by Sam | Dec 1, 2014 | Reflection
How do we know who we really are without validation? It’s normal for humans to want, to seek, and to need validation. For men we want our identity, our strength, our worth, and our masculinity validated. To know we have something to offer. That we are valuable. That we are indeed men. Yet so often what happens is that we take these questions and longings of our heart and soul to the opposite sex. Like Adam, we look to Eve to offer us validation. So we go to her with our questions in one hand and our hearts in the other. We bring our woundedness to her hoping she can be our source of healing. She might bring relief, but what we desperately long for is healing. A band-aid does not help a deep wound. When we give someone the power to validate us, we also give them the power to invalidate us as well. Tragically what ends up happening is that she is not enough, because she was never meant to be our source. So both men and women are hurt in the process… We need a new source. A bigger source. An unchanging source for our validation. Otherwise we end up going to women in weakness hoping she can validate us rather than going to her in strength with our validation already secure. Ultimately God alone is big enough and secure enough to validate us. A son looks to his father to know who he is and to answer his questions about himself and his own heart. We have a loving God that desires to father us in...
by Sam | Nov 27, 2014 | Reflection
Happy Thanksgiving! We are so extremely blessed. We are thankful for a faithful God who always keeps His promises. A God who invites us into intimacy and partnership for His glory. We are thankful for this region! We are so thankful for those who have gone before us & for those who have contended to see revival with tears & sacrifice. Those who sought God in the secret place on behalf of generations not yet born. We stand on your shoulders. We are thankful for the harvest that is to come! For neighborhoods & cities mirroring heaven on earth. Last but not least, we are thankful for all the love & encouragement from our families, friends, Kingdom partners, & supporters! Thanks for believing with us. The best is yet to come! Revival or...
by Sam | Nov 12, 2014 | Reflection
I remember the day quite clearly… It was your usual summer day in August, and I needed a caffeine pick-me-up. So I did what I normally do, and drove to my local Starbucks. Yet when I walked in I was utterly in disbelief that they had already started to sell their beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte. Now don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of PSL, but when it actually is autumn and a little cold outside, not when I am wearing shorts and flip flops. Even more recently on the first day of November, I saw that Starbucks had immediately started to push the Holidays. Red cups, holiday drinks, and trinkets galore. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but I feel like I need to start thinking about Christmas right now or I’m missing out. That somehow I need to get a head start and reach for things out of season. And that’s what I believe is the “Starbucks Syndrome”… We want what we want now or else. It’s my right to have what I want now. Quicker the better. Rest assure, I have nothing against Starbucks or any other businesses, but I feel like it hurts us when we apply the same mentality to faith. We either try to strive and reach for something out of season or we feel bitter when something doesn’t happen because we feel entitled. Whether it’s a new job, a promotion, a relationship, or even a promise from God, we feel as though we are owed it by God, and we deserve it right now. I believe wholeheartedly that God can act...
by Sam | Oct 28, 2014 | Frontier
*** Due to the sensitivity & nature of the work, this missionary’s name, location, and other information have been left anonymous. *** Share with us who you are and what you do. I am an Asian-American New Yorker who had been living a totally normal life until I got called into missions 3 years ago. I had just started working as a Physician Assistant when God put on my heart to do a Discipleship Training School in Tanzania with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Since then, He’s continued to bring me strategically all around the world to 6 countries and 3 continents. I’m serving with YWAM full-time in Asia, discipling local believers, working with the underground house church, and doing ministry in my city. God is currently leading me in pioneering a healthcare training school here that will equip missionaries with basic healthcare and community development principles to be released into the nations. How did you get that point, and what is it like? To be honest, when I went schlepping off to Africa for my DTS almost 3 years ago, I had no clue what I was in for – maybe I would play with some kids, hold a couple of medical clinics, do a couple of dramas that talk about Jesus, you know. I wasn’t prepared for full-on spiritual warfare, demons and witch doctors, a near breakout of civil war, being immobilized by typhoid fever and malaria – as well as encountering the daily warfare of cross-cultural adjustment (“What do you mean you don’t know how to chop your own firewood, build a fire and cook dinner for 20?!”). I...
by Sam | Sep 15, 2014 | Frontier, Inspiration
Several months back Marty and his family visited my church, The Sycomore, to preach and minister. Marty gave a powerful word on the Father heart of God. He shared stories of seeing God’s heart in action on the missions field. Afterwards I had the chance to get to know Marty more and was deeply impacted by his life and prayer for me. Since then we have stayed in touch, and it is a tremendous honor to share the Meyer family’s story through Pursuit: Frontier. Share with us who you are and what you do. Kelly and I have been missionaries in Youth With A Mission (YWAM) for nearly 20 years. Ten years ago the Lord lead us to Cascade, Idaho to pioneer a new YWAM base strategically focused on mobilizing and sending missionaries to north India. We are now the leaders of a thriving missionary training center that is equipping pioneers to complete the Great Commission. How did God call you into missions? I (Marty) had been serving as an assistant pastor for eight years and Kelly, a schoolteacher for three. We had the perfect life carved out for ourselves in Pocatello, Idaho. We figured we would spend the rest of our lives there. In a quiet moment with the Lord I ask if He wanted to speak to me personally. The voice I heard said: “Quit your jobs, sell your house and go to a place I will show you.” When I told Kelly about it, she said, “Well, if it’s truly the Lord we will have to obey.” The next day I ask the Lord to confirm that...
