It is easy to get busy with life. Where do you buy cooking gas? In some countries, it can be quite a process. First, you need a special government-issued card, which you wait in line for hours to get. Then you have to find the …
Paul Akin, of the Gospel Coalition, writes this. “The most common reason missionaries go home isn’t due to lack of money, illness, terrorism, homesickness, or even a lack of fruit or response to the gospel. Regretfully, the number one reason is a conflict with other …
I was reading through an old journal as I worked on a book I hope to publish one day. I came across this poem. It was written when we were trying to purchase land in India for a widow’s home. Things had been tough. The brokers we were dealing with were greedy, corrupt, and money-hungry.
As I prayed one morning, I wrote this lament. I hope it will encourage you, especially if you are facing a crisis or difficulty today.
Evil men, dishonest men… tell their lies Demons influence people Power, greed, control Filthy streets, unclean hearts My light feels dim I feel unable to shine, to bring change I am threatened, will I become like them? Will I too be dirty?
Corrupt, vying for power? Tempted to lie, manipulate, pressurize? Father, we are here for Your purpose Protect us from evil, guard our hearts and minds
I wake up early Disturbed in my spirit Unable to rest I seek you, my Lord You are my shepherd My Father My Friend To whom else would I turn?
Guard me, Lord, not only from them But from myself Lest I lose Your Spirit within me Lest I lose the joy You have purchased for me Lest I lose my health, my peace within
Teach me to rest Teach me to trust Teach me to believe You are Mighty and Great No one can withstand Your power or purpose Your strength flows into me My source, My hope
Courage…to face today Strength…to fight for freedom Peace…to rest in Your embrace Hope…that what I cannot do, You are doing
If God is for me, who can be against me? Bring justice to our cause Force the hand of dishonest men Show the pathway thru the waters Part the sea
You are the same God who dealt with Pharoah You are the same God who humbled kings of old Can you not deal with land brokers and priests?
I rest in Your promises I put my faith in Your Word You will do Your Will and nothing can stop You You are God and there is no other
The poor will find rest Widows will dwell in safety Shelter will be theirs Children will laugh and play Community and family Food and crops Health and healing Prayer and honoring My King lifted high His name known and worshiped
I wait in expectation For God to show Himself here Patient, but anxious Resting, but pressing in Loving, serving Anointed and free
Poems, and particularly what we call laments, are one of the best ways I have found to create space for our feelings of pain, discouragement, or sadness. The Bible is full of them. David often cried out to God in anger, and pain, and even expressed his hatred of his enemies. It is best not to keep these emotions bottled up inside. Pour them out to the Lord. He hears, sees, and understands. Our grief and frustration don’t bother Him. His shoulders are broad enough to carry your sorrow.
Write Your Own Lament
Even if you don’t consider yourself a poet or songwriter, why not give it a shot? Write your own lament about whatever you are going through right now. If you want to send it to me, I’d be happy to read it. Or you can post it on the Missionary Life Facebook Page. Your openness and vulnerability can encourage others too.
Sometimes our greatest transformation comes out of the moments of our deepest grief. Recently, YWAM around the world was rocked by the tragic news that eight key leaders were killed in a horrible bus accident. Our hearts go out to the families and staff who …
Is the Sabbath something we need to observe today? Didn’t Jesus ignore the Sabbath and do ministry on that day? Isn’t every day holy now? These questions about the Sabbath run through our thoughts. Why take Sabbath anyhow? Maybe when you think of Sabbath you …
Some flavors go together well. Others just don’t. Like lemongrass and coconut milk in Thai food. They complement each other and are delicious. Or palm butter and rice. Yum! But when you put minced chicken with ice cream it just doesn’t work, right? My husband used to do that as a kid! Yuck! Sometimes the flavors in our mission or disciple-making teams can be a delightful combination. Other times our team can “taste” pretty terrible.
I’ve written several blogs about team dynamics. They have addressed the differences of personality, culture, and spiritual gifts in missionary teams. Click here to see the introduction to this series.
Gifts Should Be Gifts
Spiritual gifts are supposed to be just that – gifts. When we value some giftings above others or become overly proud of any particular gift, it spoils the taste. The body of Christ, represented in our missionary team, becomes dysfunctional. When every team member, and the gifts resident within them, feel valuable and important, the team will thrive.
Valuing Each Person’s Gift
My husband has the gift of hospitality. Unusual for a guy you might be thinking. Maybe, but I don’t see anywhere in the Bible that it says women are the ones with the hospitality gifts and men are the ones with leadership gifts. Do you? You can read more about our journey related to this, if you are interested.
His gift is so valuable to me! I often forget to do the needful, especially in Asian culture, and serve tea or welcome people well. He is so great at this! I am so thankful for him.
The leadership team I am currently on has someone who is very pastoral. Again, his spiritual gift is such a blessing! He has a gentle, loving way of interacting with people. We are different, but it’s a good flavor in our team mix.
“Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.” 1 Cor. 12:1
Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts
As each person on your team discovers their spiritual gifts, the team will be able to function well. Each member will flow in their role as a part of the Body of Christ. They can be who they were created by God to be. There will be no pressure to be someone else or to operate in someone else’s gifting.
There are many different free spiritual gifts tests you can take online. This site has a free downloadable version too. A popular framework related to the five-fold ministry gifts is called APEST (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, Teacher).
The primary Bible passages where the spiritual gifts are listed are: 1) Romans 12:6-8 2) 1 Cor. 12:8-10, 3) Ephesians 4 4) 1 Peter 4.
Take time to study these individually and together.
As you look at the lists, you will see many areas that overlap. Some gifts combine with others.
Encourage each team member to assess themselves to find out what their gifts are. Then share these with one another. Each person can also give input to the other team members. They can mention how they have seen the other team members functioning in various spiritual gifts. This is greatly encouraging to hear. It also serves as a confirmation to hear others say they also see those gifts in you.
If some team members are still young, encourage them to experiment with all of the spiritual gifts. Avoid labeling. You don’t know what your gifts are until you try something new. You may be surprised what God releases within you as you step out in faith!
Can Introverts Have The Gift Of Evangelist?
I had a friend in college who was extremely introverted. She never talked to anyone and kept to herself. She had a small circle of friends. Butwhen we went out together to do street evangelism she was amazing! She so clearly had the spiritual gift of an evangelist! Don’t just think about personality types here. These are spiritual gifts, meaning they are given to you and empowered by God’s Spirit! They are not limited to your natural gifts.
The area where team conflict can arise is when we are very passionate about the particular ministries we are called to. We naturally place a higher value on the areas of ministry we are gifted in.
Those with the gift of teaching may have a hard time understanding why we don’t require everyone to do Inductive Bible Study. “Why aren’t we doing a better job building Biblical foundations in the disciples we are making?” they may wonder.
Someone with an apostolic gift wants to pioneer in new places and move in the supernatural more. They get bored with things after a few years and want to move on.
The pastor will want to develop and care for people as the top priority.
This is why we are a body. As it says in 1 Corinthians, we must honor and value each member of the body.
How are you doing in your team in making space for one another’s spiritual gifts?
Is one gift or ministry emphasis dominating things?
Is it given more value than another? In the way you prioritize your team’s activities?
Putting It Into Action
The better we understand our spiritual gifts and those of the other team members, the more we can become a healthy functioning team.
Maybe it’s been a while since you thought about your spiritual gifts. Take some time to re-read these Bible passages and pray about them. Ask God to show you what gifts He has placed within you. Commit yourself to using and growing them. Encourage other team members to do the same.
What step will you take this week to discover more about the spiritual gifts in your own life or within your team? Let me know in the comments or on the Missionary Life Facebook page.
Sabbath is a day for rest and intake. I try to do things that will refresh and renew my soul. One of these for me is listening to audiobooks. Recently, I’ve been listening to a book called More of God by R.T.Kendall. Something struck me …
A beautiful story is told in the movie Fly Away Home. It is about a young girl who raises a flock of geese. She is there when the goslings hatch. Thinking she is their mother, the growing birds follow her around everywhere she goes. This …
I was out in my garden working. Suddenly there was a sharp pain on my chin. I swiped it off – it was a bee. Then there was another buzzing. I flapped my arms wildly but got another sting on my eyebrow. A few minutes later there was more buzzing and another sting on my arm. That was it! I ran inside – to escape the attack. I normally don’t react to bee stings, but this time was different. I felt sick and dizzy. My face painfully puffed up. This experience got me thinking about other times I have been under “spiritual attack”.
Psalm 118 talks about the enemy swarming around us like bees, “but in the name of the Lord I cut them off.” This is a great Psalm that teaches us about the reality of spiritual attack.
In my distress, I called to the LORD, and He answered and set me free. The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The LORD is on my side; He is my helper. Therefore I will look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They swarmed around me like bees, but they were extinguished like burning thorns; In the name of the LORD, I cut them off. I was pushed so hard I was falling, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.
Ps 118: 5-14
How can we tell when pain is from spiritual warfare or natural occurrences? If it is warfare, what can we do about it?
When negative things happen, the first question I ask is, “Lord, where is this coming from?”
We Need to Discern Spiritual Attack
1 Cor 12, says the Holy Spirit can give us a gift to discern spirits. We should ask the Lord for discernment, rather than trusting common sense, or what we see with our eyes.
We must find out. Is something allowed by God to train and strengthen us? Or, is this something sent from the enemy to discourage and destroy? Or, is this just part of living on a fallen planet?
Most things in life are not controlled by spirits. We don’t want to give the devil credit for everything!
God created the natural order. Folk Islam and animism create fear. They teach that everything is caused by spirits, jinj, or the supernatural. The Bible teaches that is not true. The world is not controlled by demons. We are part of a rational universe. There are laws that govern it, and consequences to choices.
God made the world, and not everything that happens is because of a demon or angel. Much of what happens is caused by the natural order or the effect of a human decision. This means that science works because of the laws of nature that God created. We also know there is a spiritual dimension because God created the heavens and the earth – (Gen 1:1).
Spiritual Attack Is Real, But Demons Are Far Weaker Than the God We Serve
We do have a personal enemy who opposes God. We do not want to be unaware of his schemes or be undone by them. Nor do we want to elevate the devil to view him as an equal to God. They are not even close in their power!
The way the enemy works, however, has similar qualities to bees. It’s good to be aware of this.
Demons sense fear. In the Bible, we are frequently exhorted to be strong and mighty. We are told not to be afraid. This is because fear, pride, and unbelief are all part of the enemy’s strike power.
Fear makes us withdraw. That is what the enemy hopes will happen. Satan wants to hold his territory. He does not want us to bring light into darkness. He wants us to stay away. If he can make us afraid, then it will make us leave, stay silent, or disobey God.
With bees, and spiritual warfare, you should work in pairs – one has the smoker, one handles the hive. Spiritually, we need the Helper – we need God to be at our side. He is the one who strengthens us to overcome any opposition.
If you are being effective for the Kingdom, demons will try to get rid of you. They want to make you go away or leave your place of calling. Some scriptural examples are; a demonic storm in Mk. 4, and Jezebel in 1 Kings 18.
Demons seem to be attached to places. In the Bible, they are often named after cities or nations. For example, the “Prince of Persia,” or in Mark five, the demons did not want to be sent out of their location. When we proclaim the gospel, we are a threat to the demons in that location. They want to get rid of you as quickly as they can.
There can be many types of opposition: discouragement, sickness, thoughts of giving up, financial or material loss, or even attacks from others. When there are setbacks, do not take it as guidance that God wants you to give up. Jesus promised us that in this world we would have difficulty. He said that servants are not above their master (Jn 15) and if people hated him, they would hate us as well. Jesus faced many instances of physical and demonic opposition. He did not give up, but finished the task the Father had given him.
We must “Commit ourselves to God” and persevere. Then we will overcome. Our God is far, far greater than any demonic power!
The Role of Intercession
Smoke deals with bees, as the intercession of saints deals with demonic opposition. If the bees are swarming, get the smoker and puff lots of smoke. It confuses, distracts, and disorientates them.
In the Bible, smoke, incense, or the lighting of the lamps is often symbolic of prayer. Jesus dealt with opposition, both physical and spiritual, through prayer. He rebuked demons. He commanded them to be silent. He prayed for those who crucified Him and told us to pray from our enemies – to bless and not curse.
To discern if the opposition is a spiritual attack, check your heart. Is there anything you are doing that you feel guilty about, or that is not good for you? Are your choices causing the problems?
For example, if I lack self-control and stay awake too late at night watching a movie, I feel tired the next day. If I feel flat, or find it hard to concentrate and then make bad decisions, it is my fault – not spiritual warfare. If this is the cause, be honest with God. Repent and make life choices to love him and please him. That is the place of greatest safety – in the refuge of God.
To be under God’s shadow you need to stay close to him. Resisting sin and walking in holiness helps push away the enemy.
Our Protective Clothing
When you work with bees, you should wear protective clothing. In times of spiritual attack; holiness, and walking in obedience to God protect. Loving God and others by choosing to be in unity is like the bee suit we put on to keep the sting of the enemy at bay.
Lastly, bee stings are painful but don’t usually kill you. The same with the enemy. He may harass, or incite other people to hurt you. But in the end, his sting will be destroyed. He does not hold the key to eternity. His attack, painful as it may be, is short-lived. One day he will be vanquished totally, and we will say with the rest of those who love Jesus:
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” (1 Cor 15:54-55,57)
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen?
Are you facing bee stings? Spiritual attack and harassment from the enemy? Reach out for prayer to a group of trusted friends. Ask them to help you discern what is happening and to intercede with you for victory. Share your prayer need on the Missionary Life Facebook group. We’d love to pray with you.
*This blog was written by guest author R.Mand edited by C. Anderson.
It is so easy to walk right past people, to not even notice them. I almost did that yesterday. He was standing out in front of his food stall. Looking for customers. About fifty years old, balding, and with a roundish figure to match his …