Anchored in Purpose

Matthew 28:18-20 is a call to all of us. It's beyond just a scripture verse or a saying on wall art. The Great Commission is a call to direct obedience as a follower of Christ.

Over the last 7 days we set sail aboard the MSC Seascape out of Galveston Texas. On this trip we took along 3 of our more advanced youth kids from church that we call the 4:12 group (taken from 1 Timothy 4:12). It was their opportunity to lead worship and bible study on at least 3 days of the cruise. When I say that God blessed and multiplied their faithfulness, that feels like an understatement to the way that He showed up!

We watched as all three teenagers boldly stepped through their anxieties, their fears, and their doubts, and they stepped into the calling of Christ to share the gospel. They not only led three Bible studies that were attended by mostly adults, they also had gospel conversations with total strangers in meaningful ways. This goes beyond handing a tract to someone and saying "Jesus loves you". They asked questions, got to know people, met them where they were and showered them with the love of Jesus.

While there are many stories we will share over the coming weeks, for today I'll leave you all with one story from our time in Honduras. We rented a floating cabana, and as we swam out to our floating Caribbean oasis we felt God compelling us to pray for our waiter/cabana attendant. We began talking to him about his story, we learned he's from the US originally and moved to Honduras a year ago. As we spent more time getting to know him, we asked him if we could pray for him and if he had any specific requests for prayer. His only request was to know God was with him. As we prayed for him right there in the middle of our floating cabana, we knew God was meeting him there. As we wrapped up our day he shared with us his gratitude for the prayer and meaningful conversation. We exchanged contact information to stay in touch with him, and he shared with us that he knew God was with him because He sent people like us to show him. Seeds of the Gospel were planted and we ask for prayer from each of you that God will continue to provide the growth and increase in his life. We plan to reconnect with him when we are in Honduras again later this year. Below is the photo of us with our new friend in Honduras.

"Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching these new disciples to obey all the commandments I have given you." ~ Matthew 28:19-20