Here in Nepal when I smell dog poop on the street it takes me back to elementary school when I had the chore of feeding the dogs in the morning. It seemed to never fail that my shoe would make its way to find a smashed, ample, amount of poo on the bottom (sometimes not being found until midday of class). In the same way dog poop smell triggers my early memories of life, the smell of cheap vanilla perfume triggers the memories of my time spent in Thailand last summer. Here I don’t use perfume to mask my smells so I don’t really know what scent is going to be my reminder of this place. I’m positive I’ll have one, or many, that will bring me back and not let me forget my experiences here. Maybe the rare occasion I smell incense in America will trigger my thoughts of Nepal? Maybe even cow manure, or the smell of yeast that I smell so often from the rice beer being made in homes?
It’s crazy to think that I am already pondering what is going to be my reminders of this place when I leave! I’ve been here now for three swift months and I have only three more left of my term. I get sad thinking about how quick my remaining time here will pass. Bekah and Leah have felt the Lord clearly call them to stay here for six extra months. I am so excited for them and the many blessings that will be in store for them during that time! Despite my desire to stay and serve the people of Nepal, with those girls, I have found peace in returning home to finish school.
As for now my heart for this place is growing to be huge! And like I said, I love serving the people and yearn to tell them about the truth of the Most High God! As I sit across from individuals and chat I often think, “this can’t really be my life.” I think about how the things I am seeing and doing are things that you can only read about in a magazine or text book from other people who saw and did them. Seeing everything from trucks full of goats, water buffalo on a lead rope, babies relieving themselves in the middle of the road, men carrying sofas by their heads and women breast feeding openly are all a daily occurrence; as well as experiencing people of all ethnic backgrounds and religions. No day is dull when we go out intentional.
We have had opportunities, in these last few months, to stumble across many people who were hungry for the word. People who were already questioning and got to hear answers, people who didn’t know they were going to question but, because they heard, are now, and people who haven’t ever paid a thought to Christianity and never will again. I’ve gotten to share in tea shops, jewelry stores, Tibetan homes, and even, in the oddest place yet, a sauna. God has been so faithful to provide opportunities for us to openly proclaim His name!
I have found, when sharing, there are two major differences of religions and Christianity...
First is that becoming a Christian is a choice someone must make. Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims are born into their beliefs. A Christian cannot be born into the family of God. Instead it is a personal decision that must come through conviction of sin and the realization of who God is.
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”
And believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
You will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified,
And it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved…
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Romans 10:8-9, 13
A second thing that only born-again believers possess is the understanding that it is not works that allow entrance in heaven. The bible unmistakably states that to enter into the kingdom of God you must believe in the Son of God. People often gasp when I tell them that I deserve hell because I am a sinner. In all rightfulness hell is exactly what I deserve because God is holy and He is just; nothing good that I do or say is my salvation. Instead it is the blood shed by Jesus Christ on the cross and my faith in that that covers my sin. All I have to do is simply believe.
For if, by the trespass of one man, death reigned through that one man,
how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace
and the gift of righteousness reign in life through one man, Jesus Christ!
Romans 5:17
My point that I want to make in this post is that evil is real. There is a battle being fought and we can’t pretend like it’s not here. Satan has twisted truth and created in people false beliefs so they wouldn’t be able to see the facts of Christ and His salvation. He has given all peoples idols to worship; he has placed temptations in our faces. Satan relishes in taking God’s glory through our false worship.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit,
And the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.
They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Galatians 5:16-18
Something that will always be burned in my mind, whether triggered by a scent or not, are the idols here. Idols of this world are real! Whether it be, like here, a stupa to walk around or a god house to enter in, or, like at home, money or sex. There is spiritual warfare everywhere and there is a battle to be fought! Think about it… If you believe in a true heaven and hell when you die there is no place for an inbetweener (someone who was almost a believer in God but wasn’t quite), so why should that place exist on Earth? If we aren’t serving God we are serving something else, evil. I recently listened to a David Platt sermon on spiritual warfare and he made a great point that our battle isn’t against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12), and if it was we’d probably be able to fight it. So what would be the point of having to rely on the power of God?
Satan covers our eyes,
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God.
2 Corinthians 4:4
but it is God who probes our hearts and mind!
Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure-
you, the righteous God
who probes minds and hearts.
Psalm 7:9
I’m so so so thankful that God is supreme and all-knowing. He probes hearts and minds for goodness gracious!!! What other God can claim to do that? May we cast out the evil desires of our flesh and allow our lives to keep in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:15).
Being here I have had a lot of time to think about the idols in my life that Satan is blinding me with; the things that keep me stuck in my flesh. I consider it one of the greatest blessings to grow up in a home where my parents taught me about Jesus! The problem is, when growing up in the Christian culture of America it is easy to wear blinders for years! Here I am thankful that I have been given fresh eyes to the sins I commit when I am comfortable.
At home, in America, we all tend to be so blind to idols because our worship is different. Our worship is getting lost in the hustle and bustle of the day. It’s getting pushed around from activity to activity trying to look our best and carry the best composure and status with us. Our idols get shoved under a rug and are never spoken of. It makes me sick to think about the lost people in America who go through their life feeling that what they are doing is right. That feeling is the exact same thing as the people here who think that karma on earth, and their families worship for them, when they die, is what is going to be what sends them straight to heaven. It is all lies that Satan has blinded us with to keep our eyes from seeing our sin as well as from seeing God for who He truly is.
I ask that you will pray for the masked cultures of this world. Satan, in all nations, has a hold on salvation due to culture. Pray against the covering of people’s eyes in Nepal. Pray that God will probe minds and hearts as believers here tell the gospel. I ask that you also will pray, with me, for the salvation of people in America. Pray for your home town. That God will reveal idols and sin that is often disguised by fads, customs and duties.
Our lives were created only for one thing, and that is honoring and glorifying God. May we be true to our life's purpose!
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation
to all people.
It teaches us to say "no" to ungodliness and worldly passions,
and to live self-controlled,
upright and Godly lives in this present age,
while we wait for the blessed hope-
the appearing of glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to redeem us
from all wickedness and to purify for himself
a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Titus 2:11-14
-LauraLBrown
Since the children have flesh and blood,
he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break power
of him who holds the power of death-
that is, the devil-
and free those who all their lives were held in slavery
by their fear of death.
For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's decendants.
For this reason he had to be made like them,
fully human in every way,
in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest
in service to God,
and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
Because he himself suffered when he was tempted,
he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Hebrews 2:14-18
No comments:
Post a Comment