Let My Life be Used…

Posted April 22, 2012 By Ivan

Beautiful Tallinn, Estonia

I’ve been in the Nordic-Baltic region of the world for the past week. Susan and I have experienced some amazing places and wonderful people. We are here with Bill and Arlie Ankerberg as our leaders…people who have invested so much of themselves here for years already. They have established strong friendships and have built invaluable trust with leaders in these Scandinavian nations. There are two big wins in this trip for me:

  • I get to learn from a man I deeply admire (Bill Ankerberg). He is characterized by generosity and getting God’s work done through meaningful relationships.He is a master at both. I have been truly inspired by “his way.”

    Arlie and Bill Ankerberg

  • The Nordic-Baltic Initiative provides a timely opportunity for me to learn how to do missions another way. The old paradigm rarely succeeds anymore. Especially in this environment, missions must be done through strong partnerships, respecting the good leaders of the nation, and being a servant to those that know best here. In my early season as Executive Director of International Ministries of Converge Worldwide, this is an invaluable course in ground-breaking missions strategy. We don’t have it figured out yet, but have an prime opportunity to do just that.

    Myself along with Pastor Siim of Oleviste, Bill Ankerberg, and Helari Puu.

I am humbled by the calling that God has placed on my life. What a rare privilege to be a part of bringing the gospel to people all over the world. I know that if I do my job well, many will come to faith in Christ that otherwise would not. On the other hand, if I am lax and choose a mediocre path, the consequences are dire. Oh–how I want to be faithful.

I want to be more like the great missionary, Paul, when he stated, “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” (Acts 20:24)

So Lord, help me to be faithful. Help me to learn to contextualize missions for today. I want to be an instrument in the hand of the Master. Let my life be used to “finish the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus.”

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