One Sentence.

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” –Romans 1:16

Paul would know better than most the truth of this verse. This week has been long, and it’s still not over. But this verse keeps me going. I know the power the cross has. I’ve experienced it in my own life. I’ve seen it change people in incredible ways. The rejections, the weird looks, the apathy…it’s all worth it to see just one person come to know the Lord. And that has become a truth for our team this week. The apathy on the campus is unreal. You can sit down with someone thinking they’re interested, watch them nod their heads while you explain the gospel and then leave with a “that works for some people, but I don’t think I’m interested”. Inside I just want to grab them and shake them and say, “You have to get this! It will change your life. You’re making a mistake by saying no!” But then God always seems to tap me on the shoulder and remind me that changing hearts is His job and not mine. That truth alone is what I must cling to daily in order for me to press on to the next conversation knowing that what I’m doing will be fruitful in God’s timing.

Fortunately, we serve a God who knows just what we need and when we need it. With each of us having outcomes similar to the one just laid out, He decides to show us a reason to stay true to our purpose and give us a “halftime pep talk”. On Tuesday, Mia made the decision to join us as the body of Christ. The first saved soul (that we’ve seen) so far. It was exactly what we needed to hear happen…it gave us hope and assured us of why we are here. Even if Mia is the only one who comes to know the Lord this summer…it will be worth it. So praise the Lord for showing us that the Holy Spirit is in Melbourne, He is working through us, and He does care what we are doing for Him :)

Tonight StudentLife had an outreach at a local mall…Cheeseburger Party! Everyone who came got a free Macca’s (McDonald’s) cheeseburger. It was a great time of meeting some more RMIT students and finding out where they are spiritually. I had a few really great conversations and hopefully a few coffee dates in the next week J Praise God for that!

The need for bold Christians at RMIT is still great. We are trying our best to spur the Aussie Christians along in their faith, but it’s been a struggle. Our aim is to team up with them and go sharing on campus with them, but because they are in classes, it’s difficult to work around their schedules. Another big obstacle is that many of them are new believers and the boldness is lacking. We are trying to encourage them as much as possible and build relationships with them, but again, that is another difficulty as well.

Going back to our experience on campus so far this week…it’s hard. Melbourne is indeed a desert, a land desperate for rain. Today I was asking the Lord to give me hope for this city, because honestly, it’s hard to see it. I had about an hour of alone time tonight before our team meeting. I was debating how to spend this precious hour of time (alone time is pretty sparse here). My decision: listen to a sermon I had downloaded on my ipod. I opened to Jonah and the Lord left me even more in awe of His incredible power.

Just to summarize… Jonah was commanded by the Lord to go the city of Nineveh and preach the Good News. Nineveh was at the time, the capital of Assyria, a people that were planning on causing major destruction. So, like most, Jonah saw it pointless to go try to this city to preach to people who won’t even give Jonah a second glance. Jonah decides to try to hide from God, in hopes that he wouldn’t have to go. Well, that was a bust. God of course, showed mercy to Jonah by saving him. The point of the sermon isn’t God’s mercy on Jonah, although that is a great sermon in and of itself. The point the pastor was making in this specific sermon was the compassion God has on the world.

In chapter 2, Jonah arrives in Nineveh and ended up leading the entire city to the Lord using one sentence. ONE, a total of 5 Hebrews words (8 translated English words). What the? Yep, that’s God.

What I wrote in response to reading this:

“Now that is power. Reading that is such a great reminder to me during this point of my journey that the amount of words you say doesn’t make people believe. It’s not about a long dialogue or a lot of questions. It’s about the capability of God’s power. God can change the heart of a city the size of Nineveh in just ONE day and with just 5 words, using Jonah, someone who initially ran from God in fear of even going. God uses the weak and He can revive cities with just one man and just a few words. His power is seriously incomprehensible!”

God is awesome. God is working. God will continue to work. He’s bringing the rain to Melbourne, whether it’s while we’re here on not.

If you want to come along beside me and my team, we’re keeping a list of people we meet and are praying about.

-Kiriaa, he is from the Ukraine = grew up as a Christian, but fell away. He wants proof through science.

-Amitola

-Chris

-Long

-Joe

-Jack

-Natalie = interested in becoming part of StudentLife

-Arthur

-Daniel

-Mia = our new sister in Christ…pray that she fights the horrible attacks Satan is throwing at her in her first days of being a believer. Pray that she continues to search for Truth and lives in the joy of having the Holy Spirit in her life.