Happy New Year! I can hardly believe it is 2008. Where has the time gone?
At this time of new beginnings, I decided that I should begin blogging. As many of you know, I am in the process of applying to be a career missionary. In anticipation of following God's call overseas later this year, I decided to set up a blog site so that I can easily communicate God's activity and my prayer needs with my prayer partners. I hope you will feel free to comment as much as you'd like. I love to hear from each of you!
As we enter this new year, I am reminded of several Scripture verses that I wanted to share:
"'The time is coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,' declares the LORD. 'This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,' declares the LORD. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, "Know the LORD," because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,' declares the LORD. 'For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.'" (Jer. 31:31-34)
This is the new covenant God has made with His Church, the spiritual house of Israel and Judah. We no longer have to offer animal sacrifices, because Jesus has already made the ultimate sacrifice "once for all." We no longer have to religiously follow requirements written on stone tablets, because God Himself has written His commands on our hearts. We no longer have to go through a human priest to get to God, because each of us can know Him and have a personal relationship with Him. What a privilege it is to be His people and to have Him be our God! What a phenomenal, mind-blowing blessing it is that He forgives our wickedness and remembers our sin no more!
"...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Cor. 5:17)
How good does the New Year feel? I always love the freshness of it, the clean slate, the new start. But it doesn't erase the past; it only lets us start from there and move on. And it doesn't happen often enough; it only comes once a year.
How amazing is it that, through Christ, we are made completely new people? We have no more past to hold us back because the old has gone. Why do we so easily forget this? I am no longer the woman I was before. That old has gone, and the new, the fresh creation in Christ Jesus, has come! And, even when my sinful old self tries to rear its ugly head, I am offered this clean slate every time I ask for His forgiveness because He is "faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn. 1:9, KJV).
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,... And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away!' He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!'" (Rev. 21:1, 3-5)
Ah, the ultimate newness, the new heaven and the new earth! The intervening verses here tell us that the old order of things has passed away. And He Who sits on the throne is Christ. He makes everything new! I agree with John at the end of Revelation: "Come, Lord Jesus!"
I hope to provide frequent updates to this blog to keep you posted on my missions work, so here's your first update:
Field Update
I have my in-depth interview with my candidate consultant at the International Mission Board's office in Richmond this Friday, January 4. I now have a new consultant (I'm getting all kinds of new things in 2008! :)), as my previous one has now transitioned into a different role with the board. This interview will last approximately 2-3 hours. No, I'm not nervous about it, only excited. It is a great comfort to know beyond any doubt that this is God's will and that it will be accomplished in His perfect timing.
The candidate consultant is vital to this process, so it produces some anxiety, I suppose, to switch in midstream. I do, however, trust in the sovereign will of my almighty God of all hope, and I know He knows best and His plans are good. For a little background, my consultant is the one who will present me to the trustees for their final approval of me as a missionary and, as such, he must know me very well in order to be able to recommend me.
The next step in this process is to be invited to a candidate conference in early February. The deadline to be invited is January 4, the day of my interview. A couple of things still need to be accomplished before I can be invited, so it is somewhat "up in the air" at this point. If I cannot be invited to this conference, it pushes my arrival on the mission field back to January of 2009 rather than my hoped-for timing of October 2008.
Prayer requests
1. That I would communicate clearly with my consultant in my interview and that there would be no anxiety on my part in speaking with him. As he is new to me, please pray that we would "click" and that he will get to know me quickly.
2. That I will be patient in following the Lord's leading and that, even if things get delayed beyond MY plans, I will trust in HIS perfect timing. Patience has never been my forte, as you well know if you know me at all! :)
I am very thankful for your prayers and for your presence in my life. God has richly blessed me with my brothers and sisters in Christ! I am grateful for each of you.
Kelli
