Compelled by Love

"Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?"

Romans 2:4 (NLT)

These past few weeks in lectures have been amazing. Within our topic of Cross-Cultural Evangelism (by speaker Ross Tooley), and my own personal times with God, I've gotten such deep revelation of God's love for us.

Here are the main lecture points of the week:

• God loves us into repentance.
• Jesus overwhelmed people with the love and character of God, which then led to repentance. There is a sequence! Examples: John 4 (The Woman at the Well), Luke 19 (Zaccheaus), John 5 (The Pool at Bethesda), John 8 (The Woman Caught in Adultery).
• Jesus shows love and kindness before he introduces repentance.
• Our role in evangelism is to present a true picture of God that people cannot help but fall in love with.
• When you witness, believe that a loving God is already working on them.
• God is already at work, just be diligent in what God gives you. Not your responsibility to lead them to Christ when they are not ready! (Could be an act of kindness, a listening ear, a cup of coffee, etc.)
• LISTEN and LOVE. Lovingly replace the lies the person is believing with the truth. The truth will set them free!
• You can't lead people to Christ if they don't trust you. People trust love. Be genuine in loving the person with no selfish agenda. It is the revealing of God's love that makes a lasting impact.

Jesus is the exact representation of God's character- a God who overwhelms us with His love. People are resistant to God because they have believed in a false representation of God's character, unfortunately many times presented by the church. To see God's character perfectly revealed, we must look to Jesus, the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). The character of God is no mystery- He has fully revealed himself in every way through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Our speaker, Ross Tooley (who is one of the original YWAMers and has been with YWAM for 45 years!) took us through all the major religions this week: Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism. Having knowledge of these religions and belief systems makes it possible to effectively share the gospel using their own concepts/principles that they can relate to. However, we learned that the most important cross-cultural tool is love. Jesus shows us that LOVE is the power to reach hearts beyond theology and doctrine. Sharing God's love with people is the key to bringing them to the Father.

God's word to me this week is to overwhelm people with the love and goodness of God. I've been asking God to increase my capacity to love. When people experience the love of God, they can begin to accept truth because they have experienced something real and personal to them. God's love is astounding. I will never stop growing in my understanding of His love.

Jesus' whole life of ministry was a compulsion of love. I long to live my life this way.

"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

Some stories from Evangelism:

My Encounter with Emie

On Tuesday, I was walking alongside a park on the way to my dorm and I see this young man in an electric wheelchair just parked in the grass. The Holy Spirit moved me to go and talk to him, so I did, just struck up conversation. I ended up sitting in the grass next to him for about 45 minutes, talking about all kinds of things. He has a condition called Cerebral Palsy where he suffers from loss of muscle control, cannot use his hands, and has difficulty using speech. His name is Emie. He is very intelligent and friendly, you just have to be patient as he speaks.

I came to find that he is a motivational speaker for people with disabilities and has all sorts of passions and dreams! It was the perfect platform to affirm with him the value and purpose of each and every individual. We talked about God, and I shared about how He created us with unique purpose and has a plan for each of our lives- that we are created for a reason. I got to speak so much truth and value over his life- it was amazing!

Then, I invited him over to the base for lunch. I got to serve and feed him, practically showing God's love and value for him. We continued to talk about God, and knowing I'm a Christian, he started asking questions about Jesus. I got to share the gospel with him and shared my testimony. He asked me more and more questions- I got to share so much with him.

After almost an hour, I walked with him back to the road and asked if I could pray for him. He gladly accepted, and it was so powerful. God's power moved through me in prayer as I spoke God's love, value, and blessing over his life- that nothing is impossible for those who are in Christ; that he may know God and experience God's grace and power to accomplish His will and purpose for his life. He was so completely touched by our time together; he just kept thanking me over and over. As thankful as he was, I felt that I was the one who was blessed this afternoon. I left feeling so inspired by his life- a true overcomer.

What a divine appointment! Amazing what will happen as we listen and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit.

A New Friend, Genjiro

James and I led evangelism on Thursday afternoon, leading a group of 100 people from the base. I gave a short devotion before we left about keeping love as our highest motivation, higher above any message we may give.

During evangelism, I met a young man from Japan, Genjiro. There was a strong language barrier, but God told me, "just love him." I kept asking him questions (half words, half sign language... it was quite comical) and got to know some things about him. I found out he is Buddhist, but was incredibly open to hear about Jesus. I told him I would try and get a Bible to him in his language, which he was very excited about. We made plans to meet on Saturday.

Well, Saturday came, and I was unfortunately unable to find a Bible for him on base ( We had Korean and Chinese, but no Japanese Bibles). So on Saturday morning, I got a little creative. He had given me an e-mail address, so I e-mailed him a Japanese gospel tract that I found online and sent it to him. Then, I spent about an hour creating an illustrated gospel booklet using simple English and pictures with the art supplies I have. It's kind of funny that I did that (I am not an artist by any means), but I feel I was being led by God to do this.

I brought an orange and a bar of chocolate for him along with my booklet. He was so overwhelmed with gratitude, smiling ear to ear, bowing and thanking me. It was evident that the act of taking the time to create the gospel book spoke more to him than anything else. We went through it, picture by picture, and he let me know that he has a Japanese/English dictionary to translate the words.

Then I prayed for him. The Holy Spirit was strong; I could feel God ministering to his heart, revealing himself. After the prayer, he told me, "I could not understand all the words you were saying, but I could feel God inside of me" as he put his hand over his heart. Praise God!! He supernaturally touched Genjiro's heart. We made plans to meet again next week, this time (hopefully) with a Japanese Bible.

Everything In Between...

Aside from lectures and evangelism, I am doing very well. I am really connecting with a classmate of mine, Moira. We've been spending a lot of time together and I'm really growing in my friendship with her.

A highlight of my week last week was getting a Birthday package from Anne, Carrie, and Katy! I cried when I opened it (I'm a softie). In it was all kinds of essentials- a Camelback water bottle, a couple tops, a purse, music, toiletries, birthday cards... I was incredibly blessed by them. I love you girls so much!

On Wednesday of this week, I preached the gospel to my class (as an assignment we have to do). We are told to be creative with it- it can be to any location and audience. I decided to make mine a Mexico City open air. I setup a space outside with a mexican blanket, sombrero, and a big sign that said "Bienvenido a Mexico" and ushered my class out of the classroom and preached the gospel to them. It was good practice for the real thing in just 3 weeks from now!!

Friday, I led intercession for our class (we take turns in leading this each week). We prayed over each other in groups, getting our hearts clean before God and encouraging one another in areas of weakness. This time in prayer led to a 2 hour time in worship, seeking the face of God. It was incredible.

Thanks for Reading!

Sending lots of love to you, wherever you are in the world :) Please do not hesitate to e-mail, send a message on facebook, or let me know a time when I can Skype call you. If you get a chance, could you please read the post below? I am in need of prayer in regards to finances.

Love and Blessings,

Stephanie