Life Beyond The Rio Grande

 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. Matthew 28: 18-20

       Hello my friends. It has been awhile since I posted on here but I felt lead to talk about my latest adventure south of the Rio Grande. I recently was gone on a mission trip to Rio Bravo Mexico. I must say that it was life changing experience. Here in America I enjoy everyday what the average family enjoys(smart phones, laptop computers, WIFI internet, Starbucks, climate control, satellite television, and so on). I was able to enjoy a some time spent without any modern technology or should I say modern conveniences. After this trip I don't know that I want these modern conveniences anymore. I am beginning to think that they are modern inconveniences to be honest.

        I was preaching this morning a sermon that I called Fearless Following Day Nine. God gave me this while I was laying sick in bed with the stomach flu on Day Seven of an eight day mission trip. Tom and Debbie Turner granted me some time to lead a devotion in the airport while we were waiting to board our plane Monday morning. The passages of scripture were Joshua 1: 1-9 and Matthew 28: 16-20. Joshua was commanded by God to be strong and very courageous three times in the first nine verses and the way to be prosperous was to meditate in the book of the law day and night. God was commissioning Joshua to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. Jesus commissioned us to go tell the whole world who He is and what He did for us on the cross. I started asking myself why don't we go?

       God hit me with a song called "If We Are The Body" by Casting Crowns. I am being convinced that a lot people don't go because they don't know. Then I started asking why don't they know? God revealed something about myself and I am sure many of you can relate that we are too busy with our daily lives. What I really mean is our modern conveniences have us distracted. I love sports, movies, and keeping up with my friends but the danger is that can consume your time and you leave your first love out of the equation. In Mexico I had little to no cell phone service, no television, no Facebook, no air conditioning, but what did I have? I had my favorite Bible, a book by David Platt called "Follow Me", and my prayer journal. To be able to have the time I had to commune with God and develop my relationship with my Savior is something that I didn't know that I was missing. The only way to be strong and very courageous is to pour God's word into you. It's what gives you courage. You read what God did in the lives of the Bible saints and it inspires us to trust and go forward in faith that God will do the same thing for us today. The Bible saints were ordinary humans with extraordinary faith in a great God. Maybe that's what the church needs is a transformed heart especially myself. What can God do in us and through us if we would take the time for Him to prepare us for it. It's like the story of two farmers. Both of them desperately needed rain, and they prayed for rain but only one of them prepared his fields for it. Who really trusted God to send the rain? Who received the rain? The one who had the faith to prepare his fields. We need to start preparing for rain in our lives and realms of influence. Do we really want to serve Jesus and follow His commandment to love one another as He loved us? It would cost us something but the cost for Him was much greater. It may cost us some time and money but it cost Jesus His life. If we were worth dying for how much more would the church be able to impact the lives if we loved like He did. God will open the doors for us to witness but we need to prepare ourselves first. Right now I would love to give up all of my modern conveniences in able to continue growing my faith and in my walk with the Lord like I was in Mexico. I felt a peace that I can't even begin to describe. I can honestly say that it is well with my soul. Sometimes you are the one that ends up being the most blessed when you go somewhere on mission for God. To be honest I saw how happy these people were and some of them live in houses that I wouldn't call a good barns but they were happy and they had Jesus. I am beginning to see that all of our modern conveniences are really just inconveniences. Maybe what we really need is to lose these modern conveniences and be left only with Jesus for awhile. For me I can honestly say that it changed my life in eight days. I am striving and planning on living my life like everyday is Day Nine. Live as if the mission trip never ended. Live with purpose of pouring out His love on those around me. Maybe it would change your life if you were to have the same experience that I had too.

      Lastly, to all my friends I made on this trip and some of you I already knew I thank my God upon every remembrance of you(Phil. 1:3). I consider myself blessed beyond measure to have been able to spend this time with you. The memories I have from being on this trip will last throughout the rest of my life. I love you all and thank you for your testimony in Jesus Christ. Your faith helped inspire mine. I look forward to fellowshipping with all of you again. May God Bless You! 





This Crazy Little Thing Called Love

"Just as the Church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be subject to there husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her," Ephesians 5: 24-25

          Of all days for a football guy like me to writing a blog post is the night of the Super Bowl. Needless to say when God speaks I listen. Being Super Bowl Sunday I have to set my 5th grade Sunday School class up with quite a spread of goodies to celebrate. Needless to say I love my kids and getting to spoil them but I love how they listen when it's time for the lesson. Today's lesson was on the building of the Tabernacle in the Old Testament. Why was the Tabernacle built? Simply because God was wanting to dwell among His people. Why because He loved them. God chose to love them and manifest Himself to the rest of the world through them.

         Since Jesus came to die on the cross we now have a new covenant and God has chosen to manifest Himself in a new way. He now manifests Himself to us in our hearts. He wants to manifest Himself to the world through His children by us allowing His light to shine through us. How does this apply in the realms of dating and marriage relationships? You have to look closely at the mans' role in the relationship. 

         Jesus willing chose to go to the cross in order for all of mankind to be reconciled unto God. Jesus loved sacrificially even though some would reject Him. Jesus Himself said no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them. It is God's will that not any should perish but all have everlasting life. So now let's take a step back and look at the actions of Jesus before. Jesus paid our sin debt that we might be brought back into fellowship with the Father. We didn't do anything to earn it. It was a free gift. Now let's apply that to the man's role. The man should sacrificially love his wife or girlfriend and focus on taking care of her the same way Jesus does for Him. He is supposed to be the one to portray Christ's love in the relationship. Loving your wife or girlfriend requires action. It means to spend time with her and serving her.  It means investing in your woman. Where you spend your time and money determines what we has humans value. So what I am saying is this send your lady flowers, send her text or give her a call to let you know you're thinking of her, turn off the ball game to take the time to be relational and share your heart and events from your day, open the door and pull out her chair, and lastly do not be afraid to show that you have a sensitive side. If you tear up or even let one fall I promise it's not sappy. It's the old idea of chivalry with a modern twist. In order for a woman to want to submit to you as the man you have to be a man of Godly character. As men we to focus on our character and that should be what the woman in our lives says is the sexiest thing about us. We need to be men our ladies can respect. That's what we men need is to know our lady thinks we are respectable. If you really want to know what it means to love sit down and study 1 Corinthians 13 and see what Paul says about love. 

          Now ladies it is natural for y'all to love and that's why Paul didn't give you that commandment. In a relationship you are supposed to let the man pursue you. Jesus pursues us and made all the effort. In the same manor we respond to Jesus pursuing us you should respond to your man the same way.Salvation is a free gift and that is how a man is supposed to love you. A man is supposed to make the woman he loves want to pursue him and the man should make himself available to her to do so which requires time together. Now just so you know you shouldn't try to take advantage of your man's generosity because you are supposed to be submissive to your mans' leadership. If he loves you as the Bible says he should you have a man worthy of respect. Even if he's not a believer or isn't loving you right you still are supposed to submit yourself to him. It is easier when he loves you right to be submissive. If you have a man who genuinely loves you as Christ loves the church that should make you want to be submissive to him because He is living out God's word in your relationship. If a guy loves you with a God given love and is a gentleman always. What this means here in America is that your man opens the door, brings you flowers or has them sent to you at work. Now I will say if your man does show his feelings around you he is not sappy. Jesus showed his feeling and the Bible says He didn't just cry Jesus wept. It means he does the little things to show that you matter to him. It's okay if a guy tries to go the second mile for you all the time. Jesus tells us that we should go the second mile. Jesus preached that in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:38-42. There's nothing wrong with a man trying to be the perfect guy. We are supposed to be striving to be the only perfect guy to exist. Just like you take the time to get to know Jesus take the time to invest in your man. Some guys will appreciate a letter in his lunch box, maybe making him his favorite food for dinner or if he works second shift surprise him at work with a hot cooked meal. I mean after all we are men and the way to our hearts is through our stomachs. It the little things that sweeten a relationship. It may mean going to a gun show or a ball game. It might require watching a NASCAR race despite how boring you think watching cars go around circles is.

          Lastly to both men and women I would like to say that don't let your relationships be one sided. If you feel like you can do more to make your relationship better take the time to do it. A better relationship between you and your significant other can begin today. If we began to love one another as Christ loves us how many marriages would be saved? How many couples would stop living in a state of resentment towards one another? I will say until you are born again believer and your sins have been bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ you do not know what love is. Until you have experienced His love you don't know what love really is. If you haven't begun with the Lord Jesus already will you consider it today? The Bible God's Holy Word says we can as sure of heaven as if we're there. If you want to know more about Jesus and heaven look me up on Facebook and I will talk to you gladly. My name is Mark Nicholas Mullins from Roanoke Virginia. I hope you have a great day. God Bless!!!!