Preaching at Home

Today in chapel our speaker was from Compassion International. He gave a good message, and then gave the usual pitch to sponsor children through Compassion. It really got me thinking about the Great Commission…

I think that we in western culture are neglecting to focus on the need to preach at home, and instead we are choosing to take an easier path. Sponsoring children and going on short term mission trips take sacrifice. But consider this for a moment: how much are you willing to sacrifice to preach to your lost friends and neighbors? It takes much more than raising funds and giving up a spring break to do that. We have to risk our reputation, our friends, and social standing to actually be witnesses to those closest to us. I would contend that we in western, and specifically American, culture are much more afraid of that proposition than just setting aside a few dollars each month to send overseas. The Great Commission calls us to all nations. Not just those across borders and oceans, but God calls us to preach right here at home.

In Acts, following the coming of the Holy Spirit, Peter and John went to the temple and began to preach the gospel and preform miracles. The priest got upset and threatened Peter, but the day after he was released he returned and proceeded to preach again. This is the same guy who denied Jesus three times to save his own skin. After all that he had seen and heard, Peter finally understood that his reputation didn’t matter. He got the idea of preaching to those closest to him.

Earlier in Acts, just before He ascends into heaven, Jesus calls the disciples to “… be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Notice that He starts by saying that we are to preach to those closest to us.

Don’t get me wrong, there is immense need for preaching the gospel overseas, but both Peter and Jesus give us a picture of what we need to focus on. Both of them are astounding examples of reaching out to those in need, but it is not just those in Samaria, it is also the cripple sitting outside the temple gate. We in western culture tend to focus on the stories of those that went out to the ends of the earth to preach. That is important, absolutely, but we are ignoring that the call is also to preach at home.

Right now, I am feeling called to be a witness to those in my ROTC Battalion. That is my “home” right now, and I am trusting God to do some awesome things there. So I challenge anyone who is actually reading this to find your mission at home. We have so many opportunities because we see these people everyday at work, at school, and at the store. God is calling us to be witnesses and to preach to them. 

Wisdom

Hey guys! Sorry I haven’t been writing recently. Life here at Baylor has gotten crazy. Keeping busy with Ranger Challenge, schoolwork, and as much sleep as is humanly possible. It would wear anyone out. But enough with the banal……

In my Christian Scriptures class today we were talking about the concept of wisdom. What is wisdom? What does wisdom look like? How do we acquire wisdom? These are important questions to answer, especially in a biblical context (thus the discussion in class). God calls us to pursue wisdom and understanding. It is fundamental to how we are to live our lives. The tragedy is that in American culture, we have lost a grasp on the benefits of wisdom. We place value in youth, beauty, and flashy rhetoric. That is not what God is calling us to. He is not calling us to plastic surgery and make-up. He is calling, even commanding, us to pursue “what is right and just and fair” (Proverbs 1:3).

The video accompanying this post is absolutely brilliant. Craig says it much better than I could ever dream. If you haven’t already, please watch it. As he so clearly says, we have a serious problem with wisdom in western culture, but I think that is based in a misunderstanding of wisdom. We don’t actually understand what wisdom is. The sad part is, wisdom is not hard to find.

Proverbs 1:20-22: “Our in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she make her speech; ‘How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate delight…’”

However, acquiring it is not so easy. Wisdom is inherently a process, much like the sanctification process that we go through to become more righteous. Life experiences allow for a better understanding of right and wrong. By having those experiences, we can better discern what the right thing is. But without ongoing life experiences, that knowledge would not be readily available. That is why praising youth is dangerous. We cannot be praising stupidity, as Craig so wisely called it.

So that little pit in your stomach because you realize its true? That’s conviction people! Don’t ignore it. We can’t just sit by and let culture ruin something that is sacred to God. In His very nature, God is perfect wisdom. We can’t really ignore that we live in the most immature generation in history while God calls us to pursue wisdom.

But what do we do about it? Proverbs 1:7 gives us a starting point: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…” So it starts with God, it ends with God, it is God. Pursue God, and you will be pursuing true wisdom. Pursue God and He will set your heart ablaze with a passion for wisdom, and who knows where that will take you.