What’s the recipe for real love?

Some say it’s love at first sight: “I saw her walking across the room, and in that instant I knew she was the one.” Others say love is a choice we make: “I love you today, at your best, and I’ll choose to love you tomorrow, even when you’re at your worst… when you’re not handsome anymore, when you disappoint me, when you make me sad. I’ll choose to love you even then.”

1 John 4:16 says this:  “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” God’s love for us—love in its purest, realest form—is self-sacrifice. It’s Jesus choosing death to give us life. What would motivate anyone to choose this? His choice to love us “surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19). Real love is really hard to understand. And it’s incredibly hard to accept or give what you don’t understand. It’s going to take power beyond what we possess and faith greater than what we can muster on our own.

Paul prayed for the Ephesian church to be empowered to know this “unknowable” love.

It’s a prayer with power for us today, found in God’s Word, and totally aligned with God’s perfect will— His desire for us to know Him and love Him. “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19).

Paul prays that we would know God’s love in all of its dimensions.

How wide – God’s love is expansive, reaching to all. Whether you’re sitting in a slum or on a king’s throne, God is reaching out to you in love to draw you near. “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die,” Paul writes. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:7-8).

How long – God’s love goes the distance. No matter how far away from God you feel, His love has more endurance than your emotions, outrunning them to reach you. The prophet Isaiah shares the cry of God’s heart for us: “You will be called Sought After” (Isaiah 62:12). And Jesus confirms this truth with the parable of the Prodigal Son, a story reflecting God’s love for us despite all distance: “But while he [the son] was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke. 15:20). Even when you feel you’ve wandered far from God or His plans for you, no distance of time or space is too great to keep Him from pursuing you.

How high – God’s love uplifts. He reaches down to those who feel low—the poor in spirit, the ones struggling to love themselves let alone accept God’s love. He reaches down and He lifts us up. (See Ephesians 2:4-6.) David sings a song of praise celebrating this transformative love: “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand” (Psalm 40:2).

How deep – His love reaches into our depths, the deepest parts of our hearts (even those parts we try to hide), and our deepest needs for Him. “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me,” David says. (See Psalm 139:1-6,17- 18.) The One who created us knows us and loves us intimately. He reached down deep in love—sending His Son, Jesus, to dwell among us that we would know Him. And He’s continually reaching down, through His Spirit dwelling in us today, empowering us to know Him and experience His love fully.

Paul prayed with a confident conviction.

This recipe for real love is fail-proof: “Neither height nor depth [that is, no dimension of the world we live in], nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). It’s a perfect recipe for real love, fully dimensional to reach into every part of our hearts craving love, all-encompassing to embrace us wherever we are.

For many people, the New Year brings a sense of hope. It’s a time to start fresh, to change and grow, to see last year’s dreams fulfilled, and past prayers answered.

For others, it’s a struggle to hold onto hope when you’re coming off a year (or many years) of pain, disappointment, and brokenness. Still suffering chronic illness or pain though longing for healing. Still in school or a ho-hum job though longing for adventure. Still single though longing for marriage. Still X, Y, or Z though longing for the exact opposite.

When we’ve yet to see things we’ve been hoping for actually come to pass, it’s tempting to give in to despair. But despair will paralyze us from living out God’s purposes for us. Proverbs 13:12 says:

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick.”

God’s Word validates what many of us have come to know by experience: The disappointment of unmet hopes sucks so much that it sucks the life right out of us. Yet, read on, for the proverb closes with this:

“…but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

Fulfilled hopes give life. And as a tree of life, that means our fulfilled hopes are rooted and established, growing strong, and bearing fruit in and through our lives. It’s a great truth to rest on, especially when living in hopelessness seems worse than death.

So what do you do when you’ve been hoping and praying for things for months… for years… and your hopes still feel unfulfilled? Do you keep hoping God will save that lost family member or friend? Do you keep praying He will bring that significant other into your life? Do you keep waiting on Him to open doors—too long firmly shut—to places of influence, to nations, to jobs and positions necessary to fulfill your calling?

How do we move beyond deferred hopes and disappointment to living hopeful, abundant lives?

Throughout the Scriptures, God instructs us to put our hope in Him:

“Hope in the Lord and keep his way, He will exalt you to inherit the land” (Psalm 37:34 NIV)

Hoping in the Lord results in inheritance. We are empowered to live hopeful about everything else when our ultimate hope is in the Lord. Practically, that could look like choosing to believe He is good and trustworthy even when doubt knocks at the doors of our hearts. It looks like choosing to believe He will fulfill our hopes in the absolute best way—His way. Practically, it could also look like waiting.

“I watch in hope for the Lord. I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7 NIV)

In Hebrew, “wait” is yachal, often translated “hope.” God wants us to wait hopefully so much that He allows the very word for waiting to imply hoping throughout the process! Hard news to hear when you feel like you’ve been waiting forever for hopes to be fulfilled… But hoping in the Lord ensures His arrival on the scene. He sees us. He hears us. He knows us. He will answer us. Hoping in the Lord invites us to experience His peace as we trust He’s in control.

A good indication of where our hopes are placed is whether we experience God’s peace in our waiting. If we’re anxious about the thing we’re hoping for, likely we’ve placed our hope in whatever that thing is. We become fearful of that thing not coming to pass, and rightly so, because our faith has been placed in something ultimately powerless to fulfill us.

But Psalms encourages us:

“Put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with Him is full redemption” (Ps. 130:7).

We can dare to hope—even to boldly hope for the best—when we hope in the Lord. We’re no longer relying on ourselves or others to fulfill our longings, but on God’s goodness demonstrated through His perfect plan. Part of that goodness we know and experience now, enjoying unreserved access to God’s unfailing love and full redemption through Jesus. When you’re fighting despair and feeling hopeless, ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of the reasons you have to keep hoping.

“Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:5).

The Holy Spirit is our guarantee and reminder that our God fulfills His promises (see Eph. 1:14, 2 Cor 1:22). That’s not to say God is going to give us what we expect, or even what we want. But as our good Father, He is going to give us what is for our best. He calls us to put our hope in Him, and also calls us to trust Him in the way He will fulfill those hopes.

“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 1:20).

For children of God, hope in the Lord is hope that is never deferred. It’s hope that sustains. It’s hope that gives life. It’s hope that’s fulfilled.

If you’re reading a blog post about packing for a YWAM outreach, it probably means you are seriously considering doing a Discipleship Training School, or you’re already doing a DTS and preparing for outreach. If so, congratulations! You’ve set foot on a road that leads to an incredible journey of transformation and life-changing experiences!

If you’re reading this more out of curiosity or because you just love to travel, you’re in the right place, too. We want you to be well-prepared for the adventures that lie ahead just as much as you do. For all of us, one of our biggest questions as we look toward great adventures is usually, “What should I pack?”

A Discipleship Training School is actually comprised of two phases: a lecture phase and an outreach phase. The lecture phase is all about diving deeper into knowing God and yourself; the outreach phase will be your opportunity to draw from the spiritual growth, knowledge, and self-discovery you’ve achieved, and travel to the lost and unreached in another country (or multiple countries, in many cases) to make Him known.

A Quick Packing Tip

No matter why you’re traveling (but especially for outreaches) plan on being as mobile as possible: the less you bring, the more freedom you will have as you unpack, re-pack, and carry your necessities throughout the trip.

To pack successfully for your DTS, it is imperative to find out what the culture and climate will be like for your lecture phases AND your outreach phase—then you’ll want to bring belongings that you will need for both, rather than one bag for lecture and another for outreach, especially if you’re going to a base where you won’t be able to leave behind extra items during your outreach. Packing light might feel kind of scary, but we promise it will work out better in the long-run. We generally need a lot less than we think we do.

If you’re doing a DTS, your YWAM base should send you a packing list customized for their particular location, and your outreach leader will be able to give advice for what they have found is best to bring specifically where you will be doing outreach. This will help you know whether or not you’ll need those extra 3 pair of jeans, or if just 2 will be fine because you’ll mostly want to rock shorts and skirts in the heat. However, if you haven’t gotten your list yet, you’re still deciding which DTS to apply to, or you are researching multiple sources to decide what is universally best to pack, we’ve created this list of 15 essentials that will contribute to making your experience the best it can possibly be!

1) HIKING BACKPACK

Some Disciple Training Schools will actually require you to bring everything in a backpack. But either way, it’s usually helpful to ditch the heavy suitcase and go with a long-distance hiking backpack (at least 40 liters but no more than 90). The best backpack to carry your belongings would be:

-Designed to hold as much in as little space as possible

-Made of lightweight yet durable material

-Easy to handle

-Comfortable to wear as you move around airports, metro stations, and routes with long periods of walking.

The best way to pack a hiking backpack is to put your heaviest items in the center of the pack so that it fits comfortably against your spine, with your sleeping bag underneath, lighter items closer to the surface of your pack, and frequently accessed items on top. Packing cubes are a great way to keep all of your things organized and easy to access so that your backpack doesn’t turn into one jumbled mess of clothes.

As for fit, your hip straps should be adjusted so that they hug the top of your hip bones without pinching, and your shoulder straps’ anchor points should be touching the top of your shoulder blades without stressing your back, neck, or shoulders. (If you have trouble fitting a backpack properly, some outdoor-supply stores like REI will offer help for this if you bring your backpack to them.) This will keep you from becoming quickly worn out or even chronically injured while traveling. Pair it with a smaller, equally comfortable and durable bag as a day pack and carry-on. Although top-brand backpacks may be out of your price range as a DTS student, you might be surprised by the wide range of options there are online and in-store (such as Amazon and Wal-Mart) for quality packs that won’t break the bank or your back. Another great option is to borrow one from a friend or family member.

2) SLEEPING BAG

On an outreach, you may find yourself sleeping on the ground or in a bed that you don’t necessarily trust to be free of germs, so a sleeping bag will be far better than a blanket and sheets. But in general, they are going to be much more compact and easier to travel with. Your sleeping bag is as important as your backpack in terms of quality determining success–if you bring one that is wrong for the climate or ill-fitting for you (e.g. if you’re taller than most sleeping bag lengths accommodate), it can rob you of much-needed rest after a long day of changing the world. Most sleeping bags won’t cause this problem–just avoid the kinds that are meant for extreme outdoor conditions.

Just like backpacks, you might not be able to afford the best sleeping bag out there, but you can still invest in one th
at costs less without sacrificing the quality you’ll need. See if you can borrow one from a family member or friend to save money. The ideal sleeping bag for world travel would be:

Waterproof material

Compact and lightweight when rolled up. Look for “ultralight” sleeping bags designed for backpacking. The smaller it compacts (without compromising warmth or fit) the better.

Comfortable in multiple climates so it can be used and reused wherever and whenever you go (these are usually called “3-4 season” bags and range from 20-60 degrees Fahrenheit).

3) MINI PADLOCKS

In a busy airport terminal or crowded bus, these little guys will quickly become your best friends. Small padlocks are inexpensive and easy to find at convenience and hardware stores or online, and they not only provide protection against potential pickpockets during your travels, they also keep your bags from accidentally coming unzipped and spilling your belongings while being handled during airplane flights (this advice comes from personal experience).

Although locks with keys are great, combination padlocks will be a better choice so that you won’t be locked out of your bag should you lose a key. It’s also a good idea to write down your combination in your notebook or type it in your phone, just in case you forget!  

4) FIRST AID KIT

During any traveling experience, minor things come up–cuts, colds, headaches, and fevers–so it’s important to be prepared. On a DTS outreach, your leader will most likely have a first aid kit for the entire team, but it’s not a bad idea to have a small kit of your own for situations where you may not be able to get to your team’s kit. Before leaving, go through your kit and make sure you have basic supplies such as adhesive bandages, antiseptic wipes, gauze, medical tape, tweezers, small scissors, antibacterial cream, fever-reducing medication, and pain relief medication. You can either purchase a small first aid kit in stores that offer travel supplies or buy individual first aid items to make your own.

Remember to leave any medication you purchase in its original package in case it needs to be checked at customs, and verify with your doctor or nurse that any medications you haven’t taken before will be safe for you. If you have a unique medical problem, you will also want to check with your doctor or nurse about any other items or medicine you should leave out or bring overseas. (Don’t forget that prayer can be even more powerful in healing the sick than your first aid kit! You’ll learn all about that during your DTS.)

Bonus tip: Vitamin supplements are also be a great idea! Of course, we all understand the importance of making sure we get sufficient daily meals, giving our bodies what they need. But in some locations, depending on what food you’ll be eating regularly, you may not be able to get your daily value for every important nutrient, like vitamins C and D. Again, make sure with your doctor or nurse as well as your airline and/or YWAM base that it will be appropriate for you to bring supplements. (No one wants trouble with TSA).

5) MINI SEWING KIT

Hopefully everything you will have brought is made of material that can withstand the wear and tear of your world-traveling, Gospel-spreading adventures, but it’s not uncommon for an article of clothing or even your pack to rip at some point and need repair. Because everything you’ll be bringing is going to be a necessary item, plan ahead for those 2-3 months where you won’t have extra clothing to replace an unexpected tear. A pocket-sized sewing kit can be a lifesaver when your favorite or most important items find themselves compromised. Add a small pack of safety pins to your kit for on-the-go fixes for any sudden wardrobe problems!

Don’t know how to sew? Fear not! Here’s a 5-minute video that will give you the basics for mending your clothes or backpack and impressing your travel buddies or fellow DTS students with this outreach survival skill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ynBWa5ej1Q

6) DUCT TAPE

The Name of Jesus will be the true wonder-working power behind any outreach journey you are preparing for, but it never hurts to have the additional miracle of duct tape as well. This practical adhesive will come in handy as often as your sewing and first aid kits, if not more so.

7) WATERPROOF POUCH

Usually marketed toward outdoor enthusiasts who engage in recreational activities on the water, one of these is just as useful to any YWAMer or traveler for protecting your water-sensitive belongings from the elements. Keep your money, passport, and small electronics safe and dry while you’re waiting for a city bus in the rain, trekking through a small river, doing evangelism on the beach, or engaging in recreational water activities.

The Great Commission, more than an average thirst for adventures, will often take you to environments that require an extra-close eye on your stuff, one of these pouches with a neck strap is also great for wearing under your jacket or shirt when it could otherwise be easily stolen.

8) WATER BOTTLE

The Lord wouldn’t call Himself your source of living water if water wasn’t necessary for your everyday well-being! No matter where or why you’re traveling, avoiding dehydration is a must. However, an outreach is especially going to look like long days spent in cities or villages sharing the love of Jesus, praying for the sick, encouraging the hurting, and helping local organizations and churches with mission work. Remember to take care of yourself as well as those you are ministering to during this intense and wonderfully wild period of ministry!

One of the best and most basic ways to keep yourself healthy and energized is drinking plenty of water, so invest in a sturdy, travel-friendly water bottle that you can easily attach to your day pack for hands-free walking and working.

9) ESSENTIAL OILS

We used some of these on a daily basis during one of our YWAM Redding outreaches to Greece—there’s a reason they are named “essential!” While there are countless essential oils out there for you to choose from, we recommend bringing along a tiny bottle of each of these. Make sure the bottle’s volume meets the ounce requirements of your airline and that no one on your team is allergic:

Lavender- Improves sleep, relieves headaches, inflammation, and sunburn, and alleviates stress with its soothing aroma. Sprinkle a few drops on your pillow before you go to sleep or apply onto irritated skin.

Tea-tree oil- You can buy tea-tree shampoo at the store to prevent lice, but a longer-lasting and cheaper alternative is to add about 10-12 drops of tea-tree oil to every 8 ounces of water in a spray bottle. Leave the spray bottle on the bathroom counter so your team can spray it on their hair every morning and night to keep your outreach lice-free. This is especially helpful if you are around children a lot during outreach. It also works as a hand sanitizer and soothes insect bites and sunburn.

Peppermint- Great for days that you feel tired, the sme
ll of pure peppermint oil helps you focus and wake up unlike anything else. Sprinkle this oil on a pillow or towel and inhale to help clear congested airways and make your senses more alert. Add a few drops to drinking water or tea for an upset stomach. To reduce a fever, rub peppermint oil across the soles of your feet and the back of your neck.

10) SANDALS

For shower floors and bathrooms, hot weather, wearing around your hostel or house—flip flops or water-proof sandals are an easy-to-pack, easy-to-wear staple for preventing any foot hygiene problems you could otherwise pick up off the floor unknowingly along your travels.

11) ADAPTER

If you plan on bringing any electronics, a universal adapter will allow you to internationally charge your cell phone or laptop without worrying about having to use the wrong type of outlet for your electronics or doing confusing power conversions. If you’re going to a YWAM base in another country for you DTS, this will also be important for your lecture phase. There are great sources online to find out what type of adapter you will need for any location. Adapters are easy to find online or you can purchase one at a store that offers travel supplies!

12) PHRASEBOOK or LANGUAGE APP

When you find out what country you’re going to for outreach, you won’t be expected to fluently learn a new language, but being prepared to share the Gospel with another culture includes being ready to pick up common phrases and words that the people you meet will use! Seeking to communicate with locals in their own language will show that you want to honor their culture as you spread God’s love. And no matter why you’re traveling, it’s always a good idea to know how to say hi or ask what time it is or where the toilet is.

Find a travel-size phrasebook for the location’s dominant language and have fun practicing in the weeks beforehand with your friends or outreach teammates. There are also apps you can download that can help you start picking up the language quickly and easily. We recommend the free app Duolingo (https://www.duolingo.com/) paired with a phrasebook for locations where you won’t be able to use your phone.

13) JOURNAL

At YWAM Redding, we’ve discovered that journaling what the Lord speaks to you personally during DTS is even more necessary and sacred than writing down notes in your lectures—although notes are important too! Don’t give up this special daily time with Jesus when your outreach begins. Record the miracles you see happen when you pray for people, the testimonies that unfold, the growth you continue to see inside yourself and your team, and the general adventures that you will inevitably have!

In the months and years to come, you’ll find yourself moved every time you look back on the stories from this significant chapter in your life, and you will not want to forget any meaningful details or secrets that the Lord reveals just for you. Your journal will continue to be an essential long after this particular experience ends.

14) BIBLE

Your Bible is your most necessary and practical item to bring with you on any and every outreach! (Even if you aren’t traveling for an outreach, but are a believer, don’t forget that we are called to be salt and light! Sharing Jesus’ love for the lost is something that we are called to do, and given grace to do, at ALL times.)

While you share the Gospel with the world, let the Gospel itself fill you up with the words of God every morning that He gives you. Never forget to carry His ultimate love letter to you in your backpack of essentials and in your heart. If you have extra space in your pack, add a travel-size Bible or two to pass on to someone in need of God’s Word (if they can read the language the Bible is written in, or even better, if you can find one in their native language!).

15) AND THE MOST IMPORTANT ESSENTIAL OF ALL… A HEART FOR THE NATIONS!

No matter why or where you’re traveling, a heart that sees the way Jesus sees with readiness to serve His creations will allow you to interact with people out of genuine love and care even on days that you feel exhausted, frustrated, or anxious.

For you DTSers, your lecture phase will be about your own growth and spiritual transformation and that of your fellow students, but your outreach phase focuses on being a light and a servant to others, both strangers and friends alike. Be there for your teammates when they have a bad day, support your outreach leader with honor and cheerfulness, and serve the believers and non-believers around you with a heart of humility and hope. You will be living in community from day one of your DTS, and although you may sometimes find your mission-oriented YWAM community a challenge to adjust to, you are also in one of the most unique opportunities of your life for the Lord to show you what His church looks like outside the four walls of a Sunday meeting.

LOVE is the one thing you will need to bring, yet will also receive, the most. Don’t forget that the God who IS love is walking alongside you every step of the way. Grab His offered hand with excitement for this season of your life and be ready for a wild ride full of love, friendship, worship, adventure, and growth!

Happy packing!

“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

How Could They Not Recognize Him?

The passage above is just one of the many prophecies (foretellings) in the Old Testament of the Bible about the “Messiah.” The man that those who held to the Jewish faith believed would come to be the Savior of the world. They held out hope for this Anointed One long before He was born in a manger on the day we have now dedicated as “Christmas.” You can imagine the whispers on the streets as they awaited with wonder at who this Messiah could be. “Will He really fulfill all that has been said about Him? When will He come? Will we recognize Him when He does?” There were so many preconceived notions about this man and how he would come that many missed His strikingly humble arrival. But it’s not like there was a giant star in the sky or choir of angels to announce His birth, right?

If you’ve read the story of Jesus’ birth (which I recommend you do… Matthew 1-2 or Luke 1-2) you know that those things did, in fact, happen. Yet so many people missed the connection of the Messiah they dreamed of to this child named Jesus who grew up to perform miracles, teach of His Father’s kingdom, and love in a way that no one had seen or experienced before. Not only did they fail to recognize Jesus as the One who could redeem them from their laws and religion (things which lead only to hopelessness), but they rejected and ridiculed Him, too! “Let us challenge this man,” the Pharisees said. “Let’s spy on him and test his teaching.” They even went so far as to put Jesus to death on the cross, the lowest and most shameful way to die. How can this be? How could they be so convinced of their own efforts of righteousness that they were so offended by the way Jesus presented? Their structures and traditions were things they could not seem to look past in order to finally see that righteousness can only be accessible in Christ, abiding in and following He who gave up His own life to save those in sin (which is everyone!).

If you continue reading the story of Jesus, past birth, you’ll read about His death. You’ll read about how He rose up from the grave in, what I believe to be, the greatest display of strength in history. And about how He ascended to his home in Heaven with promises to return someday to triumph over darkness once and for all and reign with us for eternity. We know how the story ends. An ending which the people who turned their backs on Jesus, killing Him out of their own fear and doubt, did not expect at the time. “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do,” was Jesus’ prayer even as He took His last breaths.

Reading the story, I must admit, I responded with frustration toward those who so easily dismissed Him. After you cried out for this Savior for so long! How could you not know Him?! He’s the One you’ve been waiting for!

Do We Recognize Him Today?

I wonder how often we dismiss the presence of God in our own lives because we simply haven’t taken the time to get to know who He is. How often do we miss where He is and what He’s doing because it’s not quite what we expected? Maybe you feel like you know Him pretty well already; after all, you read the Bible and pray everyday. Or maybe you’ve been doing things on your own for so many years that you’ve subconsciously closed the door to what God may be saying to you. “I haven’t had any problems on my own up until now.” Right? Or maybe you’ve been believing God for something in your life and it didn’t come through as you expected, so you gave up trying to get to know the heart of God for you and for your life. I’ve been there. But the good news is this: Jesus did not come into the world only to save it.

Galatians 4:3-5 says this, “We, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Jesus came to extend an invitation into the family of God. Now that we’ve been saved, we have an open invitation to become God’s sons and daughters. A Father knows His children, and this particular Father has given us the opportunity to know Him as well. He may not always come as we expect. But He will always come. God holds nothing back from someone who is earnestly (humbly, free from preconceived notions or selfish desires) seeking to know His heart and intentions. And what a reason to celebrate!

Whether you’re reading this blog as someone who believes in Jesus and what He did thousands of years ago, or as someone who doesn’t personally know that reality, the opportunity is the same. There is always more to know about God. Maybe that is why our number one value in YWAM is to Know God. YWAM is committed to know God, His nature, His character and His ways. We seek to reflect who He is in every aspect of our lives and ministry. The automatic overflow of knowing and enjoying fellowship with God is a desire to share Him with others.

Knowing God is important for anyone, but there’s an extra measure of accountability attached to it when you’re involved in ministry. It’s simple really: How can you portray to others, whether through word or deed, the character and nature of God if you don’t really know it yourself? How can you help others to recognize Him if you don’t really know what He looks like?

As a Christian and a leader in whatever sphere you find yourself in (ministry, business, government), people will trust you to make decisions as someone who holds Godly values at the core of who you are. No one wants to be lied to, misunderstood, or mislead. There is a call placed on our lives to always keep our eyes open, to seek to know and understand God in every area of life. Whether big or small, significant or seemingly insignificant, God is revealing Himself to us. Let’s
not miss out on the invitation to know Him in the way so many did at His birth!

How Do We Get To Know Him?

It’s a good question! At this point some of you may even be thinking, “Okay, I get that I need to know God in order to really recognize Him, have relationship with Him, be like Him… But how do I get to know Him in the first place?” It seems daunting, I’ll admit. An invisible God, who most often speaks to us through the Word and by impressing things on our hearts. Sounds a little vague. The really beautiful thing though is that God has already given us the best way to get to know Him. It’s Jesus! The baby born in a manger! The Prince of Peace, Savior of the World! Jesus was the perfect reflection of the Father. He constantly did what the Father was doing. We know that God is compassionate and forgiving because of the way He treated the woman caught in adultery in John 8. When everyone expected Him to uphold the law and sentence her to be stoned, He deterred her persecutors and forgave her. So we know that this is who the Father is, too! Therefore we know that any voice which condemns, which says that you are a bad person and must be punished, is not the voice of God! It contradicts His character displayed through Jesus!

Getting to know God is just like getting to know a person. The more time you spend getting to know their life, how they behave, what they say, and the more time that you spend with them, the more you know them! If someone came to me and said, “Hey your dad is here. He said that He’s about to leave for the Maldives for a 2 month vacation so you should go say bye.” I would know immediately that they were not talking about my dad! My dad is one of the most hard working, responsible, caring people I know. There is no chance that he would just up and leave his job and his family for 2 months with no forethought or warning. My 25 years of experience with my dad means that I know his character, therefore I know what behaviors are or aren’t a reflection of that character. No one could fool me into thinking my dad would do something contrary to his nature.

Getting to know someone takes time and intentionality. It takes intimacy. As you go through this Christmas season, I encourage you to not allow the busyness of it all to get in the way of what awaits us. It’s the promise of the experiential knowledge of a Savior who came to earth many years ago, and who will return someday in utmost Glory. No one will miss Him then, but let us take advantage of the privilege we have access to now: To know the Highest of Kings, the Messiah, the Savior of the World, the One true God.

When we hear the Christmas story, the part about Jesus’ being a refugee is often glossed over. In the west, that little detail threatens to get in the way of our silent nights, happy manger scenes with cuddly barn animals, and a brightly twinkling star. But Jesus’ being born into a refugee crisis—one His birth in some ways caused—reveals God’s love for refugees, that He would send His only Son to live His first years on earth as one. Jesus understands what being a refugee means.

Jesus: a Refugee Child

In the Bible, Matthew tells the story. The wise men had just visited, bringing their gifts to the infant King. But on the way there, they’d told King Herod of the King they were going to see. Fearing a threat to his rule, Herod decrees that all boys in Bethlehem under age two be killed, a sweeping massacre to make sure Jesus wouldn’t survive. But God had other plans.

“When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son’” (Matthew‬ 2:13-15‬ NIV‬‬).

This passage shares some universal truths about the refugee crisis—the one Jesus experienced as a child, and the one the world faces now:

1. 1. No one knows how long a refugee will be a refugee. (“Stay there until I tell you,” the angel says.)
   2. Refugees often flee for their lives; death is the risk of staying. (“Herod is going…to kill him.”)
   3. When a refugee leaves their home country, there are Kingdom implications.

On this last point I want to focus because it’s a point that encourages believers, at Christmas and all times, to partner with God in His Kingdom purposes.

God’s Heart For Refugees

At the end of the passage above, Matthew quotes the prophet Hosea (see Hosea 11:1), showing how God’s heart for refugees—from the Old Testament to the time of Jesus, and I would say even till now—is for their freedom and restoration.

For hundreds of years, the Old Testament Jews experienced brutal enslavement in Egypt, a land not their own. In seeking refuge in Egypt, did Mary and Joseph feel they’d found a place of freedom, where their son’s life would be safe, or did it painfully remind them of their ancestors’ captivity?

Last year, I spent the Christmas season in a refugee camp in Greece as part of my DTS outreach with YWAM Redding. When I first saw the camp where my team would be serving—a Greek prison compound with barbed wire fences converted to house the thousands of refugees flooding the island of Lesvos—I’d asked a similar question. Is this what these refugees had in mind when they chose to leave their homes for the promise of freedom?

Mary and Joseph would have traveled roughly 430 miles from Bethlehem to Egypt to save their son Jesus’ life. A refugee family traveling to Europe from the Middle East today will travel two to three times that distance, paying thousands of dollars for transport, often risking their lives in overcrowded boats that capsize on the rough waters surrounding Greece.

In the camp where we served, there were 44 different nations represented, and at any given time there were about 3,000 people staying in the camp of just a few square miles. This year, that number has nearly doubled. Lesvos, being the closest Greek isle to the Middle East, is assumed to be an easy entryway into Europe. But in reality, with so many refugees arriving to the shores each day, once on the island, it can often be a long process to leave. Perhaps they’re safer there than they’d been in war-torn countries, but many we spoke with felt stuck in the camp, the hope they’d held in coming to Europe long since gone.

A Season of Waiting

My team served in the camp for only two short weeks around Christmas time—a blink of an eye compared with the nine months or more some refugees will spend within the camp. Waiting for immigration interviews, waiting for approvals, waiting… until someone might tell them they aren’t welcome and must go back.

Our main role in the camp was to work as gate security for several areas where single women, children, and families are housed. With my team, I’d open gates into these areas for residents, verifying IDs, letting in those who should be there and keeping out those who shouldn’t. I passed out UN-rationed meals, second-hand clothes and shoes, razors, and soap. And I spent a lot of time waiting for 8-hour shifts in the freezing cold to end… for God to do something during this time that would make it feel worthwhile.

He did.

Christmas in a Refugee Camp

Christmas in a refugee camp looked very different from what I was used to. Decking the halls looked something like Christmas lights strung along a short section of chain link fence, a few Christmas ornaments hung haphazardly on a dead olive tree. Eggnog was replaced with chai tea, generously brewed for us by camp residents who were eager to show us their hospitality. Instead of chestnuts roasting on open fires, we ate peanuts the refugees shared from their rations. We defrosted our hands over roaring fires of trash, wrapped in scratchy wool blankets our new friends gave to keep us warm.

Most surprising of all, serving in a refugee camp during the Christmas season provided special opportunities to share the gospel. Opportunities I’m not sure we otherw
ise would have had.

During one particularly cold overnight shift at the gate, my teammate and I met a sixteen year old from North Africa. He had come to the camp alone… no family. He didn’t mention whether they were still alive.

Despite the cold, the teen spent several hours visiting with us, curious about why we’d come to the camp and what America is like. “Well, we love God, and we know God loves us,” we shared. “And because God loves us, we want to share His love with you and with other people here.” The teen nodded his head and smiled. Sometimes the language barriers we faced in the camp limited how much we could say, or how much could be said in reply to us. But the young man lingered.

With Christmas just a few days away, homesickness and nostalgia for traditions I was missing were thoughts heavy on my mind. During the lengthy shifts, especially the ones overnight, we welcomed anything to distract from the freezing, sleepless hours. So my teammates and I would often talk about Christmas. We’d share our traditions, our favorite Christmas songs, one night, my teammate streamed “A Charlie Brown Christmas Album” softly from his phone. The plunk of Schroeder’s piano notes mingled with snores emanating from tents and the occasional word of Arabic, Dari, Farsi or some other beautifully different language floating through the air.

But as this North African teen bounced from foot to foot to stay warm, God was giving us an opportunity. “Would you like to hear a Christmas carol?” we asked him. He nodded his head, teeth chattering in the cold.

“Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the new-born King
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled

Joyful, all ye nations, rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the new-born King…”

We couldn’t remember the verses that came next, but that was enough. We’d just declared the gospel in a refugee camp! We’d been made very aware of the rules in this government-run camp: no passing out religious materials, no preaching… But no one said we couldn’t sing.

The song opened the door for us to share with the young man about who Jesus is. The teen had never heard that Christmas celebrates Jesus’ birth. He listened eagerly as my teammate shared parts of the Christmas story.

The teen asked to hear “more music from America,” so we showed him worship videos of a church service from Bethel Church in Redding. Over successive shifts leading up to Christmas, the Lord provided many more encounters for our team with this young man, each time allowing us to share more of Jesus’ story and love for him. 

The World’s View vs. God’s View

The world calls this the refugee crisis. Seeing a glimpse of their suffering, hearing the horror stories of what they’d experienced before arriving in the camps… it certainly seems like this name would be right. But in two weeks the Lord showed us that He sees things differently. He calls it the refugee blessing. Only He can work if for good, and I believe and pray that is what He is doing.

As they seek refuge, thousands of people who have never been able to hear the gospel in their home countries are now arriving at our door, free to hear the good news we have the privilege of sharing!

Strangers on Earth

Jesus is well acquainted with being displaced from His home—from Bethlehem to Egypt, from Heaven to earth. As his followers, we too are called “strangers on the earth” (Psalm 119:19). Yet, Jesus eventually returns home, and He leaves us with the promise that He is taking those displaced home with Him.

In John 14, Jesus comforts His disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled… My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going” (John 14:1-4 NIV).

Jesus promises permanence to a world of weary wanderers. He goes to prepare “rooms”—not tents, not tarps. As a refugee, Jesus understands the longing of refugees, the longing of all “strangers on the earth” for home. And that’s where He will bring us—every tribe, tongue, and nation. But first we have the opportunity to invite our fellow strangers home.