Lifestyle Missionaries

Take a look at the Great Commission:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit - Matthew 28:19 (ESV)

Many times when Christians read this passage, they see "all nations" and think "Oh, that means foreign nations!" Yes, it does include foreign nations, but you don't have to live somewhere exotic to be a missionary. In fact the word "Christian" should be synonymous with "missionary".
Have you ever met someone who has gone on a missions trip, say to Mexico, and they say things like "Oh, the poverty there is just atrocious, the people there have never heard the gospel plan, it's just horrible! I'm definitely thinking about going into full time missions."
I've heard things like that before when our college students or youth come back from a mission trip. But I wonder if the students have ever gone to the bad part of town and done missionary work there, where the poverty is atrocious, and the people have never heard the true gospel plan? Have they ever gone to where the homeless people spend the night and given them blankets and socks and jackets and said "You're important to God"? Do Churches regularly go into the slums to share the gospel with the smelly old crazy lady, or the drug addict, or the vet who is scarred so deep it's impossible for him to sleep without nightmares? Do youth groups go on summer mission trips to the southeast part of town, where the kids run around in gangs and carry guns?
I've never heard of that. I think one of the reasons that isn't done widely is that Christians have a tendency to think that we're "clean" and we don't like to see dirty things. We'd much rather go on a mission trip to Chicago, where we can see the Sears Tower, and watch the White Sox play.
Matthew 9:10-12 says:

Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew's house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus' followers. "What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and riffraff?" Jesus, overhearing, shot back, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: 'I'm after mercy, not religion.' I'm here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders. (The Message)"

If we truly want to be like Jesus we need to get out of the suburbs and into the slums. If we don't we're doomed to be Christ's lazy servants.

Christ's Righteousness As My Own

I'm a pretty nasty person in my eyes, and in most other peoples eyes. I continue to sin, and have pretty much given up on being perfect. I feel like Paul when he says "I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate!"

I am always doing something wrong, something that I do out of impulse, like speaking wrongly to my Mom, acting disrespectfully with my Dad, saying something I know I shouldn't, being a rear to my sister, etc., etc. It's emotionally draining! It's hard to talk to God when you've done soooo many things that you know He's displeased with. Think about that.

Here's a glimpse into the brilliant wandering mind of Joshua Privette:

Let's say your Dad gives you a list of rules to follow and says "Son, if you can keep all these rules and live accordingly, I will lavish good things upon you and you will be so happy." and you say "Okay Dad! I'll do it!" and so for the next two days you follow all of the rules.

BUT... one of the rules is: Do not covet. Uh-oh. As you're hanging out with your friend, you start talking about a girl. She's a girl you both know, and She's shown some interest in you. You adore her. And you plan to ask her out tomorrow. You haven't told your friend (let's call him "Jared" for fun) that you're going to. So you're talking to Jared and He says "Hot Dog! I asked this girl (let's call her Rachel) out today and She said yes. My Goodness, She is fine!" You think "What a dirty rotten friend Jared is! I can't believe he asked Rachel out! Doesn't he know I like her?! I've liked her since I was like, 10!! Boy, if I can't have her, I don't want him to either." So you start Plotting ways (in the left lobe of your brain) to break them up. An alarm goes off in your Dad's office that is conveniently labeled "Joshua is breaking our agreement" And you know it. So you say "$#!% I can't believe I broke the agreement!" And then you think "GAH! I just broke it again! (one of the rules was no cuss words) Do you really want to rush in and have a "chat" with your Dad just then? I wouldn't. I would be kind of scared. But did you know that your Dad (let's call him God) would say "Joshua, I'm gonna whip your rear, and don't ever do that again, but I know you're human and have human tendencies, so let's get over it and move on. I still love you and will still lavish great things upon you, just because you're my son."

See!? When God looks at you after you sin, he doesn't see your sin! He sees Jesus' righteousness! Instead of being tremulous after we sin we should go RUNNING back to him as fast as we can praying for forgiveness. It only prolongs our own misery to wait and be afraid of what God will say. I just found that out. I couldn't wait to tell.

Haul Booty Back to God