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There’s Nothing Like A Good Bath!
Have you ever been so dirty that you felt like you’d do just about anything for a good bath?
That was the case of our Toyota Matrix after a wonderful trip to Ohio and back over Christmas. The top picture really doesn’t do justice to the amount of cake-frosting-like-salt that was pasted all over our poor car. It got so bad that we’d have to stop every 100 miles to clean the windshield and windows just to see. And since it was below freezing when we returned to Georgia, it was several days before I could find an open car wash to clean off all the grime and junk that had built up.
But when bath time came, I think I almost heard my car breathe a sigh of deep relief and joy. Really.
OK, maybe not the car. It was probably me.
Anyways, it got me to thinking. You know, we need baths too. Life is dirty. We live in a dirty world. We’re heading to Heaven but the road there is covered in things that hinder our view, drag us down and make us feel filthy. Here are a few thoughts about this.
1. Christ Wants Us Clean
I think that’s why Paul said in Ephesians:
“…Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25b-27
Just as I couldn’t wait to get my car cleaned off of the build-up of junk on the outside, Christ gave himself to clean us by the washing of water by the word. This is an interesting concept. Cleansed by his word? Well just think… His word was powerful enough to create the universe… don’t you think it would be sufficient to wash me and you of every spot, wrinkle and blemish? And he wants to clean us just to be able to present us back to himself as holy and without blemish!
2. We Cannot Clean Ourselves
If my car would have cleaned itself, it sure would have saved me a lot of trouble. I had to find a car wash, fork out money to pay for it, and invest time that could be spent somewhere else… But I wanted a clean car. It was worth it. That’s why Christ gave himself for us. He laid down his own life on the cross to pay for our dirty sin. He died to rescue us from a life of filth! Now, it is with the washing of the water (the Holy Spirit) by the Word (Jesus Christ) that we’re made spotless.
3. It’s A Process
In the car wash there were 7 or 8 stages. (I opted for the “Ultimate Wash.” 😉 ) Each stage peeled back another layer of dirt. Each stage was important in itself but near worthless if done alone. I think we have the wrong idea about Spiritual Cleanliness. The Christian might study the Word of God once after messing up thinking, “Good, now I’m clean!” but it’s a process! You have to dwell in his word. The reason sin builds up in our life is because we don’t dwell in his word. We don’t spend enough time with him for him to be able to do his work of cleansing. I could have quickly sped through the car wash but it wouldn’t have effectively cleaned my car. It’s a process.
4. We Must Be Washed Often
I washed my car less than 24 hours ago. It’s already dirty again. It needs to be constantly washed. The same with us, we must constantly return to the Water by the Word for a fresh cleaning. One time won’t do it. That’s why I take a shower every day. If not, my wife and I might be having some problems. How often do you submit yourself for a spiritual bath by the Lord and his Word?
There’s nothing like a good bath!
A Fire In My Bones
I’ve been reading lately in my devotions about the Prophet Jeremiah. He came to so many hard places in his life, suffering greatly for the message that he preached. In fact, he not only suffered physical harm because of it, but he preached and prophesied for years and years without any fruit to speak of.
I don’t know if I could do that.
Jeremiah thought he couldn’t do it either.
During one of the times he was jailed, he made a decision to not serve God anymore. It had caused him too much pain, too much ridicule, too much hardship. So, instead of proclaiming the word of God, he’d just keep silent. Maybe it would save him from the hard life and persecution that he had suffered for so long.
But look what he says in Jeremiah 20:9
Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
How amazing is that! The word of God was like a burning fire shut up in his bones. He couldn’t keep silent. He HAD to preach. He HAD to serve Jehova.
Have you ever felt like this? Have you ever known something so juicy that you couldn’t wait to just tell somebody? A funny story, an interesting piece of information, a rumor or a gossip or a truth. We are like this with worldly and carnal things, but when was the last time that you burned inside because you just had tell somebody about Jesus?
Challenging thought. It got me.
THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
Many have tried to guess what our “Big Announcement” would be. Are we having another baby? Are we starting deputation? Did we win the lottery? lol… Most have probably figured it out already by hearing it through the grapevine, picking up on hints, or just being super smart. Well, wait no longer to be sure. Here’s our big news:
September 2010
Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! We hope this letter finds you blessed by God, and living daily for His Kingdom. Aubrie and I have some exciting news to share. We are thrilled to announce that we will be taking our survey trip to Colombia in February of 2011!! This is something that we have been anticipating for years as God has burdened us for this place that so desperately needs Christ.
Colombia is commonly reported as the least evangelized of all Latin American countries, yet in recent years its doors are opening wide to the Gospel. Its reputation as a violent and dangerous country is also changing as leftist rebel groups and drug lords are loosing ground. On our trip, we plan to spend 2 weeks visiting missionaries and national pastors that are there doing the work, as well as scan out the land to see exactly where God would have us eventually live and serve. This is a vital step for us.
God has been working on my heart for missions since I was 11 years old. I have been able to go on several mission trips around the globe, including a 6-month internship in Peru, South America. I graduated in 2007 from the Baptist College for World Evangelism. In 2006 God allowed me to begin and pastor a Spanish ministry out of my home church, Lighthouse Baptist Church in Dawsonville, GA under Pastor Charles Blackstock. We have seen God do some amazing things during the past 4 years! People have been saved and baptized, lives have been changed, and we’ve seen many rise up in leadership. We have learned so much that will be put to use on the mission field. Although we love serving in the Spanish ministry, our heart is continually burdened for Colombia. We see that God is now opening the door to move on to the next stage of our lives. This survey trip is the next step for us before deputation.
As much as we anticipate our upcoming trip to Colombia, we desperately need your help in order to get there. We need people that will partner with us prayerfully and financially. This trip will cost around $3,500. We know that God will provide every penny, but we also know that he uses people to carry out his work. Will you be one of these people? Will you be a yokefellow together with us? If so, you can make a check out to Lighthouse Baptist Church and mark it “Vance Colombia Trip,” then mail it to 329 Harmony Church Rd. Dawsonville, GA 30534. This gift is tax deductable. If you would like to follow our life and ministry, feel free to check out our website at: www.BeMagnified.com. Thank you, and may God continue to bless you and your family.
May Christ Be Magnified,
Aaron, Aubrie & Amira Vance
Philippians 1:20-21
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Missions Quotes
Missions Quotes To Ponder
“Not called!” did you say? “Not heard the call,” I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father’s house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world.
William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army
“I have but one passion – it is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.”
Count Zinzindorf
“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies.”
J. Hudson Taylor
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
John the Baptist
“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”
C.T. Studd
“The greatest missionary is the Bible in the mother tongue. It needs no furlough and is never considered a foreigner.”
William Cameron Townsend
“Prepare for the worst, expect the best, and take what comes.”
Robert E. Speer
“The saddest thing one meets is a nominal Christian. I had not seen it in Japan where missions is younger. The church here is a “field full of wheat and tares.”
Amy Carmichael
“I used to think that prayer should have the first place and teaching the second. I now feel it would be truer to give prayer the first, second and third places and teaching the fourth.”
James O. Fraser
“It is just as proper, maybe even more so, to say Christ’s global cause has a Church as to say Christ’s Church has a global cause.”
David Bryant
“If you are sick, fast and pray; if the language is hard to learn, fast and pray; if the people will not hear you, fast and pray, if you have nothing to eat, fast and pray.”
Frederick Franson
“What are we here for, to have a good time with Christians or to save sinners?”
Malla Moe
“I tell you, brethren, if mercies and if judgments do not convert you, God has no other arrows in His quiver.”
Robert Murray M’Cheyne
“It’s amazing what can be accomplished if you don’t worry about who gets the credit.”
Clarence W. Jones
| “I have seen, at different times, the smoke of a thousand villages – villages whose people are without Christ, without God, and without hope in the world.” – Robert Moffat “The command has been to “go,” but we have stayed – in body, gifts, prayer and influence. He has asked us to be witnesses unto the uttermost parts of the earth…But 99% of Christians have kept puttering around in the homeland.” “While vast continents are shrouded in darkness…the burden of proof lies upon you to show that the circumstances in which God has placed you were meant by God to keep you out of the foreign mission field.” “I wasn’t God’s first choice for what I’ve done for China…I don’t know who it was…It must have been a man…a well-educated man. I don’t know what happened. Perhaps he died. Perhaps he wasn’t willing…and God looked down…and saw Gladys Aylward…And God said – “Well, she’s willing.” “Brother, if you would enter that Province, you must go forward on your knees.” “The man…looking at him with a smile that only half concealed his contempt, inquired, “Now Mr. Morrison do you really expect that you will make an impression on the idolatry of the Chinese Empire?” “No sir,” said Morrison, “but I expect that God will.” “Here am I. Send me.” “And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives…and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted.” “Jehovah Witnesses don’t believe in hell and neither do most Christians” “Had I cared for the comments of people, I should never have been a missionary.” “Young man, sit down: when God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid or mine.” “Oh, that I had a thousand lives, and a thousand bodies! All of them should be devoted to no other employment but to preach Christ to these degraded, despised, yet beloved mortals.” “We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God.” “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” “A tiny group of believers who have the gospel keep mumbling it over and over to themselves. Meanwhile, millions who have never heard it once fall into the flames of eternal hell without ever hearing the salvation story.” “I have but one passion – it is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.” “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies.” “He must increase, but I must decrease.” “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” “The greatest missionary is the Bible in the mother tongue. It needs no furlough and is never considered a foreigner.” “Prepare for the worst, expect the best, and take what comes.” “The saddest thing one meets is a nominal Christian. I had not seen it in Japan where missions is younger. The church here is a “field full of wheat and tares.” “I used to think that prayer should have the first place and teaching the second. I now feel it would be truer to give prayer the first, second and third places and teaching the fourth.” “It is just as proper, maybe even more so, to say Christ’s global cause has a Church as to say Christ’s Church has a global cause.” “If you are sick, fast and pray; if the language is hard to learn, fast and pray; if the people will not hear you, fast and pray, if you have nothing to eat, fast and pray.” “What are we here for, to have a good time with Christians or to save sinners?” “I tell you, brethren, if mercies and if judgments do not convert you, God has no other arrows in His quiver.” “It’s amazing what can be accomplished if you don’t worry about who gets the credit.” “Two distinguishing marks of the early church were: 1) Poverty 2) Power.” “Do not think me mad. It is not to make money that I believe a Christian should live. The noblest thing a man can do is, just humbly to receive, and then go amongst others and give.” “From my many years experience I can unhesitatingly say that the cross bears those who bear the cross.” “I pray that no missionary will ever be as lonely as I have been.” “All my friends are but one, but He is all sufficient.” “How little chance the Holy Ghost has nowadays. The churches and missionary societies have so bound him in red tape that they practically ask Him to sit in a corner while they do the work themselves.” “I have always believed that the Good Samaritan went across the road to the wounded man just because he wanted to.” “The more obstacles you have, the more opportunities there are for God to do something.” “Expect great things from God. Attempt great thing for God.” “God’s part is to put forth power; our part is to put forth faith.” “All the resources of the Godhead are at our disposal!” “The Indian is making an amazing discovery, namely that Christianity and Jesus are not the same – that they may have Jesus without the system that has been built up around Him in the West.” “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” “All roads lead to the judgment seat of Christ.” “Christians don’t tell lies they just go to church and sing them” “I will lay my bones by the Ganges that India might know there is one who cares.” “Today Christians spend more money on dog food then missions” “It will not do to say that you have no special call to go to China. With these facts before you and with the command of the Lord Jesus to go and preach the gospel to every creature, you need rather to ascertain whether you have a special call to stay at home.” “We talk of the second coming, half the world has never heard of the first.” “God cannot lead you on the basis of facts that you do not know.” “And thus I aspire to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named so that I would not build on another man’s foundation.” “Why do we insist on building the largest and most impressive structures in our city when people on the other side of town are hungry, jobless and worshipping in storefronts?” “If every Christian is already considered a missionary, then all can stay put where they are, and nobody needs to get up and go anywhere to preach the gospel. But if our only concern is to witness where we are, how will people in unevangelized areas ever hear the gospel? The present uneven distribution of Christians and opportunities to hear the gospel of Christ will continue on unchanged.” “I spent twenty years of my life trying to recruit people out of local churches and into missions structures so that they could be involved in fulfilling God’s global mission. Now I have another idea. Let’s take God’s global mission and put it right in the middle of the local church!” “Oh dear, I couldn’t say that my church is alive and I wouldn’t want to call it dead. I guess it’s just walking in its sleep!” “When he landed in 1848 there were no Christians here; when he left in 1872 there were no heathen.” “At the moment I put the bread and wine into those dark hands, once stained with the blood of cannibalism, now stretched out to receive and partake the emblems and seals of the Redeemer’s love, I had a foretaste of the joy of glory that well nigh broke my heart to pieces. I shall never taste a deeper bliss, till I gaze on the glorified face of Jesus himself.” “Save others, snatching them out of the fire.” “The evangelization of the world in this generation.” “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring” “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” “His authority on earth allows us to dare to go to all the nations. His authority in heaven gives us our only hope of success. And His presence with us leaves us no other choice.” “Today five out of six non-Christians in our world have no hope unless missionaries come to them and plant the church among them.” “Tell the students to give up their small ambitions and come eastward to preach the gospel of Christ.” “Christ for the students of the world, and the students of the world for Christ.” “We who have Christ’s eternal life need to throw away our own lives.” “Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell, I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of Hell.” “When I get to China, I will have no claim on any one for anything. My claim will be alone in God and I must learn before I leave England to move men through God by prayer alone” “God has huge plans for the world today! He is not content to merely establish a handful of struggling churches among each tongue, tribe and nation. Even now He is preparing and empowering His Church to carry the seeds of revival to the uttermost ends of the earth.” “The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity.” “Answering a student’s question, ‘Will the heathen who have not heard the Gospel be saved?’ thus, ‘It is more a question with me whether we who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who have not, can be saved.'” |




