Seriously . . .

OK, first of all, you might not take the rest of this post seriously after this picture. Seriously, this is what happens when you are Daddy-ing it alone (Mommy's out of town) and you step away for 5 minutes after letting the kids enjoy a leftover BD cupcake from yesterday! This picture hardly does the mess justice! I'm sure some of you guys out there would never have been so candid - - usually these are moments that a Dad DOESN'T want captured on film! But hey, this is life (occasionally) in our household! Ha Ha! Obviously, for Kelly's sake, I would agree that she probably would have never given them the cupcakes to begin with, or at least done it with supervision!

OK - now to the serious side of the post. This week my heart is turned in a unique way to the global impact the church of Jesus can make. Not every believer will make a trip overseas, nor will every believer have the thrilling experience of cross-cultural Christian friendships. But through the power of praying and the gift of generously giving, we all can play a role in seeing ALL the nations of the world presented with the Gospel of Christ.

Our local congregation has an amazing history of giving so that people in this part of the world, as well in nations all over the world can hear about Jesus. I'm proud to not only be associated with them, but Kelly and I were recipients of such generosity for over a decade!

God is eager to grant believers access to the nations - access to planting seeds of the Kingdom, access to establishing churches, access to demonstrating His compassionate care to hurting people, and access to making friends in all the nations...friends who are bonded together through a single commonality: JESUS.

God is SO FULL OF LOVE for every person on this earth. His heart cheers for the seeker and runs after those who have turned from God - or more likely, have been turned away from God by the actions of "well-meaning Christians." The Bible does remind us that He sent Jesus for ALL of us and that He doesn't want ANYONE to miss Christ.

The vast majority of people reading this are, by the world's standards, extremely wealthy. Yes, you. Yes, me. If I also belong to Christ, what enormous responsibility I have to give of my resources generously so that message of Christ can go forth! Not that American or Western wealth should fund worldwide evangelism exclusively (for many missionaries, including myself, rightfully teach poorer Christians to give just as cheerfully to see the gospel message advanced), but we wealthy Christians do have a significant opportunity to use our wealth for something close to the heart of God.

If you are a part of our RHCC family, then this week I pray you are feeling the call to give generously. If you are not a part of our local church family, I pray that these thoughts still stir you to examine your giving to global missions. It is not a competition as if to say "well, I give my money locally where there are just as many lost people." To say so would split the commissioned task of Christ into a unbiblical battle between believers over WHERE to spend our money. Sounds like local politics! Our task as disciples is to spend our money over all the earth so that ALL the nations hear the Great News of Christ. God has given this opportunity as a gift if we ask for it and are willing to accept the challenge: Give Generously!

-Randy