Ladalia Rehab visit

Today Pablo and I visited a different drug rehab center in a town called Ladalia. It's actually the rehab center that our mission group had visited this summer, but it got shut down and is now being run by different people. Praise God that after only a couple months they already have 180 people that have begun rehabilitation. Although in a lot of ways this is the most difficult part of many of these people's lives, as they've hit rock bottom, it is a blessing for them to more openly receive the message of Christ. Today I shared with them how difficult it is to draw near to God in our own pride. The thing that always has and always will draw people nearer to God is a humble heart. And while every individual in that rehab facility has struggled with different sufferings, the bible makes it clear that our suffering doesn't have to be in vain. Whether the struggles of these people has arisen from their own poor decisions, from circumstances outside their control, or a mix of both makes no difference. We have all made mistakes in the past, and we all struggle with different burdens. Christianity isn't a self help program. It is a process of burying our old lives and starting anew in Jesus Christ. A common misconception is that the cross is a symbol of hope, when in fact it is a symbol of death. While many reading this and many who listened to Pablo and I in Ladalia today have most definitely experienced "unfair" circumstance, the only human to walk the earth who was truly deserving of anything spent his life in servitude, only to end in death on a cross. And if the history of Jesus ended there, Christians would be without any hope at all. But Jesus raised from the dead, by the power of God. While the cross meant death to Jesus, it also means death to our sinful lives, and while Jesus rose from the grave, so anyone who has truly been filled with Christ has risen to a new life in him. New life in Christ doesn't mean we become free from suffering though. As in the case of the Apostles, it often means the opposite. But as the apostle Paul wrote, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied."  Even Christians often forget that Jesus promised that in this life we will have troubles. But we are to be confident, because Jesus overcame the world. While sufferings don't commonly appeal to people, it is in our weakness that God's power is perfected in us. The miracles you see in the bible occur amidst the greatest trials, unspeakable hardships, and impossible odds. After all, if we think we can make it on our own why would we need God? But we do need God, and thus, out of love, he allows great hardships to occur in our lives. As I spoke to a room full of broken people today, I didn't sugar coat anything. I know they've had it rough, and I know there will be trials to come, just as in anyone's life. But because of Jesus we do have hope, an eternal hope. Being a follower of Christ doesn't often entail great physical blessing, but I know of no greater joy, no greater peace, no greater hope and no greater contentment. Personally I have found far less satisfaction in 20 years of physical blessing than in 4 months of serving in a third world country. Because of Jesus I can honestly say as Paul did, "for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."