Missions Lost in the Woods

 

Missions

Lost in the Woods

There was a time when I was lost in a woods

It was very thick with trees and brush

The brush was filled with vines and thorns

Making a path was very hard, I had to turn from one direction to another

To navigate my way deeper and deeper into the woods

It was hard work and before long I was not sure which direction I was headed

I pulled out the compass several times

As I move my way through the dense over growth

Each time I looked at the compass I questioned its accuracy

I found myself not trusting the compass

I was lost

Everyone from the time of birth is on a spiritual journey

We all need direction, a compass that points north

We need others who have used the compass and can share their experiences

So, we all can trust the Compass, Jesus

The Way, the Truth and the Life 

 

 

 

Lost in the Woods

 

When I was young,

I used to hunt.

 

I was inexperienced in using a compass.

 

The compass I had was not very expensive.

 

One day, I went to hunt on some land

that was very thick with trees and brush.

 

The brush was filled with vines and thorns.

 

Making a path was very hard.

 

 I had to turn from one direction to another…

 

To navigate my way deeper

and deeper into the woods.

 

It was hard work.

 

 Before long…

 

 I was not sure which direction I was headed.

 

I pulled out the compass several times

as I move my way through

the dense over growth.

 

Each time I looked at the compass

I questioned its accuracy.

 

I found myself not trusting the compass.

 

I found myself working so hard

to get through the woods…

 

 I could not pay attention

to my purpose of hunting.

 

After some time,
 I decided to go back to the car.

 

My car was on the east side of the woods.

 

I used my judgement and headed

in the best direction I knew.

 

With no path and no trust in the compass…

 

 I ended up on the north west side of the woods

about a mile from my car.

 

I am so glad I knew the four roads

that bordered the woods.

 

The point of this story is…

 

 All of us are hunting for something.

 

We move through the woods of life

with struggles and get turned around

by the vines and thorn bushes.

 

We have a compass,

but we are inexperienced with it.

 

Our trust is not in the compass

 but our own judgment…

 

And we find ourselves lost.

 

Jesus came to seek and save

that which was lost.

 

It does not matter where the woods is…

 

 Without a compass you are lost.

 

Whether it is in the woods of Africa or Hatti…

 

The jungles of South America or Borneo…

 

The land of America or your city…

 

When someone is lost,

they are lost.

 

You don’t have to travel

the world to find lost people.

 

They live on your street,

work next to you and

maybe live in your home.

 

Jesus came to seek

and save that which was lost.

 

If you know the One who is the Way,

 the Truth and the Life…

 

You can help lost people right

where you live…

 

You don’t have to travel very far.

 

There are head hunters in Borneo …

 

And drug addicted in your city…

 

That are both lost.

 

There are women taking their wash

on their head to the river in Africa…

 

And the ladies at your local laundry mat…

 

Who are lost.

  

 When a missionary travels

to another land

they understand why they are there.

 

They are there to seek the lost,

to help them find and trust Jesus,

 the Way, the Truth and the Life.

 

You and I may have never moved with

the intentions of being a missionary but…

 

 God has called each one of us

who have found the Way

to point others to Jesus.

 

The great commission is not just

for those who travel to distant lands…

 

 It is for you and I…

 

Right where we live.

 

Every missionary has a strategy

to get the message of the

Good News of Jesus out to others.

 

Have you thought of your strategy?

 

For me, my strategy starts with a smile.

 

To befriend others and be a helping hand.

 

To listen to others in a compassionate way.

 

We are all on a spiritual journey.

 

Some are on the pre-Christ

and some on the post-Christ

spiritual journey.

 

We all start from birth on a spiritual journey.

  

I realize it is not my mission

to get people to their spiritual destination…

 

My job, and yours, is to help people

make their next step in the right direction

on that journey…

 

 No matter what stage of

the spiritual journey they are on.

 

When I was lost in that woods…

 

 I thought…

 

 “I can get me back to the car without a compass.”

 

I was wrong.

 

You and I have been in that same place

on our spiritual journey

and so are your friends and family,

even your enemies.

 

Be intentional to help others

on their spiritual journey.

 

Live a life of good works so others

will see your works and give glory to God.

 

Work your understanding of God’s Word

into conversations in a natural way.

 

Most of all…

 

 Pray…

 

 God will open your eyes every day

to the opportunities He has for you.

 

Why?

 

 Because you are called to be

a Missionary right where you live.

 

Scripture Reading  

 

John 14:6-7 NIV

 

6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

 

Luke 19:9-10 NIV

 

9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."