"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him." John 12: 23-26
Sanctification is beautiful. It can also be incredibly painful.
What is it? The process of being made holy for the Lord; the state of growing in divine grace to become more of Jesus and less of ourselves.
As Christians, we pray to be sanctified as Jesus prayed for us in John 17. But do we really know for what we're asking?
I want to be more like Jesus, yet the more I seek Him, the closer I become, the more I come to realize, on my own, how unlike Jesus I really am.
In order to become holy, we have to die. Die to our flesh, die to our selfish desires, die to ourselves. We have to lay aside our motives to succeed, to be loved, to be important to seek the only true Thing that matters.
I battle against my flesh daily on this and Jesus is currently teaching me more of what it truly means to die to this world. I know He's only begun to prepare me for what lies ahead.
Well, I have some pretty awesome news. Though I still find myself in a season of waiting on the Lord, I have peace in stepping out in a certain direction. I'm excited to announce that I will be joining Cups of Cold Water in a project to a small Dominican village where I will be ministering to and discipling young girls.
During my time in Redemption Village, I grew close to many of the young girls. My heart went out to them as their lives are much different than those of girls in the States. Sure, they struggle with the same identity issues and insecurities, but add to that practically raising your siblings and yourself. For many, this can find girls in dangerous situations. But for those lucky ones, they still find themselves young mothers at the ages of 13, 14, and 15.
My heart breaks for the girls here. Too many are like sheep without a shepherd, just craving love and acceptance. If they only knew the love offered through Jesus.
Just days after the Lord had told me to "wait," a missionary friend, Mike Williams, shared his vision to build a community center for the small village of Zion. Knowing that the skill of speaking English provides those seeking jobs a huge advantage and a better living in this country, Mike wants to see English classes for both adults and children, and eventually math, science, and hydroponics. He's even planted several banana trees to teach the community how easy it is to harvest and to also give the children a healthy snack. Each sponsored family in the village will also receive a water purification system since nearly 70% of all health problems in the DR stem from the water. And finally, Mike has a vision to reach out to the young girls through an Empower Girls program.
News of all this came on the heels of that sermon encouraging us to ask God what that "one thing" He wanted us to do. Remember that? Isn't God's timing impeccable?
I kept waiting to hear a "yes" or "no" from the Lord as to whether I should join this project in Villa Zion, but I didn't hear anything. I found myself being reminded of the Encountering God study I did a year ago back home. Self-centered, fleshly me had been asking the wrong question... it's not, "Lord, what is Your will for my life?" but rather, "Lord, what are You doing right now and how can I come alongside You with the passions You have placed in me?"
You know that feeling when your heart pounds and your spirit twirls within you with excitement? I didn't let it show, but I knew when I saw "Empower Girls" written out on Mike's vision sheet that God was up to something.
So, how does this translate into sanctification and dropping like a grain of wheat to the ground?
This next season will be different than the last. I will be living right outside the village and further away from downtown Sosua. Though the houses Mike are building for the missionaries are beautiful, they're not like where I have been living. The Lord truly blessed me this past year in the New Mission house with the rooftop view of the ocean and mountains, beautiful garden, and fully furnished and remodeled apartment. I hear they lose power quite frequently up in Zion and I know it will be rougher living than I've been used to. But I'm still more excited than ever.
I am returning to the States this coming week to begin raising support for this new task the Lord has placed before me. That, in itself, requires me to die to myself.
Oswald Chambers put it like this... "There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized- something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ."
I can't tell you how often I think of how great it would be to have a steady income with benefits and to be able to provide for myself. Lord knows that would put my family at ease. It takes a great deal to fight this desire to be independent and stand on my own, but I know I can't do this alone. God fully intended for it to be this way so that this mission is not about me but about Him.
How long will I be in the states? The community center will be completed this summer, at which point I'll return to the DR. I'm looking forward to a few months in the States to be restored and filled up (physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially) to go out again with renewed strength. I also have plans to buckle down in my Spanish studies to be better equipped and ready to do ministry. I long SO much to be able to communicate fluently and I'm determined to do so.
I mentioned before how I'm still in a season of waiting. I say this because I don't know what God has planned. I have only stepped out in faith and that's all I can do. I don't know what the classes will look like. I don't know what curriculum we'll use to teach English. I don't know if the Lord would have me continue going out to Redemption. I don't know if He wants me to start a similar girls' program out there, too.
I don't know a lot of things.
But I do know that those who die, bear much fruit. If I'm to serve Jesus, I must follow Him.
For where He is, I want to be.
Sanctification is beautiful. It can also be incredibly painful.
What is it? The process of being made holy for the Lord; the state of growing in divine grace to become more of Jesus and less of ourselves.
As Christians, we pray to be sanctified as Jesus prayed for us in John 17. But do we really know for what we're asking?
I want to be more like Jesus, yet the more I seek Him, the closer I become, the more I come to realize, on my own, how unlike Jesus I really am.
In order to become holy, we have to die. Die to our flesh, die to our selfish desires, die to ourselves. We have to lay aside our motives to succeed, to be loved, to be important to seek the only true Thing that matters.
I battle against my flesh daily on this and Jesus is currently teaching me more of what it truly means to die to this world. I know He's only begun to prepare me for what lies ahead.
Well, I have some pretty awesome news. Though I still find myself in a season of waiting on the Lord, I have peace in stepping out in a certain direction. I'm excited to announce that I will be joining Cups of Cold Water in a project to a small Dominican village where I will be ministering to and discipling young girls.
During my time in Redemption Village, I grew close to many of the young girls. My heart went out to them as their lives are much different than those of girls in the States. Sure, they struggle with the same identity issues and insecurities, but add to that practically raising your siblings and yourself. For many, this can find girls in dangerous situations. But for those lucky ones, they still find themselves young mothers at the ages of 13, 14, and 15.
My heart breaks for the girls here. Too many are like sheep without a shepherd, just craving love and acceptance. If they only knew the love offered through Jesus.
Just days after the Lord had told me to "wait," a missionary friend, Mike Williams, shared his vision to build a community center for the small village of Zion. Knowing that the skill of speaking English provides those seeking jobs a huge advantage and a better living in this country, Mike wants to see English classes for both adults and children, and eventually math, science, and hydroponics. He's even planted several banana trees to teach the community how easy it is to harvest and to also give the children a healthy snack. Each sponsored family in the village will also receive a water purification system since nearly 70% of all health problems in the DR stem from the water. And finally, Mike has a vision to reach out to the young girls through an Empower Girls program.
News of all this came on the heels of that sermon encouraging us to ask God what that "one thing" He wanted us to do. Remember that? Isn't God's timing impeccable?
I kept waiting to hear a "yes" or "no" from the Lord as to whether I should join this project in Villa Zion, but I didn't hear anything. I found myself being reminded of the Encountering God study I did a year ago back home. Self-centered, fleshly me had been asking the wrong question... it's not, "Lord, what is Your will for my life?" but rather, "Lord, what are You doing right now and how can I come alongside You with the passions You have placed in me?"
You know that feeling when your heart pounds and your spirit twirls within you with excitement? I didn't let it show, but I knew when I saw "Empower Girls" written out on Mike's vision sheet that God was up to something.
So, how does this translate into sanctification and dropping like a grain of wheat to the ground?
This next season will be different than the last. I will be living right outside the village and further away from downtown Sosua. Though the houses Mike are building for the missionaries are beautiful, they're not like where I have been living. The Lord truly blessed me this past year in the New Mission house with the rooftop view of the ocean and mountains, beautiful garden, and fully furnished and remodeled apartment. I hear they lose power quite frequently up in Zion and I know it will be rougher living than I've been used to. But I'm still more excited than ever.
I am returning to the States this coming week to begin raising support for this new task the Lord has placed before me. That, in itself, requires me to die to myself.
Oswald Chambers put it like this... "There is always a tremendous battle before sanctification is realized- something within us pushing with resentment against the demands of Christ."
I can't tell you how often I think of how great it would be to have a steady income with benefits and to be able to provide for myself. Lord knows that would put my family at ease. It takes a great deal to fight this desire to be independent and stand on my own, but I know I can't do this alone. God fully intended for it to be this way so that this mission is not about me but about Him.
How long will I be in the states? The community center will be completed this summer, at which point I'll return to the DR. I'm looking forward to a few months in the States to be restored and filled up (physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially) to go out again with renewed strength. I also have plans to buckle down in my Spanish studies to be better equipped and ready to do ministry. I long SO much to be able to communicate fluently and I'm determined to do so.
I mentioned before how I'm still in a season of waiting. I say this because I don't know what God has planned. I have only stepped out in faith and that's all I can do. I don't know what the classes will look like. I don't know what curriculum we'll use to teach English. I don't know if the Lord would have me continue going out to Redemption. I don't know if He wants me to start a similar girls' program out there, too.
I don't know a lot of things.
But I do know that those who die, bear much fruit. If I'm to serve Jesus, I must follow Him.
For where He is, I want to be.
Amen. Glad to hear the Lord is pulling you in the direction that your heart is already tugged toward. will look forward to rescheduling our coffee date when you return. :) - Janelle
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