The Introverted Evangelist

I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’" (Romans 1:16-17) The gospel reveals the wondrous POWER of God! This word is just so dynamic! Which makes sense considering the original Greek word used here for power is the word δύναμις (dynamis). This is the word for power, capability, accomplishing force, and even miracle! "...God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38) In Acts 10:38, the word δύναμις depicts the fact that the Lord Himself constantly poured out His divine and miraculous power into Jesus, Emmanuel (’Εμμανουήλ - mea...

Be Still: "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass." (Psalms 37:7) Many people rush in life. They rush to get to the next event, the next exciting thing. However, in all their rushing, how much of their day is spent simply soaking in God's goodness? How much spare time does rushing leave you? And if you're negating God to "spare time" then what does that communicate to Him? God wants to be your delight, your safe refuge, and your everyday companion. We are not meant to live alone, apart from Him, buzzing around place to place attempting to satisfy everyone's requests. We're not made to be people pleasing machines, we're created to be God's very own. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) I've never seen a rose bud reject ...

Purpose Not Perfection: "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands." (Psalm 138:8) Perfect. The concept of perfect had to be forfeited two years ago on the longest, most agonising car ride of my life. Everything was so debilitatingly confusing. How did I end up here? Why did God do this? Is this the end? Are You still here, Lord? Do You still love me? "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39) If I could, as the person I am today, go and visit my distressed self on that very night of July 6, 2012, I would tell myself these things: "God's going to use this, yes, all this madness and sorrow, for your good. You may feel abandoned, alone, and...

Thank You Lord: "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’" (Hebrews 12:28-29) His eternal Kingdom is in the midst of us. We fellowship with the King Himself each and every day. His return is approaching, and it's closer than ever before. However, we need not wait until that Day to make our requests known (Philippians 4:6-7). Because He lives in us, by the power of Christ's redeeming sacrifice, we have the gift of continually communing with Him. "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20-21) He is the Lord over our lives, and out of our hearts there flows an overflow of joyfulness and gratitude. Our thankfulness produces praise to our Father in Heaven. Worship is not a just Sunday morning ordeal. Worship is a life...

No One Like You: "Therefore You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears." (2 Samuel 7:22) Oh how great You are, Lord! You are the One Who was, Who is, and Who is to come. The First and the Last. You reign from everlasting to everlasting. No one and no thing can compare to You, God. "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,"(Ephesians 3:20) My most ambitious and exaggerated dreams are a mere taste of all the greatness God has planned for me. His plan is exponentially more enthralling, and it is birthed out of His pure and genuine love. "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you." (Jeremiah 31:3) His lovingkindness bewilders my mind, but in the most awestruck and thankful way. He blesses abundantly, simply because that's who H...

You Make Me Brave: "Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10) You're not entering into the unknown alone. The path on which you are embarking may appear shrouded with fog and darkness, but the Lord your God will guide the way. More often than not, He beckons us to do things that make no sense whatsoever. With fear looming over our heads, we shrug our shoulders at God and question whether or not He really thought this one through. Believe me, God has NOT lost His marbles. In fact, He merely wants everyone ELSE to be baffled by the benedictions He bestows on His bashful sheep. The forgotten ones everyone else has overlooked, these are precisely the ones God wants to abundantly bless and prosper. "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly ...

Never Lose Hope: "Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I shall not be shaken." (Psalm 62:5-6) It's very common that people allow anxiety to steer the boat of life, however, when it's worry who leads trouble proceeds. Anxiety is the result of attempting to secure your hope on something other than God. Adequate finances, career advances, good grades, and even good health. These are all splendid things, but if these are the anchors of our hope and joy, then we're all going to drown. Hoping in worldly successes leads only to dissatisfaction and discontentment. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." (Proverbs 13:12) It's not uncommon to become overwhelmingly confused in this fallen world. The aforementioned faulty foundations all depend on circumstances, and we know that what solely depends on circumstances most often results in grievances...

Proclaim His Greatness: "I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!" (Deuteronomy 32:3) The whole earth and all of His creations radiate His glory. Every sunrise and every sunset remind us of His wondrous beauty. He is breathtakingly marvellous, and He works in ways that mystify the mechanisms of our limited human comprehension. "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." (1 Corinthians 1:27-29) God chose the meek and unnoticed underdogs. He chose them. He manifests His glorious ways in them. Why? So that there be be no misunderstanding that the mighty work done in and through us unpretentious ones, was accomplished by HIS power and HIS glory and not our own. "But we have this treasure...

He Knows The Plan: "For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) Grace! How can it be! That God would take little lost me to transform into a masterpiece. How gentle, how sweet, I worship at the Creator's feet. He who made my mess into His righteousness. How good and how pure! I am His, and this is sure. I never would've imagined this miracle God has done for me in my life. This life was once so broken, so empty, so... disconnected. Until one day, God decided that He missed me. He missed the time that I spent in His Presence, marvelling at all of HIM. His beauty, splendour, glory. He wanted me to come back. He wanted to show me all that He is. That He is faithful, loving, gentle, and kind in heart. "the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." (Psalm 103:8) Love abounds, even when pain surrounds. Sometimes it takes a dar...

The One I Love: "O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water." (Psalms 63:1) I have tasted and seen that there is none other like You, O God. There is no wellspring abundant like You, and none are as sweet as the sweetness of Your mercy and grace. I formerly ran to the other streams in life. I once came to their banks tired, weary, and desperate with desert like thirst, but their waters did not quench my thirst. Only You can drench my soul with a divine downpour of grace. Only You can satisfy me. "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:14) Can these minute worldly waters produce in me eternal reward? No, certainly not. The distractions and discontent I receive from them are far more taxing on my dry and cracked soul ...

Restore Me: "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit." (Psalms 51:12) Joy of salvation. There is none like it. The joy of salvation is unsurpassable, incomparable, and incorruptible. No other worldly possession or even a fellow human being can deliver to your soul the joy like salvation in Christ will. The world cannot offer joy like the joy of salvation. When we wander off and begin searching for joy in tangible objects or mortal companions, we leave still feeling empty and despondent. This is because the only Way to achieve truly satisfying joy is by coming to the Way Himself. "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6) Jesus IS truth. He is the complete opposite of fallaciousness, impurity, and fraud. He is all that is honest, dependable, trustworthy, and faithful. Jesus IS Life. He is the very mighty Life Force that blooms within our souls. Christ is...

No Longer Broken: "He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite." (Psalms 147:3-5) I know this old battered up heart has seen many dark nights and death frights, but how many of these scares have I honestly faced alone? Have I ever truly been abandoned by the One who loves me most? Certainly not! In every circumstance, He is always faithful to deliver and redeem. "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all." (Psalms 34:17-19) Every calamity results in His redeeming love, so my soul reaches out to Him. He cares for me, and no struggle of mine is ever unnoticed or unimportant to my Lord. Oh how good He is! ...

You Carry Me: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." (Jeremiah 31:3) Everlasting. His everlasting love has followed me. Up to this point, I've not known a day that did not hold an above and beyond supply of His everlasting love and perfect patience. Though the skies open up and hurl valiantly aggressive torrents towards me, I am shielded by the Shalom of my Saviour. "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he." (Deuteronomy 32:4) He commits no wrongdoing. It's one of those things that we may never fully grasp. His ways are unsearchable, yet still they are unadulterated. Wherever you may be today, you may feel tempted to argue. You may be pleading desperate questions, "If God's ways are just and He is faithful, why am I here? Why did this happen to me?" God feels the aches that plague your heart. He hears your ...