Saturated

And I don't mean by layers upon layers of tree pollen...

I mean, by India! I couldn't get away from the mere mention of Mother India if I tried these days. And I couldn't be more enthralled! She's everywhere: Where I've been, where I've bid farewell to a new but dear friend-Kristina, where my Pastor is on his journey home from, and where we will soon commission yet another new and sweet dear friend, Jessica. Oh, and did I mention I'm going back as well?

I'm learning so many new things about India these days and just drinking it all in. All the while, my heart is breaking over what I hear.

By the numbers:
*Home to 1.1 billion people.
*41% of the worlds poor reside in India.
*Over 130 million of these people do not currently have access to clean, safe drinking water.
*456 distinct languages.
*The New Testament has been translated into about 120 of these languages; the entire Bible into only 70 of them.
*Northern India is home to 600 million people but where fewer than 0.5 percent are evangelical Christians.

On the flip side, I'm truly filled with joy to hear how God is moving. God's heart is for the nations! He longs for sons and daughters from every tribe, tongue and nation of the earth to know Him, enjoy Him, and worship Him. And He is working mightily in this dark country!

As a team we are preparing together by focusing on God's glory among the nations. Here are some excerpts from our team training study:

God's global purpose is to redeem a people unto Himself. That is the overriding theme of the Bible--from Genesis to Revelation. In heaven there will be a great multicultural worship service that culminates this gathering. See Rev. 7:9-12 for a description. To that end He has commissioned us as ambassadors to take the good news to all the "ethne" or people groups. All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord; and they shall glorify Your name (Psalm 86:9). We ... worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus... (Phil 3:3). "God can be loved only when He is known. That’s why the story of the Bible is the story of God revealing Himself in order to draw to Himself obedient worship, or glory, from the nations. With God’s passionate love at the core, the Bible is truly the story of His glory...A Purpose Beyond Salvation...People are indeed saved by the global declaration of God’s salvation, but the ultimate value of their salvation is not to be seen in what they are saved from, it is what they are saved for that really matters. People are saved to serve God in worship. In this respect, we can say that world evangelization is for God. However accustomed we may be to seeing people as being of paramount importance, the Bible is clear: The rationale for mission is the colossal worthiness of God. Examine the logic of Psalm 96:2-4: Proclaim good tidings of His salvation ... Tell of His glory... among all peoples. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods." ~Steve Hawthorne

So, rather than sit in my amazing church Sunday after Sunday, in my beautiful city, in this free country, where I am in the richest 2% of the entire globe...and soak it all up until I go rancid...

I choose to be squeezed out, wrung out even...For I am saturated with the Good News of the saving Grace of God through Christ crucified on behalf of the entire world. I am full of that Grace and I long to be emptied out, to quench the spiritual thirst of the nations as they drink deeply, for the first time, the Glory of God in Christ!

Little Children....

All the paper work has been turned in and I'm in preparation mode...even though we still have a little under three months left before departure. We had our first official team meeting at our team leader (KB)s' home, which was a first for me and I LOVED the way it made us instantly feel like not only a team but a family. She's a strong leader and I'm really excited to travel under her and learn from her!

KB gave us each a folder full of info about the trip. This woman is crazy organized. She also challenged us to fast one day a week until we leave and gave us a myriad list of things to pray through and for. HARD! The team chose Thursday but that is unrealistic for me so I chose Saturdays. In some ways easier, in some ways harder. Today is Saturday. This is my first day. And I'm hungry. And so I blog :)

Our team has several couples, meaning, we will have men! And these men are EXCITED about teaching the Word! It is so beautiful and encouraging to me to see men lead and serve!! There are some great single gals, too, that I can't wait get to know better. All total, we have 15 people on our team...It's going to be an amazing trip just from the looks of the roster!

I've been in a bible study this school year with my friend Annie who is also on our team. We've been studying through Isaiah and have been blown away by the prophets vivid description of idols, idolatry, and the One True God. Throughout this book of the Bible, we've been constantly reminded of our trip to India last September. Annie and I had just started the study and were living it on the streets of India at the same time. In many ways, we could better understand the gravity and deception spoken of by Isaiah: That with one half of the wood they make fires and cook their food, and with the other half, they carve idols that they then bow and worship. That these idols have mouths but cannot speak, ears but cannot hear, and are burdensome. They cannot move from place to place but must be carried by those that create them. They cannot answer prayer or give hope. They are lifeless and those who worship them will become like them.

These are strong, eye opening, and maybe even offensive words to some. But they are true not only for cultures with 33million gods and goddesses...but for me and my culture as well. In fact, there idols are visible and plainly seen as idolatry in light of scripture. The idols in my culture are much much more subtle. And yet, just as lifeless and deceptive. My culture has idols like food (that is really real to me right now...did I mention I'm hungry??? lol)...like drinking and partying...like sexual exploits and constantly seeking after pleasure...like wealth and material possessions...(It's been said that while we are busy keep up with the Jones' most people in this world are just trying to survive). I could go on and on but I think you get the point. And hopefully you are sifting through your own life and asking yourself, What gives me comfort? What is it that makes me feel satisfied? Where am I getting my self-worth, my hope? What am I turning to in hardship or relying on to "escape" the difficulties of this life? If you are like me, the answers are sometimes not pretty. They are selfish, and often based on deception. And more times than not, leave us feeling the same or worse then before we acquiesced.

Contrast the above with the words of the Lord through Isaiah in chapter 46:3-4:
“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,
and have carried since you were born.
Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

I'm so thankful that the Lord has given me this opportunity to see Him so clearly, through scripture, through the people groups of this world, and through my own struggles as I walk with Him. "It is in Him, through the shedding of His blood, that we have our deliverance--the forgiveness of our offenses--so abundant was God's grace" Ephesians 1:7

And finally, I love how John addresses us in 1 John 5:21...and the sweetness of his warning:
"Little children, guard yourselves from idols."

Amen.