31 August 2006

excuse #7

here's another excuse in the list about going to the mission field from keith green's "why you should go to the mission field."

"I'd go to the mission field, but...."

"But I need to get married first, and then maybe my mate will want to serve God full-time on the field, rather than me going alone."

and here's keith green's response:

"Nothing could be a more foolish reason for putting off obeying God now. God does not want you to look for a husband or wife, He wants you to be married to Him, and trust Him for any mate He may bring into your life. I know of many single Christians serving Jesus overseas who are trusting Him for everything. And some of the most beautiful stories of God's grace I've ever heard are told by couples who went to the mission field single, and then God led them to marry another whose heart was also fully devoted to serving Him there. Remember, 'Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.' (Matt. 6:8) Trust Him!"

reminds me of one of keith's songs: "He'll take care of the rest... You know He'll do it, yeah He'll take care of the rest.... He'll see you through it...."

4 comments:

Jason Guidry said...

Lucky for me I don't have to think about marriage for a few more years ;p

Thanks for letting "Closer" meet at your house last night!

-Jason

Bryonm said...

This is a great list. I love the series. Do you have the list in a word doc? Can you email it to me?

danohlerking said...

jason - thanks for all the floor markings - everything from oobergoober to entire chapters from the bible. and interesting blend of "wow!" and "huh?"

bryon - man, i'm telling you, this writing by keith has rocked my world more than once. all i have at this point is the link to the LDM site where the whole thing is written up. click here for that - i'm sure there's a way to copy/paste what you need - or order copies of the actual printout they make. it is phenomenal...

Ryan said...

Geez! What a topic. It is funny. I have been listening to my old Keith Green stuff over the last few weeks and then you come along with these blog postings. I guess I am going to have to read his book again. I am a HUGE Keith Green fan. I was introduced to his stuff by my parents from the time I was born. I think I was the only kid in my christian private high school who knew who Keith Green was - let alone the fact that I knew the lyrics to every one of his songs. The thing I loved about him was: 1) He was a seeker. He spent the first part of his life looking for the truth and then when he found Him, he committed everything he had to pursuing The Truth. 2) He spoke the truth to the church - and didn't bother being politically correct in doing so. This is evident in so many of his songs. How about Asleep In The Light starting the song off with "Don't you see, don't you see, all the people sinking down? Don't you care, don't you care, are you gonna let them drown? How can you be so numb, not to care if they come. You close your eyes and pretend the jobs done." Good grief. Talk about slapping me right in my face. That makes me think about my priorities. Of course, just when I think I am off the hook from Asleep In The Light because I am doing my part by being a reliable face in the church every time the doors are opened, he lets me know that isn't enough with To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice. He says, "To obey is better than sacrifice, I don't want your Sundays and Wednesday nights. Cause if you can't come to me every day, don't bother coming at all." Why don't hear more messages like that today in Christian music. 3) He lived his life as the hands and feet of Jesus. This started from his early Christian walk. He and his wife started taking in homeless people and others in need into their home - at one point having over 100. In addition, at the height of his success, he stopped charging for any of his albums, concerts, materials, etc... He just wanted people to be blessed and give whatever God put on their hearts. I could go on and on and on about all the reasons Keith Green inspired me in the past and still does today. I can sum it up with this. I see so many Christian speakers/artists today that when you look at them, you see "them" - and their talent...and it is pretty good...but that is about it...and if the lighting is right, or the keyboards are playing the right tune, you might sense something happening. The best thing I can say about Keith Green, is that when I watch or listen to him, it is like my focus bounces right off of him and onto Jesus. He is a reflector. That is the only way I can describe it. As a side note, someone emailed me some great video of Keith that you might want to check out. It even goes into some detail on when the burden for missions started in his life. Go to www.youtube.com and put Keith Green in the search field. There is a bio session marked 1 of 7 all the way up to 7 of 7. It is awesome. There are some other great videos you can check out. Keep up the great blogging.