I had the privilege of teaching with my colleague in Köln, Germany for this past week on the topic of Justice. When I found out I would be speaking, it got me excited, because I knew that in the midst of my studies I would gain much knowledge as well. We broke the week up and my topic would be "The Biblical Foundation of Justice." If anyone knows me they know how much I love scripture. I love to study the Word of God. I love to decipher every single word and compare it with other verses. I became quite frustrated because I was opening up a can that would take me months if not years to study. But I had only a certain amount of time and I had to come up with something. Many days my attempts to start my notes wouldn't even begin because I would get so caught up in what I was learning. But I got most of what I wanted to say onto paper and the week went pretty smooth. What I did get out of this teaching though was Jesus's heart for injustice. I don't work in these issues because its the "next cool thing to do," I work with them because thats what Jesus did. And I long to lead a life after His. The first recording of Jesus speaking publicly; He proclaims Isaiah 61:1 and part of 2. That is His heart, that was His mission. My mission is to point others to that place of being justified before Christ. I don't just want to see broken men and women set free physically, I want to see them set free spiritually. Working with justice issues is much bigger than seeking to abolish human trafficking, its seeking to see one justified before the Righteous Judge. When we reach out to these girls its not just seeing that they are taken care of physically but longing to see they are taken care of spiritually as well. It's easy to get so caught up in our physical work and forget the heart behind it, forget Whose heart is behind it.
Also I want to really make it a point to say that I don't do any of this work for myself. Truly, I don't. It doesn't make me feel better for "doing good" nor do I take my identity in my work. I love because He loved me first. I can love only because He first loved me, and the reason why I love is because He first love me. Anything I do is for God, not to please myself or make me feel better.
On a side note, me and a few others from our team is going to Latvia on Tuesday til Saturday to visit and encourage our sister ministry, Freedom 61. I look forward to this and so do my scissors and comb. Latvia is a very interesting place, I would truly welcome your prayers. And my life in Amsterdam is still up and running. Always busy. I really do love this city.
Some practical things you can be praying for:
I recently reapplied for my visa, so pray that I can afford the fee and that it gets approved.
And my bike seems to be completely dead, and I need another one greatly, but finding a reliable, working one that is my size and in my price range has been more difficult that I thought it would.
I think that is it for now, thank you to everyone who does hold me up in prayer, it is so greatly appreciated.
