Living faithful, fruitful and fulfilled on the mission field
When I was ordained as a pastor, I was given a book called “Choosing to Cheat.” That’s a strange title, I thought. The author wrote about the danger of cheating on our spouses by giving our best time and energy to the ministry we do. …
How did Jesus choose His disciples? They were an unlikely group. Fishermen, a tax collector, a random doctor thrown into the mix. What did He look for in those who would serve alongside Him? Throughout history, God has chosen unlikely people to do His work. …
“Knowing God is about a relationship, not religion,” we tell people. This is true! We believe it. If we are honest, though, there are times when our relationship with God can feel pretty religious. We go through the motions without much connection. Dryness creeps in, perhaps even a bit of boredom. What can we do when we feel spiritually dry?
First, if you are experiencing spiritual dryness, you are not alone. Don’t condemn or get angry with yourself. That doesn’t help. We all go through these times, but we don’t have to stay there. We can cultivate a fresh closeness with God.
To keep our relationship with God alive, we need to be consistent in spiritual disciplines like Bible study and prayer. Everyone knows this, so that is no news to any of us. We also need spontaneous “fun” times with Jesus. Ignore the basic disciplines and you won’t stay spiritually healthy. That is true on the mission field or elsewhere. But legalism kills. When those disciplines become duties and “shoulds”, they no longer give life.
I am a runner, but some days I just don’t feel like running. The blanket is cozy around me. I’m enjoying sitting in my favorite chair sipping hot coffee. What if I skipped my run today? Does it matter that much? No. Not really. But it makes it easier to skip my run again tomorrow. Before I know it, I’m no longer doing the exercise I need to stay healthy. I’ve lost my habit. It is then much harder to start again.
Spiritual exercise is the same way. Sometimes we just don’t feel like it. And, no, if we miss a day or two of Bible reading or prayer, it isn’t going to make God angry with us! He loves us and truly understands when we are just too busy or tired to do our normal devotions. But when those habits drop off, our relationship with God (and spiritual health) is sure to suffer too.
“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
Tim. 4:8 NIV
Keeping yourself spiritually healthy on the mission field has got to be a top priority! If your own spiritual health begins to deteriorate, so will your fruitfulness. No matter how many ministry demands and pressures are present, make time to do what is necessary to keep your own relationship with God growing.
There are two commonly taught lists of spiritual disciplines. The first is found in Richard Foster’s book Celebration of Discipline, published in 1978. Foster writes of three types of spiritual disciplines; inward, outward and corporate.
Dallas Willard in his book Spirit of the Disciplines gave a similar though slightly different list. His list contains many of the same things as Foster, but with several additions; self-denial, sabbath, secrecy, and soul friendship.
See this excellent article by Bill Gaultiere called Insights and Applications of Spiritual Disciplines.
I’ve found it helpful to regularly review these two lists of spiritual disciplines and ask myself how I am doing in my godliness training routines. Are there disciplines I have neglected? Get my free checklist with both Foster and Willard’s lists via the form below.
While all the disciplines are important, these are core disciplines we need in order to stay healthy in our spiritual lives. These
It seems strange, but even as missionaries, it is easy for us to neglect these. We get busy doing ministry and fail to stop and take in nourishment for ourselves. We read the Bible, but only in order to prepare our next sermon or Bible study. How are you doing at these five basics?
I love that Foster includes “celebration” as a spiritual discipline. Did you know that it is spiritual to celebrate? God designed us to need
Silence is another one that many do not practice. It can be very life giving. Have you ever gone on a silent retreat? Taken a day away from work and ministry to be alone with God, not speaking to anyone but Him? Turn off even your worship music and allow your heart to become still. It is amazing what God will bring to the surface if we are willing to practice silence and solitude.
As you consider these spiritual disciplines, do you see any gaps? Areas you need to recommit yourself to spiritual training in? Take a moment and jot down that commitment in your journal. Or send a message to your accountability partner. Let them know that this next few months you will be working to develop in this area of your spiritual life.
I am a disciplined and goal-oriented person. Faithful to my routines, I regularly exercise both my body and spirit. I have found that just as in my relationship with my husband, if I want to keep my relationship with God alive, spontaneity is helpful. When things become too routine in my spiritual life, it helps to do something different and new.
Here are examples of things I’ve done. Give one of these a try if your relationship with Jesus is feeling dry. For a few days, skip your normal routines of Bible reading and prayer. Use that time (or choose another time) to do something creative and different with Jesus.
There are many creative, fun ways to stimulate your love relationship with Jesus.
What have you tried that brought new life? I’d love to hear about it in the comments or on the Missionary Life Facebook page!
How do you share the gospel effectively with Buddhists? We have been posting recently on how to communicate the gospel to people of other religions. This week’s post is written by Jay Judson. He has seen thousands of Buddhists come to Christ. Through his team, …
“Flex!” the team leader said loudly. My friend, Tim, led many short-term mission trips. Flex is his favorite word. When we received teams he was leading, we noticed this word used often. Learning how to be flexible, being willing to adapt, and able to adjust, …
In missions (and life), I’m not big on formulas. I’ve found that often A+ B just doesn’t equal C. But in John 15, Jesus gives us a simple answer for how to become more fruitful.
After returning from a long trip, it is so good to get back to my normal routines. One of my favorite daily rituals is having my quiet time. I wake up, grab some coffee and go to my secret place. I plop down in my favorite spot, a comfortable couch that overlooks my garden.
Every morning, that is where I meet with God. I listen to His voice and process my life with Him. Worship, reading scripture, prayer, and then simply sitting in His Presence receiving from Him are a daily habit.
Do you have a secret place? A “spot” where you regularly meet with God?
Establishing spiritual rhythms and rituals need not be something legalistic. They can be life-giving. A spiritual habit of abiding in Jesus is crucial to living fruitful on the mission field.
Remaining in Him goes beyond just having a regular quiet time though. As John 15 tells us, abiding in Jesus also means learning to love and obey. These must also become spiritual habits in our lives.
Being on the move takes a lot out of me, especially in certain contexts. I recently visited a city where travel is challenging. Traffic jams, noise, pollution, and the dirt all around make it more difficult to feel connected to God’s Spirit.
The spiritual environment is difficult there too. Temples blare out chants and music that rubs against my spirit. Pushy and aggressive people around me shout and shove each other (and me), as I try to get off the vehicle I’ve boarded.
I feel myself getting angry inside. Instead of love, I start to feel something else. It is disdain. And maybe even a tiny bit of (let’s be honest and call it what it is) hate.
How natural it is in those situations for me to give in to the feelings rising inside!
It is so much easier to push back, roll my eyes and give people dirty looks than to pray for them. I often don’t “feel” loving toward those who are so rude and demanding around me.
Yet this is where my faith is tested. It is in situations like these where I find out how well I am doing at abiding in Jesus. I can choose to obey His command to love others or give in to my fleshly desire to feel justified in my frustration.
It is in those times that the reserves I have built up from regularly going to my secret place pay off. If my “love tank” is filled up because I’ve received from Jesus’ love, I easily overcome. I am kind and gracious. But when I’m empty inside, it isn’t so easy.
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:12-14 NIV.
John 15 is such a key passage of scripture when we talk about fruitfulness in our Christian lives! In this passage, the word fruit is repeated many times. Equally prominent are the words love and remain (or abide). There is another keyword there too. It is the word obey (or command). How do these things tie together?
The first part of the chapter focuses on remaining in Christ. It describes the connection of this with fruitfulness.
– “Remain in me, as I also remain in you.”
– “Neither can you bear fruit, unless you remain in me.”
– “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.”
– “If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, it will be done for you.”
It is easy to see that remaining in Him is crucial for fruitfulness! I’m sure that isn’t a new idea for you. What does it really mean to remain in Him? To stay connected to His presence?
The next section of the chapter gives us the answer to that question we so often puzzle over.
We must love and obey. When we love and obey Jesus, we are remaining in Him. The evidence of our connection to Christ is our love for others and our obedience to Jesus’ commands.
– “Remain in my love.”
– “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love.”
– “Love each other, as I have loved you.”
– “You are my friends if you do what I command.”
– “This is my command: Love each other.”
The evidence that we are abiding in Him, remaining connected to Jesus is our love for others.
The Father loved Jesus. He loved us. Now we love others. That is the flow of the vine that will bear fruit.
So how are you doing at loving others? Do you struggle to love your team members well? Do you have a hard time letting go of an offense?
What about lost people? How are you doing at loving the unreached who live around you? Do they annoy and anger you? Or is your heart filled with love and compassion for them?
The answer is probably mixed. I know mine is! Some days I am overwhelmed with love for both the lost and for my brothers and sisters in Christ. Like Peter, I am ready to make bold declarations of my willingness to die for them! Other days, well, not so much.
On some days, I am even downright rude in my reactions to those who rub me wrong. The person in the vegetable stall who decides to change the rules about how he weighs the vegetables. The person who shoves me as I get off the bus or airplane. Or the co-worker who gets so distracted that they can’t complete their work. Even after many reminders!
Like you, I want my life to be fruitful in the Kingdom. I love the promises in this passage! “Ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you!” That inspires my faith. But there are conditions attached to the promise. Things I must fulfill in order to ask for great things from God.
So here is the formula I find in John 15.
First, I must stay in His love. I need to receive it. (Both my daily dose during quiet time and the continual flow as I stay connected to Jesus throughout the day.) Then I must release it to my friends, neighbors, co-workers and most of all to my own family members.
As I, by His grace, obey the command to love others well, my life will bear fruit. His promise is true. There will be much, much fruit in my missionary endeavors, and that fruit will last.
Let me encourage you, go to that secret place once again. Get alone with the Master and receive His love afresh. Then get busy obeying His command to actively love those around you. Fruit is on the way!
What is the best way you have found to “abide in Jesus”? Let me know in the comments or on the Missionary Life Facebook Group.
My heart pounded as I approached the immigration line. What would they say? Would I be allowed to enter the country? Would my bags be searched? I’d shared my testimony with someone on the plane feeling prompted by the Holy Spirit. Had I been courageous …
Have you ever met a missionary who seemed angry with the people of the country they worked in? Their mouths are always spouting off negative comments about the traffic, the food, and the way of life of the people in their host country? It’s an …
Reverse culture shock…it’s real. I’d returned to the United States after many years in India. Why do we need to make appointments two weeks in advance to see our friends? When I stop by, why am I not invited in for tea? I felt confused. Hospitality in Western culture is not a high value. It is a biblical one. This practice must be developed in the lives of those who wish to minister cross-culturally.
I wrote about hospitality in 10 Qualities of a Cross-Cultural Minister. Let’s go a bit deeper.
For some, hospitality comes naturally. For others, you will need to make an intentional effort. What hospitality looks like is varied, depending on your culture. It is also impacted by age.
Effectiveness as a missionary will be dramatically affected by your willingness (or lack of such) to develop the biblical practice of hospitality. This is true no matter what culture or generation you come from.
I have to admit, hospitality is not my gift. My husband’s personality is much more hospitable. It is something I have worked to develop.
In India, where we lived for many years, their worldview says “guests should be treated the same as god.” It comes from the Sanskrit phrase “atithi devo bhava.” Guests are frequently welcomed into homes and offered a cup of tea or some kind of food.
It doesn’t matter how busy you are, or what you are in the middle of doing. If someone comes to your door or you meet them by chance, you stop what you are doing and offer hospitality.
Middle-eastern cultures are like this as well.
Talking with a stranger on an airplane on my way to Kabul some years ago, I was invited for a meal. I’d never met this person before. We’d only had a few minutes of conversation, exchanging stories about our children.
As a guest in her country, she offered hospitality to me. That meal, would not be a mere cup of tea. It would be a feast.
Though not a Jesus follower, in many ways, this woman was more biblical in her practice of hospitality than I was.
It took time to develop this new habit in my life. There are times I still work at it. It did become normal for me to offer at least some kind of beverage and snack to anyone at any time. When we returned to our Western culture, I missed this.
An overseer must not give people a reason to criticize him, and he must have only one wife. He must be self-controlled, wise, respected by others, ready to welcome guests, and able to teach.
1 Tim 3:2 New Century Version
It is easy to get busy. In our search for productivity and value, we take on more than we should. We get sucked into projects that aren’t God’s assignments for us. Meetings are planned we feel obligated to be part of. Busyness is the enemy of hospitality.
Often, our identity is connected to our ability to produce work. Even our fruitfulness in the Kingdom can become a search for identity and a sense of value.
Jesus was different from this. He was never too busy trying to produce fruit or building the Kingdom to stop and chat with a child or a widow. His ease and relaxed manner made Him more effective and more fruitful. People always mattered more to Him than a goal or agenda.
Sometimes we are lazy to provide hospitality. It’s hard work. Welcoming people and offering them a place at our table means we are willing to make an effort. We can be hesitant to do this. Other things matter more to us. “We don’t even have any relationship with these strangers. Why make time for them?” we ask.
We don’t want to open our homes (or our lives) because people will see who we are. Our false self, the image we project on Facebook or Instagram is different than our real lives. If people enter our homes spontaneously, they may see that our floor is dirty or our bathroom not clean.
Welcoming people into our homes does make us vulnerable. We don’t know these people. Will they judge us? Steal from us? Gossip about us? We must put these fears aside and be willing to be known by others…even by strangers. Let God protect your image.
Fear is even stronger now, with the COVID 19 pandemic. Not only about image, or theft, but fear of sickness. How can you be hospitable while still being wise during this season?
It costs money and time to offer hospitality. We are tired from our normal work. Now, we must go the extra mile to plan a meal or organize a party.
When we are stretched financially, we struggle to give. Realizing we can’t afford to give the best (buying chicken and the nicest rice for example), we don’t want to give at all. “Give and it will be given unto you,” the Bible says (Luke 6:38). We can’t out give God. Don’t let your own lack prevent you from offering hospitality to others.
I’m grateful to serve in a mission that values hospitality. Our core values state it this way, “we affirm the ministry of hospitality as an expression of God’s character and the value of people. We believe it is important to open our hearts, homes, and campuses to serve and honor one another, our guests, and the poor and needy, not as acts of social protocol, but as expressions of generosity.” (Value 17)
You may serve with another mission, or be someone who wants to reach out to immigrants or people of other cultures. This biblical value and practice will help you relate well to people of other cultures and build bridges into their hearts.
In spite of the pandemic, find one way you can be hospitable to a stranger this week. Offer a pre-packaged packet of biscuits they can open themselves. Invite them for a meal. Open your front porch if your dining room table is off-limits because of the virus. Welcome guests and strangers. I’d love to hear what you did, or questions you have in the comments below or in the Missionary Life Facebook group.
The Lord’s Prayer is a wonderful model. We use it to teach new disciples how to pray. There are other prayers our Lord prayed that can be instructive to us as missionaries as well. In this article, we will spend time looking at the prayer …