6-23 Day Twenty Six

I started today where all great days begin: in the Word (and at Seven Stars, with the delightful human being that is my roommate). In my footnote searching, I was reading Matthew 12:34, 'You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart.' WOW, oh my conviction. James 3:6 talks about our tongue being a fire, and now looking into the heart behind our words, man. This has been said to me for most, if not all, of my life: words matter. To think through the lens that what comes out of my mouth reflects my heart is a huge encouragement to be slower to speak! 

The reminder to be slow to speak became very important because my roommate and I made our weekly visit to Bonnie in the Christian Science Reading Room. Today, I learned that she believes she can be on the same level as God, not as an authority, but as a peer, as she explained it. Please continue to pray for her heart and the immense deception in her life. Pray for her ego and pride, that she cannot be anywhere close to God, no matter how hard she tries. Pray that the truth of the gospel is not discouraging, but instead gives us immense, incomprehensible hope in Jesus. 

At Sacred City Summer, Vinny spoke about "Pursuing God through pursuing others." Two big takeaways were: 1. By pursuing others, we are being obedient to what the Lord asks of us (the great commission). 2. By pursuing others, it is made evident to us the depths of the Lord's love and helps us grow in our understanding of Him. "A heart that understands the gospel shares it," WOW. It was also helpful to walk through some practical applications and reminders as well, which I want to encourage you, dear reader, to be doing in your daily context. 

Reminder: do not compromise on the gospel in your pursuit of others. Stay faithful to the Lord whilst still loving others, but do not waver on the truth. 

Practical 'How-To's': 

1. Look at your schedule. What can you add or subtract to spend more time sharing the gospel?
2. View souls, not scenery. The people in your life are not background characters or pretty mountains, but souls who need to know God and the gospel. 
3. Be a regular somewhere. This opens doorways to gospel conversations! Being in RI and working as a barista back in Iowa, I've seen how easy it is to build connections.
4. Kindness is strange. People are unfamiliar with random acts of kindness,be a humble servant. People grow curious about the WHY behind these things.