A Command (not a suggestion)

Missions is a command.  
PS…Sorry the background color is all messed up…I can't figure out how to fix it :(

You either:

1. GO
OR
2. you help someone else GO

Why?!?!?!?!?

Romans 10:14-15

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”[g]

Matthew 28:19-20

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Mark 16:15

15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

John 20:21

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Acts 1:8

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

You know what I LOVE?!?!?!?!? My parents have followed this command my ENTIRE life! When I was six, we prepared to move to Ethiopia and lived there until I was nine. Even when we were in the USA for a few years, we were going overseas on missions trips. When I was 12, we moved to Bolivia and stayed there until I graduated high school. Not only did my parents GO, but they also GAVE. Even today, they continue to GO and to GIVE so that others can GO. And you know what I LOVE the most?!?!?!? They GO to everyone! To the sick. To the healthy. To the cheaters. To the liars. To the adulterers. To the alcoholics. To the people who think they are perfect. To the coveters. To the murderers. To the idolaters. To the rich. To the poor. To the abusers. To the gossips. To the people who don't look pretty and their lives are a total disaster. To the people that no one else wants to help. To the people in China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Bolivia…to the ends of the earth. To all sinners. To you and me.

A story recently shared by my dad, Wick:

"Someone recently sent a link that would allow me to vote on dumping my Starbucks coffee down the toilet because of the companies stance on same sex marriage. I was also urged at the end of the promotion... “In addition to Starbucks coffee shops, the Starbucks Corporation also owns Seattle's Best Coffee, Verismo single-serve coffee system, Evolution Fresh, Tazo Tea, Torrefazione Italia Coffee, and La Boulange.” In other words...so let's dump them also.

This troubles me. As “Christ Followers,” we are told to be operating in the world but not of the world. I'm not so sure that Jesus would be dumping those business' that are owned by successful people who think that same sex marriage is ok. I think the Lord would have enjoyed a good blonde roast with 2% milk as much as the next guy or gal, straight or gay, that he was spending some time with, so that they could see he loved them.

If Christ Followers are going to start dumping great tasting refreshing drinks in the parking lot because they support same sex marriage, who is going to stop talking to me because I am a liar...I am also a cheat...I tend to want to look at pornography, I don't, but I sure do want to...or how about us folks that fix our books to pay less taxes, gossip, abuse our wives, our kids, our parents. If Christ Followers decided to start boycotting all the things that are ugly in the world then we would have to lock our selves up into very small closets and hire someone from some establishment...that might hire same sex couples, to come and feed us through a small slit in the door so we don't have to mix with “those people.”

Let's be careful. Let's love the sinner and hate the sin but at the same time, make it easy for sinners like ourselves to sit down and talk with us about what they think and why they think it.

I am reminded of my dear friend George. We had known each other for years, but struck up a close relationship after our family returned from the mission field in Bolivia. George and I would see each other at an Atlanta Bread coffee shop almost every morning. We began to have coffee together and then the occasional lunch. One day, I could tell that something was wrong with my dear friend. I asked, “What's up buddy?” He broke down and cried and asked me if I would pray about some bad issue that had happened at his office. Someone he trusted had robbed him of a lot of money and he had trusted them completed. I said, “Sure George, let's pray.” Immediately he grabbed my hand and we prayed right there in the restaurant. From that day on we spoke openly about each other faith, lives, struggles, successes. We became very close friends.

I received a call some months later...early one morning. The person said, “George is not doing well and wants to see you, he's in the hospital. I went to see my dear friend. He was in a hospital bed and could not move. It happened quickly, from a friday after a flu shot to a monday with no ability to move from below his arms down. I went in and I immediately kissed him on the forehead and said, “What's going on buddy?” It was Guillain–Barré, and my buddy never left hospital beds again, although he was transferred to several as he fought to live, so that he could hold and raise his newly adopted daughter. Every time I was with George I would talk with him about the love of the Lord and about God's saving grace. He would always bring it up...I never had to. I kissed him and prayed with him before one of my trips back to Bolivia. “Come see me as soon as you get back in town,” George asked. “Course I will buddy, I love you.” I kissed him again and walked out the hospital room.

I never saw George again. He died while I was away and they even had the funeral while I was traveling. 

The next time I walked into the Atlanta Bread shop, there was an emptiness, my dear friend was not there. But one day, while I was getting my fifth cup of coffee a young handsome man tapped me on the shoulder. He spoke softly, and emotionally told me he wanted to thank me for what I had done for George. I must have looked dumb founded but I said, “I loved him very much and will miss him.” The soft spoken fellow said, “but you will see him again.” The fellow went on to explain, “George spoke of how he had come to know Christ through you spending time with him and that he was forever grateful.” The same thing happened a couple of weeks later...and one other time. Always different people.

You see, I had no idea that my gay Jewish friend George had been listening. I had no idea, that what I said or did, was making an impact. I would have never put the two of us together as people who might share a cup of coffee and then that blossom into a friendship where we will only be apart a short while now because he found Christ in the middle of a friendship. God is Sovereign.

So...I want to tell you...especially those of us who claim to be Christ Followers that we need to be real careful about the band wagons we are willing to jump on. Let us remember that we were once lost and without hope...until Christ...through the Holy Spirit...rescued us...so that we might be able to share the Gospel, The Good News, with anyone within ear shot...or near a coffee shop."

God Bless

Wick Jackson

---It's A COMMAND…not a suggestion.  So let me ask you a question:  Are you GOING or are you GIVING so that someone else can GO??!?!?!?!?!?  If you can't go, please GIVE to people like my parents so that they can GO!!!