To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain

Last night at youth group we had Pastor Eric Morgan come and talk to us about Acts 5 pt 2.

Acts 5 is about many things but, the part he was talking about how the Apostles were preaching in the streets and they were arrested. They were flogged, beaten, stoned, whatever you want to call, but they where physically pained just because they were preaching what they believed in. They found it a privelege to beaten for the Lord. After an angel of the Lord came and rescued them, they went back out and preached the gospel. How many of us would be willing to do that knowing that we would probably would be beaten again? Not me!
He went on to say do we really rejoice in the pain that God gives us? Do we say "Thanks God for this pain! You know this is just what I need!" No! We whine and complain and say "No thanks God! I'll take these blessings and you can keep the pain." We should consider suffering for Jesus's name an honor because he suffered the greatest pain of all for us

He told us about a woman named Helen Something (I cant remember her last name) who became a christian in her teen years. The story recalled that when she accepted Christ with her pastor he said, "You are a child of God now... Maybe he will find you worthy to suffer for Him."

Okay, Now let me just tell you if I was a new christian, I would think that this God was a little full of Himself if He might find me worthy for me to suffer for Him.

Okay back to the story......... So she went home that night and cried out to God, "What do you want me to do? What would make you happy?" She felt like God had called her to be a missionary. She finished medical school and went to the Congo to be a doctor. She was in the Congo many year and then Congo became involved with a war. Every day was challenging, people died everyday. Helen still continued to do her work and worshipped and prayed constantly and took care of her patients.

Then she was kidnapped and stuck in a house for many months. Finally one day she was able to escape and she ran, but the soldiers found her and dragged her back by her hair. When she got back to the house she was brutally beaten and kick in the stomach. She was kick so hard in the face that she has no teeth now because of it. Then she was raped many times then thrown back in to the little hut for many more months. One day the soldiers decided, for some reason that I don't know why, the soldiers thought that Helen should die. They drove her to a town. Mean while her church, in the Congo, has been praying for her for 13 hours. They are in the town that the soldiers are driving Helen to. They take her out of the truck and throw her on the ground and cock their guns. Some one in the church notices that Helen is outside. They scream "Helen is outside about to die, we have to save her!!!!" I believe they stay in the church though. Then all of a sudden someone about to shoot her says "Wait... this is our doctor. We cant shoot our doctor."

When asked, after she got home, if she was mad at God for letting such terrible things happen to her she just replied,"I don't mind suffering for the God who made the greatest sacrifice for me."

After this story was over I couldn't help but wonder.... If someone like that could give up everything for God so could I. I was asking myself if I was willing to give up all my hopes and dreams for the Lord I figured out that no... I'm not willing to give up my hope about getting married and having a family. It's one of those things where you understand what you must do yet.... you don't.

I have been trying to get my idols out of my way and to try and answers God call but it so hard. Everyone try's to blame it on their busy lives but that is really a very lame excuse. I'm trying to take some time out of everyday and to dwell on what I need to do to get this crap out of my life. I may not be a super perfect Christian like the apostles yet but I'm working on it!