Mission to the far side of OKC

Missions to the Far Side of OKC
Well, coming off of a mission trip like we experienced in Cambodia, it is a hard transition back to the reality of the day to day grind. All I can think about is the faces of those that we left behind; seeing the images of their courageous faith; feeling their penetrating questions in the pit of my stomach.
“What will happen to us,” one asked? “If I accept Jesus, and go out to that lake and get baptized, what will happen to me?” She explained that in Buddhism, when someone dies, when someone is sick, or when there is some terrible thing that happens, the whole village will come to fill in the gap, and help. But as soon as they publicly declare their faith in Jesus, the village will turn their backs. Even before we left, this actually happened. Many of the villagers came and told them “they were on their own.”
What sobering thoughts I have had since then! More than anything, this trip has brought me through a time of self examination. I am asking myself, why is God not doing here what He is doing there? Why are we not seeing such colossal faith! Only one answer: God came down that day in response to the active faith of our church at work through our obedience to our evangelistic responsibility.
Do you remember when Jesus went back to his hometown, and taught in the synagogue there? The response of the people was: “isn’t this the carpenter’s son,” and “Isn’t that Mary’s boy?” There was a freakish level of disregard for the Son of God - an arrogance of assumption that God refuses to work around. The Word sums it up in Matthew 13:58, “he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”
We have to ask ourselves:
Do we sense the urgency of the message we are proclaiming?
Are we proclaiming it with the same enthusiasm that we do overseas?
Do we try to share the gospel as intentionally here as we do there?
And most importantly, do we have the same expectation that God is ready to do more right here in our midst?
After reading this queote from the founder of the Salvation Army, I sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity:

"'Not called!' did you say? ...Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face -- whose mercy you have professed to obey -- and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world. – (William Booth)

May we all renew our passion for Jesus, and claim this city in His name!
James Biesiadecki
Mission Pastor, SHBC