Two By 2

FOR THOSE GOING ON SHORT TERM MISSION

Praise God that you are heading off on a short term mission.  What are the 10 most important things I would like to say?

God is with you
‘God will never leave you nor forsake you’.  It doesn’t matter where you are or who you are with, God is there with you.  He is always there watching over you.  He sends his angels to keep guard over you.

God wants to bless you
From the days of Abraham, God’s desire has to be to bless his people so that they can be a blessing to others.  God wants to bless you.  He is a loving Father, not a tyrannical slave master.  So expect to be blessed.  Revel in the joy of his blessing as you go on this short term mission.

God desires you to draw nearer to Him
God’s desire is for you to become more and more intimate with Him, more and more dependent on Him, more and more in love with Him.  He will arrange ways for this to happen.  Yearn to love him more, to lay hold of him, to lean on him.  

Jesus has overcome Satan
The one in you is stronger than the one who is in the world.  God protects his people.  His angels are round about.  ‘Resist the devil and he will flee.’  Stand against wickedness – you have all the power you need within you – that is Jesus.

God loves the lost
‘God wants none to perish but for all to come to a saving knowledge of him.’  He will provide opportunities to bring his kingdom and glory to those who are perishing.  You will be a sweet fragrance to them.  You do not need to strive or worry.  Just depend on him day by day and be ‘ready to speak of the hope that you have in Jesus’.

God is not as interested in what you do as in who you are
You may feel in a short term mission experience that you don’t achieve much for God.  He isn’t really bothered about that.  All sorts of outside influences can affect what happens.  What you do isn’t the important thing….learning to trust God and lean on him is more important.  

God will equip you
God has made the way clear for your short term mission experience to take place.  God equips those he calls.  He has made you ‘he knit you together in the womb’ ‘you are wonderously made’.  God has given you unique gifts ready to be used for the extension of his kingdom.  ‘He has prepared good works in advance for you to walk in’.  Appreciate your gifts and the gifts of others.  Expect others to have different gifts.  Don’t ever think your gifts aren’t as good as theirs (beware of the lies of the enemy).

Rely on the Holy Spirit
What a wonderful blessing that we have the spirit of God always within us.  We have all that we need to live a victorious Christian life.  Rely on the Holy Spirit.  He is our counsellor, let him counsel.  He is our guide, let him guide.  He is our teacher, let him teach.  Listen to him.  

God forgives our sins
He is in the business of forgiveness and you are sure to regret some of the things that you do or say while you are overseas.  The pressures are different and all your normal support systems have been removed.  Just go to God and ask for his forgiveness and he will give it.  You may need to apologise to someone on your team too.  This is a healing thing.  Give and receive forgiveness freely.

This is just the beginning
God leads and guides his people.  He has always been doing this and will continue.  He has done it for others and he is doing it for you.  He is in control of all things…including the direction of your life.  Our Christian walk is a journey….a wonderful journey with God.  Enjoy it.

Judy Kay
There are many benefits of traveling and working in pairs. How does two by 2 help you?