“No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer.”
2 Timothy 2:4
“I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
2 Timothy 4:1-5
I’ve been trying to write my first world race blog for about a whole day now, and I was getting really frustrated trying to submit the swirl of thoughts in my mind to God. After a lot of writing, and a lot of tug-of-war with Holy Spirit, I have landed on these scriptures in 2 Timothy, and a dream that I had back in November, before I had ever heard of the world race. This is the most intense and emotional dream I’ve ever had. I woke up bawling. God is so good, and so faithful. Here is the journal I wrote right after having that dream.
“I had a dream where there was such an urgency to accept Jesus. I was crying, and begging him to forgive me. It felt like he was coming very very soon. I was in all different places running.
(I underlined running). It felt so urgent. Nothing mattered instead of Jesus. All that mattered was repenting and accepting him. At one point, I had an impression of the peace and the paradise awaiting those who are going to heaven.
(I underlined running). It felt so urgent. Nothing mattered instead of Jesus. All that mattered was repenting and accepting him. At one point, I had an impression of the peace and the paradise awaiting those who are going to heaven.
Matthew 22:37-“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
Matthew 22:46-“No one was able to answer him at all, and from that day no one dared to question him anymore.”
Also, in the dream, I looked at these barren, scary looking trees, and thought, “I don’t have to go there, it doesn’t have to be too scary.” My first thought was that the Lord was telling me not to go too far into the dark (or trying to understand it), but to leave certain things alone. Thank you Lord for speaking to me. The Lord is so, so faithful.”
In the church, people always say Jesus is the only thing that matters, and deep down we all know it’s true. I don’t know about you, but for me, going about daily life, it’s really easy to get caught up in the cares of the world, and forget the intensity of this truth. In this dream, not only did I know this truth, but I felt it, in all it’s intensity, with all of my being. All I could do was run around crying, saying the name “Jesus.”
You would think after a dream like this, I wouldn’t ever fall to the cares of the world again. Unfortunately, that has proven not to be the case. I still worry about what people think, and I still catch myself seeking after my own desires before seeking God. But the good news is, Jesus still loves me, and I’m thankful that he still speaks to me and uses me for his good plans anyways.
I know I’m going to make mistakes along the way, and I can only hope that over time I make less and less of them. But the only thing that really matters is that the name of Jesus covers them all. His grace and his love are impossible to comprehend.
I pray that all of the missionaries would run forward, to all different places, speaking the name of Jesus without fear. I pray that we would be able to discern your truth, go where you tell us to go, and stay out of what you tell us to stay out of. I pray we would be so filled up with your love and truth, and that we would keep this understanding of just how much this matters. Thank you Jesus. Amen.
Super share that stirs me to go preach! Thanks, Ashley for listening and obeying and stepping into missions! Go-go-go! I know you will go wherever the Spirit leads and do whatever He asks!