will meet this need in full! As John Piper says concerning missions “Go, send, or disobey.” When you give to support us or donate the things we need most to serve, you are helping send us!
God bless everyone that reads this, shares this, prays, or gives. You all are making an impact for the Kingdom!
Dios le bendiga! God bless you!
