1 Corinthians 9:19 - 23

19Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

These have been my theme verses for some time now. Ten years ago I told God that I would go wherever it was He wanted me to go. I wanted to be a missionary and spread God's Word overseas. Now, ten years later, I'm in Louisiana! Louisiana is not overseas. You don't have to fly for two days to get there. You don't have to speak another language. But it is a mission field!

Due to the hurricane, there are many lives, hearts and homes to be rebuilt piece-by-piece. God is showing favor on this area and I am seeing it in answers to prayer, vivid dreams, and the challenges we are facing.

I have been praying for the church we have partnered with here. The ministry's goal is to equip, empower and release the body for effective ministry within their community. I was a little disappointed to find out that the past two quarterly church work days, where the church helps other church members or people in the community, had been cancelled, some say due to lack of interest. I kept thinking, this isn't what the body is supposed to look like.

Paul reminds me that in order to reach people, I need to assimilate into their culture and build relationships so I can reach them. I cannot be a person on the outside, judging their way of life, expecting them to change. We began to pray more intentionally for the church and the community.

Well, two weeks ago, the pastor of the church here preached on these verses. He challenged the congregation to be the church and reach out to their neighbors and their friends. He said that we can be in the church service and say we will do this and then go home and forget about what we heard. But, to me, this means helping a neighbor that I see in need. This means spending the five minutes on the phone to listen to a friend in need and pray for them, even when my 'schedule' doesn't have room. It's a choice that I'm going to have to make so that "by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."

God's reminded me of our purpose in Louisiana....it's HIS! A few blogs ago we asked, "Why are we here?" I don't know if we will have a clearer answer to that question, but our purpose is clear.