Living faithful, fruitful and fulfilled on the mission field
Every year I ask the Lord a question. “What one thing do you want me to do this year?” I like to get my priorities crystal clear. When I know what God has said to do, I have my marching orders. I know my one …
Have you ever lost your temper? Gotten upset with fellow team members? Differences in personality, culture, and spiritual gifting can drive us apart. Or, these differences can make us strong and effective as a missionary team. My husband and I are extreme opposites in many …
Ever talk to yourself? Every once in a while, I accidentally find myself exclaiming something out loud. I suddenly notice what I meant to say silently in my mind has slipped out my lips. “Come on Anderson, do it right!” is one. Or I utter something alone in my car, annoyed with the vehicle in front of me, “Turn on your blinker will you?!!” Honest confession. Sadly, these proclamations are often not nice toward myself or others. Declarations are powerful and have a great spiritual impact.
Matthew 12:34 says, “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” It’s not a great sign when I say things like what was mentioned above. Yet it’s a sign I need to take note of and do something about.
Instead of these negative statements, we can declare truths about things our soul needs to hear.
Lately, I’ve been practicing various rhythms for health and marriage. Habits and spiritual rhythms help us move forward even when we don’t necessarily feel like it. They reduce the need for willpower, something that is limited in supply. They do this by becoming patterns of our lives rather than things we choose to do daily.
One I’ve particularly enjoyed has been making four daily declarations during my time alone with God in the mornings. I heard about these from Archie Coates of HTB though I’m not sure if they are original with him.
In one way they are prayers. But in another way, I’m talking more to myself than to God. There are times when we need to speak truth to our souls through a declaration like this.
Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Sometimes we need to hear these things spoken to our souls to build up our faith. This is why rather than just reading them, I’ve experienced real power in saying them out loud. It builds my faith in the reality and truth of these truths.
Our souls are fickle. It’s easy for us to become discouraged or to begin to believe the opposite of these things. Realign yourself by saying them out loud. Even if you don’t immediately believe them to be true, as you repeat this daily, they will sink in.
Whether we like to admit it or not, we live in a spiritual world and we are not the only spiritual beings that inhabit it! Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we are in a spiritual battle, not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers, the enemy of our souls.
When we speak aloud, not only do we hear those things but so do the demonic forces in our spiritual environment. We declare things that are from God’s word. This changes the spiritual climate. Demons have to flee.
Jesus used this amid His temptations in the wilderness (John 4).
You may not be experiencing such overt demonic forces as He did in that passage. But there is an enemy of our souls who wants us to believe lies rather than the truth. This brings me to my last point.
John 8:44 speaks of Satan as the father of lies. He is a deceiver by nature. It is one of his greatest strengths and we must be on guard against believing his many lies.
How do we deal with the enemy’s lies? First, we must discern and recognize them. Then, we speak truth to them, especially truth that is based on Scripture.
When I feel weak and the enemy’s lies in my mind tell me “You are worthless, too weak for the things you are trying to do,” I may say out loud – “No I am not. God’s Word says that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!”
I have to say that to myself so often, I had it painted on my wall!
What declaration of truth is most needed in your life today? It may or may not be the four I’ve listed here. Maybe there’s another deception of the enemy you need to combat with truth.
Make a plan though and determine to say that particular thing out loud for a week. Then see how it’s affecting you. You can then switch to something else or continue.
What will you be declaring to your soul? I’d love to hear about it in the comments or on the Missionary Life Facebook page.
Though I was born in Nigeria, my passport says I am an American. I love my country. But I have never felt like a “real” American. Preparing for a trip back to the USA, someone asked me, “Are you going home next week?” That is …
Disruption releases innovation. We discover untried ways of serving God, of accomplishing His purposes. Do you maximize or resist the opportunities disruption or crisis brings? Often, instead of embracing new things, we get stuck. We experience a nostalgic longing for the way things used to …
This past weekend I went away for a quarterly retreat. This spiritual practice I’ve done for years keeps me grounded and abiding in Jesus. On this recent retreat, I read Rich Villodas’ new book The Narrow Path: How the Subversive Way of Jesus Satisfies Our Souls.
The book focuses on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It offers insights and asks questions about what is perhaps the Lord’s most well-known and important message spoken to a crowd.
Villodas shares his personal experience and effort to apply this timeless sermon to his life.
I came away inspired and with some key new practices I will be working into the rhythms of my life in the coming month or two. It’s great to be a reader, but a reader who applies and puts things into action, now that’s what leaders who want to grow do! My hope is that I am that kind of student of both God’s Word and good books like this.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book, things I need to chew on and think about a bit more.
Am I God-attentive? The pure in heart will see Him.
Do I call out the best in people? Do I see good in them before they see it in themselves? How can I do this more?
Does my life display his character or my own? Do they regularly see His goodness? His kindness? His compassion? His mercy? When they experience and encounter me? Probably not. Maybe sometimes, but not nearly as often as I want it to.
This isn’t new information for me, but I need to keep asking myself the question; Where might I be deceived into thinking that I know something and that’s enough, even if I don’t do it? Where do I exalt myself or pride myself on being knowledgeable about something like disciple-making or theology? Knowledge is not the goal of the Christian life, knowing Christ and transformation into His image is.
I’d like to add to Villodas’ definition. It’s not just the people I have a hard time loving, but also those I find it hard to think well of. Those are the people Jesus said I am to love and pray for. I’ve got some homework to do here!
On pages 164-165 of the book, he shared a prayer that a Benedictine monk had shared with their church. It is a prayer for your enemies.
I have set myself the task of praying this prayer each day this coming week for someone I find difficult to love and think well of. Yes, there are a few people who come to mind! 🙂 Maybe you’d like to join me in this?
So many of us call ourselves leaders or spiritually mature people, but we don’t look like Jesus in relation to how we love those we don’t like, disagree with, or who have offended or hurt us. I know there’s room for some growth in me as I consider this! My spiritual maturity meter on this one isn’t super high. Yours?
There is great value in Christian meditation as a discipline and practice. I’m challenged by this book afresh. Over the next few months, I’d like to slowly read the sermon on the mount daily, to journal on it, and continue to allow it to speak to me.
Feeling encouraged and challenged by these quotes? I made some flashcards of these and other quotes from the book. I’ll be returning to them, praying about them, and letting them create a space within me for God’s transforming work. We can’t change ourselves, but reading and meditating on Scripture and good books like this are part of creating room for God to work in us.
Thanks, Rich, for taking the time to challenge and inspire me (and many others) in this book.
Which of the quotes and questions above spoke to your heart?
“Ughh. Not again! Another day of language learning. Why not quit? I can already understand and speak more than a lot of people.” These, and other negative thoughts cross my mind as I stare at my language books. Language learning is hard work. You need …
When we go on dates, I like my husband to open the door for me. When he walks around and opens the car door, I feel special, loved, and valued. For some people that doesn’t matter much. I guess I am a bit of an …
A week ago today, my mother-in-law, Sylvia Anderson, went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As you approach middle age, you know your parents will not live forever. That doesn’t make it any easier when the time comes for them to go. Their stable, comforting, encouraging presence, their prayers, love, and help are not easy to let go of.
The night of her passing, I moved with my husband into her home to care for and be a support to her grieving husband, my father-in-law, Jerry. I wanted, together with Todd, to do everything I could to serve and help him through this tragic loss. Yes, though she was 83, and not in an accident or anything, it is always a tragic loss when you lose someone you’ve been married to for 65 years.
It’s been painful to stay here and has made me miss her so much. Stepping into the role of the female in this household… let’s just say they are shoes I could absolutely never fill. She was an amazing homemaker and hostess.
When Todd and I were dating and first married, I was quite intimidated by her baking and cooking. She always had these amazing caramel rolls she’d make for us, and her freezer was continually full of cookies and bars…at least six different kinds. They were ready to be pulled out and served to anyone who might stop by to visit. Mom Anderson never expected me to be like her and always made me feel welcome, but still, those were big shoes to fill.
When Todd and I prepared to go to Nepal for the first time, I was three months pregnant with our daughter Jenna. She would be Sylvia’s first grandchild. Not once did she speak a word about the pain of us leaving them, or giving birth to their first grandbaby on the other side of the ocean. She cried many tears when we said goodbye, but never in any way tried to discourage us from going. I know it was hard for her. I realize it even more, now that I am a grandma, living far from my precious grandkids. Sylvia supported and believed in the cause we were working for, and was willing to release her son and family to serve God. Mom Anderson always put Jesus first.
Upon returning to the USA every three years or so, we were welcome in their home. Though I was terrified of ruining her beautiful white carpet with our toddler’s spills or breaking something lovely, she never made me feel that way. We were always picked up at the airport by mom and dad, with all our luggage, and brought to their house.
Since I grew up in Africa, and my parents were still on the field, I didn’t have a home that I lived in for many years as Todd did. The house in Lakeville, became an anchor, a place we always came home to. It gave me a sense of rootedness. It feels so strange to be here without her. I miss her greatly.
The strange reality of death is part of the cycle God designed. We know that He is absolutely and only good, so this too must in some way be good. Yet it is hard. It is a suffering we must bear. I feel for Dad Anderson, and can’t imagine what it would be like to lose my husband. Why God created this passing to be such a loss, I cannot comprehend. Why we must come into the world helpless and leave it in pain I don’t understand. What I do see is that in our suffering, we are carried by Him. In difficulty, we draw near. And that, is a good thing, for it is there close to Him, that our souls truly live.
I am not much like my mother-in-law. She was a quiet homemaker who mostly stayed within an hour of her home. I am a world-traveling speaker, podcast host, and missions leader. What I have learned from her, though, is the power of discipling your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren well. She loved her family and always had time for them. She was generous toward them. Sylvia made sure they knew they were loved. Faithful in her church, her relationship with the Lord, and in practicing spiritual disciplines like prayer and Bible reading was exemplary. Her husband was her top priority, next to Jesus, and she served and loved him well. I hope in those ways I can be like her.
I miss you, Mom. This world is not as nice without you here, but we will carry forward your legacy.
Goodbye for now, until we meet in Heaven.
“I don’t have connections and contacts with people I could raise support from. I don’t know any __________________.” Fill in the blank. Some would say I don’t know pastors. Others would say I don’t know many foreigners. Some would say all my friends are fellow …