"We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5
Following Christ is not all sunshine and rainbows. We have a good father who deeply loves us and cares for us. But we also have a father who has prepared good works for us to do in his name. Sometimes these works hurt...bad. Thus Paul gives us a biblical framework to navigate our suffering through the power of the Holy Spirit by focusing on the fruit that comes from our suffering, (perseverance, character, and hope).
The cost of the Gospel advancing in Japan, has caused much personal pain during much of this trip.
We have struggled through sleep deprivation, ridiculous heat, stress, multiple cut limbs, anxiety, language barriers, scalding sunburn, a crippling back injury, and cutting 20 onions for salsa.
Just as salvation came at great personal cost to Christ on the cross, sharing the good news of this salvation will come at a great personal cost to us. Thus we look to the suffering of the cross, we press on in perseverance, we allow Christ to establish our character, and we hold onto to hope that our suffering is not without meaning.
Please pray for our team to continue to endure pain the a Romans 5:3-5 perspective.
Pray for God to quickly heal our sunburn from a successful beach outreach we did yesterday.
Please pray for me (Joe). I'm currently bed ridden with an unexpected back injury that prevents me from walking. This has created a leadership pocket for the rest of the team to step into, but it does increase the difficulty of bringing excellence in our ministries.
Please pray for God to bless today's outreach to Shingu's junior high school girls and boys basketball team. During the morning Preston and Isaiah attended their practice, and did English basketball games. At the same time Lily cooked tacos for over 50 basketball team members. The whole team just arrived at church, and Isaiah plans on sharing his testimony. Please pray for students to accept Christ as a result of the team's personal sacrifices the past 24 hours.
Following Christ is not all sunshine and rainbows. We have a good father who deeply loves us and cares for us. But we also have a father who has prepared good works for us to do in his name. Sometimes these works hurt...bad. Thus Paul gives us a biblical framework to navigate our suffering through the power of the Holy Spirit by focusing on the fruit that comes from our suffering, (perseverance, character, and hope).
The cost of the Gospel advancing in Japan, has caused much personal pain during much of this trip.
We have struggled through sleep deprivation, ridiculous heat, stress, multiple cut limbs, anxiety, language barriers, scalding sunburn, a crippling back injury, and cutting 20 onions for salsa.
Just as salvation came at great personal cost to Christ on the cross, sharing the good news of this salvation will come at a great personal cost to us. Thus we look to the suffering of the cross, we press on in perseverance, we allow Christ to establish our character, and we hold onto to hope that our suffering is not without meaning.
Please pray for our team to continue to endure pain the a Romans 5:3-5 perspective.
Pray for God to quickly heal our sunburn from a successful beach outreach we did yesterday.
Please pray for me (Joe). I'm currently bed ridden with an unexpected back injury that prevents me from walking. This has created a leadership pocket for the rest of the team to step into, but it does increase the difficulty of bringing excellence in our ministries.
Please pray for God to bless today's outreach to Shingu's junior high school girls and boys basketball team. During the morning Preston and Isaiah attended their practice, and did English basketball games. At the same time Lily cooked tacos for over 50 basketball team members. The whole team just arrived at church, and Isaiah plans on sharing his testimony. Please pray for students to accept Christ as a result of the team's personal sacrifices the past 24 hours.