I Die Daily (This is not a depressing post)

I was challenged in my own quiet time on what this whole idea of taking up your cross means and what it means to be a completely committed follower of Jesus Christ. Also, I found myself answering the question what do I need to choose Jesus over to be able to wholeheartedly serve Him. Just a thought...

In Luke 9:23, Jesus invites anyone to "take up your cross..." This is often where people stop reading, but the next word is what makes all the difference...Everyday. Everyday I make a decision that I will die to myself. It is not a one time decision. What does it look like to die everyday? For me it means I choose Jesus over my plans and my future. Dying to myself means I choose Jesus over possibly having a career, a home, a spouse, and/or a family. Dying to myself means choosing Jesus over my family and other relationships. I choose Jesus over even my own freedoms, my past, present, and future guilt. I choose to die daily, picking up the cross to follow Him. It is only by dying to myself/ourselves that we truly find life, which is real life in Jesus Christ. This is the secret of real living. 

At the Foot of the Cross

January 11, 2012 At the beginning of our trip we spent 24ish hours in Hong Kong. Our only morning there before breakfast I went to a lookout spot where a huge white cross is located with the city below. There I did my daily prayer and devotion. After breakfast our team took some time to be fully in the presence of the Holy Spirit, walking and declaring scripture through a prayer labyrinth. It was difficult because along the way there would be road blocks causing us to stumble, so we either had to turn around and take another path or make a turn. At times it was tempting to look which way others were going or to look ahead and see which way would be the best path. The lesson to be learned was that while walking with God we cannot look ahead or walk the way others walk. I was told once that "no one walks as you walk"; each person's relationship with Christ is different, filled with different lessons and experiences. If we are tempted to look ahead we will both stumble and fall. We might even miss something God has planned for right here and right now because we are too focused on the future. I did not even make it to the end of the prayer labyrinth because somewhere along the way I got turned around, which was also a lesson for us because we cannot be so focused on one thing or on nothing at all or we may never reach our goal(s). After this exercise was over we went back to the foot of the cross where I had been earlier that morning. There we spent some time in prayer and meditation thinking about our goals for the semester. Here were my Spiritual goals for this journey: -To be evident to all in my faith and trust in Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:4). -To know Jesus more whether it be through His Word, prayer, experiences, or all. -To never be blind to His path so I can lead others around me and lead those who need Christ to Himself. -To have the power of the Holy Spirit be my strength, my wisdom, my comfort, my guide, etc. each day. -To be more open with my faith and maybe share it with someone. -To be an encourager/encouragement to my team and those I meet along the way. -To say at the end of my journey that I have done all Christ has called me to (2 Tim. 4:7).

And So It Begins

The day has finally come! January 7, 2012 began another adventure of a lifetime, but unfortunately my body has decided to get sick, causing our 13 hour flight to be uncomfortable and restless. After few hours of sleep on our first international flight, we missed Sunday arriving in Beijing after 12 am. Sunday we flew over the North Pole, over Russia, and into China, seeing no sun that day. In Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) we met an M named Rob. There we jumped in a large van taking us to our homes for the next two nights. I was with Rob and his family along with Trisha, Ali, Megan, and Ashley. Despite my cold I was able to sleep the whole night through.
The first few days gave us a little taste of Beijing, where we will be living later on in our journey for six weeks. Our first morning in the city we had a bit of a struggle getting money out of the ATM, but we all made it. After that we had a brief devotion and meeting time before going back out into the city. We first went out to buy and try some of the street food, such as jianbing, joutsa and boutsa, and candied strawberries. We also spent some time praying on a nearby street where there are four brothels where women are in bondage and have no other hope but to sell their bodies into prostitution. My prayer is that they would be set free and that their hope would be renewed in the Father.
We have walked miles, taken city buses and subways, and a few have tried to catch a taxi. We visited The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, a shopping mall, and a few other small stores here and there, one being a bookstore where we purchased our Chinese textbooks. On our first night we had our first real Chinese food and it was amazing! We had sweet and sour chicken, garlic broccoli, fried rice, garlic green beans, an eggplant/potato/pepper dish, a weird fungus (mushroom dish), and a few other things. It was all good minus the mushroom one. It was definitely a new experience eating everything with chopsticks, which is going to take a lot of practice.
My first impression of Beijing was not the best. The city looks so dirty because of the smog and dust that fills the air. People are also constantly spitting because of the dust and throwing their trash on the ground. Also, at first glance the people seem to be a bit unhappy, but more often than not if you smile and say “ni hao” they will do the same in return. Many of the people also where masks like a doctor would on their mouth and nose so not to breath in the dust. It has been such a blessing to stay with the M’s and I pray that their work in Beijing would thrive as long as the Father calls the there.