Submission to God
The lesson writer for this devotion described submit as one of the “dirtiest words in the English language.” He says “It has been known to offend, incite and anger.” Later, he tells of a question on an application for a short term mission team where people providing references for the applicant were asked about submissiveness. The response on one form was, “Your term submissive is misleading and inappropriate for a functional, capable individual.” What do you think of when you hear the word submit?
Read James 4:7-10, Hebrews 13:7, Romans 13:1-5 and Ephesians 5:21. What do these say about submission? Write down a list of ways in which we can DEMONSTRATE the various aspects of submission while we are preparing for the trip, while we are in the Dominican Republic and after we return.
Prayer
Pray that we can be more like Jesus, who demonstrated submission. Pray that in difficult situations we would say “not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). And pray that we understand and accept our roles on the team as we support the work of the missionaries and pastors whom we will visit.
Pray for Juan de Leon and the Cienfuegos church. This is one of the strong local churches in Santiago and Juan and his sons have been instrumental in establishing other churches in the area.
Introduction
Can you feel the anticipation? The March group is leaving in just 16 weeks. There are only three more meetings between now and our departure date. Are we ready? Not packed-ready, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually ready? Just as it takes time and effort to prepare logistically, we need to invest in ourselves individually and as a team to be ready for our time in the mission field.
This is the first of 15 weekly studies based loosely on a series in a booklet I found at the National Missionary Convention. I will email each study and post it the DR Team Blog. The purpose of these studies is to provide spiritual focus and to heighten our sense of anticipation for the work ahead.
#1 Solid Foundation
Most of us in the March group are veterans of short term trips. We know what to expect because we have been before. We have that foundation to build on. If you have gone several times, you might see that you have looked at each trip differently and that is probably a good thing.
Read Matthew 7:24-27. What is the rock? What are we to do?
With respect to our mission, God has called us to go, to serve and to grow. As he already has, he will continue to open doors, expose us to opportunities. We will not be able to plan specifically for many of these. We need to have a solid foundation so that when the time comes we do the right thing in whatever circumstance we find ourselves.
Prayer
Pray about God’s plans for you on this trip and ask him to help you put into practice the things he is teaching you.
This week, pray for David and Virginia. Their long service in the Dominican Republic has built a foundation for churches there and provided us a place to serve.
