Meet Percy!

11 days left… actually insane! Thailand has been so full of the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness in every aspect of relationship, ministry and mangos (the best thing on this side of heaven)!

Over this month, I’ve been reading through Luke which was written to the marginalized (thanks for putting me on Jon). And it just keeps reminding me of the heart Jesus has for us! In the midst of a woman’s pain and grief, “His heart overflowed with compassion” because that is His natural response. Because He is love. Because He wants to love us. Because He does.

He is constantly saying “Come to me with your surrendered heart.” His loving arms give us a warm hug and we can give Him all the yoke we carry. When Jesus looks at us it’s full of love and mercy, which is also how we should look at each other.

He doesn’t just invite us to come to him. The Lord wants our shameless persistence – asking, seeking, knocking. For us to be planted and rooted deep in love. He saying, “I’m right here. I always have been. Just because you don’t always feel me, doesn’t mean I left. I am working in your waiting. Trust me. I’m working. I will heal you. I am faithful to heal. Yes, even your heart. Even what you don’t expect. Even what’s scary. None of it matters. Let it fade away. Eyes on me.”

This month has also brought the coolest opportunity. Percy! Let me tell y’all… he is quite the character. One morning I went to a coffee shop for some early morning Bible time with Quin and Caleigh. This Australian guy walks up to us and starts talking with lots of crude humor and crazy jokes. And that was the start of our journey. Every morning we sit and meet with Percy at 7 am for an hour or so before we go out to ministry. He’s probably one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, speaks 6 languages, is 76, raised culturally Jewish and is now atheist. We have lots and lots of apologetics conversations about everything under the sun – the flood, evolution, Buddhism, Islam, Leviticus, leprosy, punishments, covenants, Jesus, the case for Christ, monkeys, koalas, prostitution, Trump, politics, war – literally you name it we may have yapped about it.

I don’t know if I’ve ever been more challenged in what I believe, needing a case for everything and “just have faith” not being near good enough. It’s caused me to dig deep and defend my faith in a way that makes sense to him and is biblical. There’s no BSing Percy, you have to know your stuff. And sometimes we just talk in circles about how there has to be a God and moral law and all these topics that feel really really big. But it’s also been so cool to see the Lord work through us.

We’ve gotten to form a genuine relationship with him and get to know him. He’s so funny and I love getting to start my mornings talking to him. I’ve learned so much about my faith through defending it. One of my biggest takeaways has been the difference between relationship and religion.

We should never let religion reign higher than relationship. One of Percy’s biggest complaints has been religious leaders who don’t look anything like what they say they believe in. People who claim Jesus but are terrible examples of Christ. He has told us daily that we’re so different, almost a gentle form of Christianity. The Bible talks so much about what it looks like to live set apart and how the world should know you are a disciple of Christ by the fruit of your life. It’s so easy to live by cultural Christianity. But radical Christianity is what moves people to Jesus. I had always heard that and never really understood what it meant. But the more that we sit Percy, the more I realize it means pursing the heart of Jesus more than any rule or regulation. I want true relationship more than any hint of religion. It makes such a difference. Percy has told us over and over again the fact that we aren’t just demanding what he should follow and us giving our lives to our faith shows him how genuine our belief is. It’s been so humbling and encouraging and touching all at the same time. I want to look so much like Jesus that people know I have something different and they want what I have… relationship with Jesus Christ!!!

That being said, please please pray for Percy. Pray that the seeds being planted would fall on good ground. Pray that the love of God would just overwhelm him in such an undeniable and powerful way. Pray that the Holy Spirit would speak through us every morning. Pray that this last week of getting to meet with Percy would be so fruitful and that his heart would be softened to the gospel.

Last week of ministry in Thailand is coming up this week!