Skip to main content

On Mission

 Have you ever done something for many, many years? When you've done things for a long time, you create habits and ways of doing things. Your body learns to run on autopilot. You may have experienced it before. Have you ever driven somewhere that you go to frequently and not been sure about the journey there? Something else was on your mind and muscle memory just took over. Voila! You were at your destination. Doing things over and over again makes an indentation on us that lasts a while. 

For the past 16 ½ years I have driven 5-7 days per week to the college for work. Monday, I will take another path to work. God has called me to serve His people in His ministry. Rather than traveling south to the college, I'll head north to the Port of Manatee for my first day as Executive Director/Chaplain at Anchor House Mission. I first learned of the mission at our church as it was highlighted as a mission we support regularly. At that time, I had no idea that God was threading a needle for me to later serve Him at Anchor House. 

My point to all of this is that after we do something for a long time it's easy to get in routine. Change is hard. We are creatures of habit and change can be tough. It takes us out of our routine and our routine offers safety. 

But, in our routine God is still at work. Too often our routine muffles God's call and we fail to recognize God's little nudges to action. The question is are we willing to listen and move off of autopilot of our routine? I'm not trying to say you need to leave your job and enter the mission field. Your call may be to serve at Downtown Ministries or student ministries or Anchor House. It may be that you are called to share Jesus with a co-worker or pray with a homeless person or simply do a random act of kindness. We should live each day as if we are on a mission. Our mission is to Love God and Love His children (Matthew 22:37-40).

When you love something you pay attention to it and care for it. To love God you honor Him with how you live the life He has given you. You listen to Him. You love what He loves. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16).

God is on the move. Shake the routine. Be open. Be ready. Be on mission.

Be blessed and be a blessing,
Matt

Comments

  1. Everyday presents to opportunities to be a witness of God's love to others. Even going in a new direction.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I completely agree. But it's easy to slip into routine and ignore those opportunities.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Anchor House Week 31 - NAMMA

The first week of August, I had the chance to attend the North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA) Conference. NAMMA is an ecumenical, Christian association of individuals and affiliated organizations involved in maritime ministry throughout North America, including the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. I had the privilege of attending the conference with our summer intern, Gabe. For both of us it was the first time we had the chance to be a part of the conference. I enjoyed getting to meet so many individuals who serve the Lord across the globe. Each of us serves at different ports and in unique ways. The exchange of ideas was both enjoyable and informative, especially for me as the new guy. Each of the people I met had a heart for the seafarer and the challenges they face. Their hearts poured out to show the love of Jesus to the men and women aboard the vessels that visit their respective ports.   One of the highlights of the trip was meeting one

Anchor House Week12: Constant

I've gotten almost a week behind on my reflections from Anchor House. It seems there just isn't enough time in the day.  The way these blogs come together is different from week to week.  Some weeks God puts a message clearly on my heart. Others it feels like a struggle to put "pen to paper".   This week was one of those that I knew exactly what I'd write about. However, each day passed and I missed the opportunity. You see, I write best in the mornings. Not sure if it's the limited distractions, a product of my habit of practicing my spiritual disciplines in the morning, or something else entirely. Most of my afternoon writing is intelligible and requires numerous edits.  In the AM, however, they seem to make more sense.   What's funny is that as I am writing, I am feeling God moving.  He's moving from what I thought I was to write about to what He wants me to share. These shifts and changes are a part of the shipping industry.  Things hap

King of the Jews

Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head. They clothed Him in a purple robe and went up to Him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped Him in the face. Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take Him and crucify Him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against Him.” The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus g