Imitating the Incarnation

PLEASE CLICK on the ads on this page to support Nai as he is laboring with Campus Outreach and is joyfully losing his life in Khon Kaen, Thailand among the Isan people group daily for the sake of the gospel. Praise the Lord for this support opportunity given by GoogleAds! :) Thank you. 


Just a side note to give you a picture of the Campus Outreach staff at Khon Kaen University: there are 12 staff members, 5 of whom are Thai and 7 of whom grew up in America. These men and women have given up the American Dream, a life of comfort and security, to reach thousands of Buddhist men and women who may live and die without never hearing the name of Jesus. It was so encouraging and refreshing to see the the lives of the COT staff reflecting the life of Christ in their daily pursuit of knowing him and making his name known among the nations. Laboring beside them and doing basically everything they do on a daily basis as far as ministry with students, opened my eyes so much to the of lives of those who are in 

Now, I touched on this earlier in recording what the Lord has taught me and is still teaching me, that is reflecting Christ life with our own, and want to share with you a bit more. 

^"5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." -Philippians 2:5-11

Christ, who was in the form of God and is God came to earth to serve man. 


"What more unnatural than that the God of the universe should become a servant in the world, ministering not to His Father only, but also to His creatures- Our Lord and Master washing our very feet? So mighty was His love, so colossal the divine purpose to save, that He though nothing of His divine majesty, nothing is His unsullied blessedness, nothing of His equality with God, but, absorbed in us- our needs, our misery, our helplessness. He made no account of himself. If this is to be our example, what limit can we set to our self sacrifice?" 
-B.B. Warfield   


Wow. If our example as believers, as Christ followers, is to be Christ,  let all of our dignity, possessions & wealth, and our rights perish out of plain sight because Christ has saved us and called us into service. We are soldiers of the King,  let fight in this short life for the joy of our King and for his majesty, glory, righteousness, never ending and unconditional love be shown to all of the earth.

"Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him." -2 Timothy 2:3-4

"We cannot be self-consciously self-forgetful, selfishly-unselfish. Only, when we humbly walk this path, seeking truly in it not our own things, but those of others, we shall find the promise true, that he who loses his life shall find it." -B.B. Warfield

Self-sacrifice, through forgetting our very self as Christ did to serve the world, is the path to bringing glory to God. 

A HUGE resource that helped me better understand this concept of our duty and calling as Christians to literally strive to mirrow Christ's image with our lives is an article called "Imitating The Incarnation" by B.B. Warfield


Click here to view & DL this article- "Imitating the Incarnation" by B.B. Warfield 

I love you team. Please pray for the lost souls that are being shown who Jesus is more and more every week as our CO Thailand team follows up with the students we engaged this summer. 

King's Cross

An amazing book that parrallels what our CCP team went through this summer in looking at the life of Christ in the book of Mark. Timothy Keller's "King's Cross". I'm reading it now and it is painting such a clear picture of the beauty of Jesus as our Lord AND Savior.


Click here for more information of Tim Keller's 'King's Cross'


AND please click on the ads that appear on this page. Every click supports Nai, who is partnering with Campus Outreach among an unreached people group in Khon Kaen, Thailand. Making great progress so far, so keep on clicking even if you have already done so in the past. All you have to do is click on it. Thank you!

9 Days Removed

Being completely immersed in the Thai culture for 57 days was an absolute blessing from the Lord. I think the Lord taught every single person on our team of 19 the great need for laborers of the gospel to go outside of America and more of what it means to live a life reflecting Christ's life. 

Annoying ad time- Before I start, I want to give you an opportunity to help support Nai who is a Campus Outreach Thailand staff on the campus of Khon Kaen University and a dear brother in which I labored with for 2 months this summer. All you have to do is CLICK ON THE ADS that appear on this page. Just one click and you have supported Nai in his ministry among one of the most unreached people groups in the world, the Isan people in Northeast Thailand. 

To learn more about the Isan people group Click here Thank you.

Throughout this summer, our team went through an in depth study of the book of Mark looking at the life of Christ. It was incredible. I have pages upon pages in my journal of what the Lord taught me though looking at the life of Christ. BUT, I would say the most impact-full passage of mark for me was Mark 8.

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." -Mark 8:34-38

I have read this passage before, but never took it as the literal words of Jesus, as a command of Jesus. God opened my eyes and showed me that it's not some metaphorical saying that Jesus is exclaiming here, it is what it is. 'For whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it'. WOW! We, as Christians, are literally called to lose our own lives, to lose our own desires, passions, and selfish dreams for the sake of the gospel if we want to follow Jesus. Two years ago, I would have looked at this passage and laughed saying, 'this is my life and I will decide what dreams and passions to pursue in my short time here on earth'. Now, I can't tell you exactly what it looks like to lose my life for the sake of the gospel and will wrestle with that for the rest of my life, but I do know that this life is not my own. We have been bought with the blood of Christ. He has reconciled, redeemed, and justified me from an eternal separation from Him, forever. My life is God's life. I am the created, He is the creator. I was born a sinner and deserve His eternal wrath. But his love has saved me from that. O the Joy in salvation! Life has such purpose, love, and joy knowing that I am saved and now serve the King of the world and will fight every desire inside of me that tries to keep me from pursuing Him and however he wants to use me in this life to impact his kingdom so that more can know of this love. In this life, we will always have a better possession than what this world has to offer, and that is Jesus. 

It has been a battle to continue in this pursuit of Jesus, his word, and losing my life for the sake of the gospel just in the 9 days that I've been home. However, Life is War and our King is worth fighting for. 

I'd like to share with you a sermon by John Piper that the Lord used to help me catch a vision for life as Christian, a missionary, and an ambassador of the the King. It's called "Doing Missions when Dying is Gain". If you have a spare hour, I strongly recommend you listen as John Piper brings the heat. 

John Piper- 'Doing Mission when Dying is Gain'

I love you team and will continue to pour out what the Lord has taught me this summer. Please continue to pray for the CCP team and I as we settle back into American culture. Pray that we we will daily fight for the joy that is in the gospel, that we will not forget the vision/lessons the Lord has taught us this summer, and that we will not let off the gas pedal from learning his word and denying ourselves and losing our life for the glory of God. And, of course, PLEASE PRAY for the students in which we built such good relationships with this summer. That Nai and the rest of the 5-6 KKU COT staff members will find their strength in the Lord and have daily opportunities to share this beauty of the gospel!

Two Faithful Men

Would love to share with you an interview by John Piper of my hometown pastor in Birmingham, AL, David Platt, who preaches at the Church of Brook Hills which is a reformed southern baptist evangelistic faith family that is sold out for the joy of the gospel to be reached in every nation.


Click here-John Piper/David Platt Interview


***Please click on the ads on this page to help raise money for CO Thailand staff member, Nai, as he daily loses his life for the sake of the gospel among the students of Khon Kaen University. All you have to do is click. Thank you so much.

Temporary Home

"So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him." -2 Cor. 5:6-9

Before I begin, I want to ask that you PLEASE click on the ads that appear on this page. I do not endorse these ads in any way, but with each click gives money toward my ministry leader, Nai, that is serving the Lord faithfully among the unreached Isan people group in Northeast Thailand. Each dollar goes a long way. All you have to do is click and you have helped support a missionary in Thailand. Praise the Lord! Thank you!

COT Staff, Nai (in pink), with freshmen students

I safely arrived in Peachtree City last night after a weekend of rest and fellowship in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. with Campus Outreach's Summer Beach Project team. Our team arrived in Birmingham Thursday night, July 22nd, and drove down to Fort Walton Friday morning. Exhausting? Yes. Still affected by jet lag? You bet, but it was amazing to see how much God is at work in the lives of 200+ college students who spent the summer with full-time jobs while learning how to be Christ-like leaders and laborers of the gospel to the world for the rest of their lives.

How is it to be 'home' in America? I have extremely mixed feelings. Yes, it has been nice to rest in a bed with 4 pillows, enjoy Starbucks/cereal/chips & salsa, and fellowship with friends and family whom the Lord has used to shape my heart and life with their love and care, but it has also been a bit frightening. Coming off a summer where I was exposed to a country that roughly 1 person out of every 250 people or so know Jesus and knowing that the surrounding countries such as Malasia, Laos, Cambodia, and China have hundreds of cultures and billions of people with similar statistics, its been a sobering reality to say the least. I'd say that being in America these past 4 days has broken my heart more for the lost nations than the summer in Thailand itself, seeing the desperate need of gospel to move forth from America to the world. Driving through Peachtree City today, it was amazing to see church after church, and some even right across the road from each other while in Thailand 100's of miles separates the nearest churches. Now, I am not saying it is a bad thing for America to have so many churches? Absolutely not. The Lord has blessed America with the good news of the gospel to be spread throughout because of the freedom of Christianity and the body of Christ through the church. But, as Christians, how can we freely receive the beautiful gift of the gospel of Christ redeeming us from an eternal separation from God through our sin and keep it to ourselves??? The nations must hear! The nations must know the name of Jesus! The gospel must go forth! The eternal souls of billions are at steak for eternity. This is the reality of life, and this is why we're alive and why we were made, to reflect his glory so that ALL may rejoice in the One True God. 

 'For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,   and every tongue shall confess to God." -Romans 14:10-11

One of our last dinners with Thai freshmen students

It has been difficult, on the other hand, trying to process everything I experienced this summer. From everything the Lord taught me about overseas ministry, the importance of the body of Christ, living to reflect the life of Christ, my own vision for what the Lord wants me to do with my future, and how to effectively use my last year at Samford to lose my life, my desires, and my comforts for the sake of His name and the gospel on campus. It is even difficult writing this blog, as I feel overwhelmed with the amount of lessons I have taken away from this summer. Which is why I have come to a conclusion that I will continue to blog in short bits of the lessons and life-takeaways that God has graciously blessed me with this summer. 

This summer has been difficult in a lot of ways. The Lord showed me great amounts of my own sin that I have never seen before. He has shown me how much I take comfort in the things of this world such as food, internet, sports, alone time, TV, etc. He has shown me how little I give up in my life for His name and the gospel's sake. He has shown me how selfish, prideful, selfishly unselfish, and possessive I can be over my own life even when I am not my own and have been bought with the blood of Christ.He has shown me how much I live to serve myself and not to serve our creator and provider of everything. There have been many moments of tears and trials, yes, but above all, and above how sick and sinful and deep our rotten sin lies within our souls, is the grace of God piercing through the darkness of our very being. We serve a God who loves unconditionally, a God whose love is eternal and everlasting, a God who no matter how much we run and turn from Him chases us down like a good shepherd and will NEVER let us go. Our home is not this world. We were made for a greater purpose, but while we are here on earth away from the Lord, we will make it our aim to please him. 

At the farewell party

God is good. I thank him daily for giving me a support team that has given their money, time, and prayers to make this summer in Thailand possible and ultimately to impact God's kingdom for eternity. The gospel was heard this summer among an unreached people group through the Lord speaking through me and the Campus Outreach Thailand team, but also because God has been faithful in giving me a support team. I love you team and will continue to post this week and onward of the blessings that the Lord has provided through your support and for his glory. Please continue to pray for Nai and the students in which God used us to build relationships with this summer, that the Lord would continue to draw near to their hearts and soften their hearts to receive the greatest gift of the gospel of Christ. 

Please CLICK on the ads to support my ministry leader, Nai. Thank you. 

Singapore

Hello all! I have just landed in Singapore. It has been 9 hours since we departed Khon Kaen and we are now awaiting to be seated for our 24 hour plain ride from Singapore to Moscow to Houston, TX. Pray for good rest and great reflection time. Love you all and hope that your Wednesday is filled with the Spirit of love and joy!


PLEASE click on the ad below to help raise support for my ministry partner Nai as he continues to daily share his faith among an unreached people group in Thailand. All you have to do is click on it. Thank you!!

CCP Retreat Weekend- Khao Yai

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

His mercy is new every morning! Praise the Lord for bringing us safely home from our retreat weekend and through the last 2 days of ministry on campus. Tonight we had are our farewell party at the church in which we had over 125 students and staff come enjoy fellowship with food, slideshows of the summer, testimonies of CCP students summers, and games. I can't tell you the many times the last couple of days i have almost had to leave the room due to sadness and tears and thoughts of leaving the staff and Thai students which we've grown so close to. 

I was sharing earlier with the team today that this summer has more implications on my life than just experiencing the things I have here in Thailand and learning the things God has shown me about my sin, ministry overseas, and his faithfulness, but I believe it has changed the course of personal ministry in my life and the direction of my life in general. Jesus was not speaking metaphorically or symbolically when he tell us to 'lose our life for the sake of the gospel' and to 'lay down our lives for others'. This is what he created us for, to reflect Christ, to be a broken servant to all with humility and love that only come from the spirit through his word and prayer. We, as Christians, are called to deny all worldly passions and fleshly desires, not just some here and there, but every aspect of life should be given to dying to ourselves daily for others sake, for the gospels sake. 

Of course, this is not easy, nor will it ever be easy, but the joy will be ever-lasting and we trust in the fact that our Lord and savior Jesus Christ is the only one who satisfies and provides us with the only true comfort in this world. Life is war, every day, because sin never sleeps and nor should our soul ever be contempt with things of this world. I could go on for pages on what the Lord has taught me this summer about giving my entire life away to Christ, but I just wanted to share with you a small picture of what the Lord has shown me this summer.  

NOW, below are some sweet photos of our retreat to Khao Yai, elephant riding, hospital, and a slideshow of our entire team this summer. Enjoy. 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH CCP SLIDESHOW

Kings palace some 100's of year ago

Greenery Resort

Oh the 30 hour hospital time

Team, I love you and thank God for you daily for your prayers and support. God's grace has been evident in using you in my life this summer and in the life of the students God has brought me to. I leave tomorrow morning. I know I will be torn and will probably cry like a baby at the airport saying goodbye to the men and students I have came to grow with and love. God has been so faithful to answer your prayer requests and well beyond anything that I could ask for.

Pray for safe travels. We leave tomorrow from Khon Kaen @ 2:30 and travel to Bankok to Russia to Texas to Birmingham= 50 or so hours worth. Sounds like a lot, but hopefully it will fly by like on the way to Thailand. 

PLEASE CLICK on the ads below to help raise support for my ministry leader Nai who continues faithfully to serve daily among an unreached people group, giving his life away for the sake of the gospel. All you have to do it click. Thanks!