Perfect love casts out all fear

I've been told that successful people write down their goals. As a business major, one of my classes had us create a "Personal Strategic Plan" and basically write down all of our strengths, weakness, words of wisdom, and goals that we hope to remember as we continue on this crazy path we call life.

I was looking up my personal Mission Statement (because I need it for another class) and this is what I had written.

My vision is to live out the great commission in every aspect of my life. Acts 1:8 states that we are called to make disciples of all nations going out into Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. As life takes me on this twisting journey, I shall prevail to continue to live out Christ’s calling on my life in building character, relationships, and leaders. In this way, I can live a full and satisfying life for the one who created me to serve and build-up His kingdom.

Still true today. Then I took a look at my goals.

Well it looks like I might get to check number 1 off my list. :) These are the 3 things that God put on my heart. These are the 3 things that, despite business and free-market getting a bad rep, I hope to be able to use my skills to work towards. God has a plan in all of this. 

I'm called to the mission-field. I was called to be in this area of study. Didn't make sense to me then and sometimes even now I question it, but God has shown me too many amazing people who, like me, are using Business as a form of ministry. (Among other acquired, God-given gifts such as teaching English)


Google search Jordan and what you'll actually find is an extremely tall and talented former basketball player... that is not what you're looking for. Find the country.

Notice the surroundings?? Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Syria. We're talking pretty much the center of the Fertile Crescent. It looks from pictures to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. And from what I have read, some of the nicest people.

People ask me if I am scared. And the answer is NOPE! God is calling me there and I know He has His plans. But from people who have been there, it is one of the most kind and generous countries one can visit.

Hospitality is one of the key values in the Middle East. We forget because of media that many of these people are just people with families who have jobs and trying to do right by their perception of God. Gift giving is another key value (one that I am personally terrified of because I'm awful at gifts for normal times in the US... but we'll work on that) 

The more I've learned about their culture, the more parallels to the Bible I see. My mind has read scripture in a whole new way. This is a collective society where everything is done in a "we" form so when Jesus says to reject your family and leave EVERYTHING to follow Him, I've always read it from a personal perspective. Jesus literally meant that they would lose everything. Shame and dishonor for the sake of doing what is right? The were brought into a new family. The family of God, but to take that step meant more than I could ever imagine. I saw the persecution has a physical thing from those who hated Christians. Which it was, but to hate family?

But this opened then my eyes to Acts where it said they shared everything and everyone was without need. Sharing and community. And 2000 years later, these are still the values that they hold on to. Christian, Muslim, Jew--They are still people. They are collective to their respective groups. They are collectively lost. They are collectively misunderstood. 

A friend of mine spent a good amount of time in a creative access country last summer and he made this point: fear is the biggest motivator to not follow the Lord. Nothing is safe. Nowhere is safe. Only a life following the Lord's will is "safe." 

Perfect love casts out fear. And perfect Love only comes from the One who is Love.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*How To Support M.E.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

For cash or check please send charitable donations to Global Treasury Services. Expenses should be made payable to General Treasurer Church of the Nazarene at: 

Church of the Nazarene

 P.O. Box 843116

 Kansas City, MO 64184 

and should include the following information: 1. Amman, Jordan 2. Rebekah Musselman. 3. Mission Corps.

Donations can also be given online: Http://web.nazarene.org/goto/rmusselman and look for the MAKE A DONATION button under the picture.