Crucified Messenger
“Crucified Messenger”
This is the phrase I heard while in prayer; face down, trembling, crying out for God to strip me of myself. Pleading for Him to leave nothing of me, only what is of Him. In the last five years, I’ve had a handful of these moments; encounters where the presence of God is so heavy, it feels almost impossible to breathe, yet in those moments, I am more alive than ever.
After I heard those words I realized something. Don’t you know, that the primary cause of death during a crucifixion is suffocation. When we take up the cross and follow Christ Jesus we are not only dying to self, we are suffocating our own nature that the nature of God would be preeminent in our life. For me, in that moment I was realizing, in greater depth, the call to follow Him. We, as disciples of Christ, are called to take up our cross and follow Him. When a person was sentenced to death by crucifixion they would be forced to carry a cross beam(patibulum) through the Via Dolorosa(The way of suffering) til they would be either tied to the beam or nailed(they nailed those who they considered a deity). When onlookers saw a person carrying that beam, they knew that person was sentenced to death. To take up our cross is to allow the presence of God and the word of God to crush us, to suffocate our own selfish and sinful nature so that the divine nature of God can reign through our mortal bodies. My friends, do onlookers know we are carrying that beam? Do they know we are not living for self? Do they know who we are living for? Carrying the cross sent a message. God is calling us to be a crucified messenger, what message are we sending?
With that in mind, we at One For All Missions are focused on building an army. An army of mighty men and women that’s sole focus is to advance the kingdom of God. An army that is tired of Luke-warm christianity where An army that is tired of carnal christianity where their praise has to be neat and their proclamation has to be tailored. An army that is tired of warming seats when they are called to set hearts on fire. Is that you?
This year we have at least ten opportunities to function as this army. The first on the docket is April 19th as we partner with River of Life Church to proclaim the Gospel in Tappahannock. This will be an outreach to reach those in that region far from God through a day full of food, fun, and community. We need volunteers that are willing to pray, serve, and connect with those who come from the community. During this time we want evangelists ministering to hearts with the Gospel and we will have a time of open air preaching to solidify those planted seeds. The second is May 31 as we head to Fredericksburg to conduct our Street Church Campaign where we will have open air worship and preaching. We need volunteers to pray, serve, and connect with the community. We are also still gearing up for our WV mission trip on September 28. Registration is open and we still have roughly 15/25 slots available. We will be serving those in poverty through construction and are planning evangelistic events for our time there. Registration closes March 16th. If you are interested you can email Admin@oneforallmissions.org for next steps. We need a mixture of those that are handy and can assist with construction, as well as those who are willing to pray, serve, and connect through our evangelistic efforts.
As always, I want to take this moment to thank you all for your support and prayers. You have no idea how much they mean to us. Your prayers are essential to keep this mission moving forward, and we are deeply grateful for your partnership in the gospel.
I also want to encourage you to take a step of faith and get involved. Here are two ways you can allow your faith to act:
Generosity: Our vision exceeds our current provision, but we know that God will provide. I want to invite you to be part of this journey. Your giving is not just meeting needs, it’s sowing into lives being changed by the gospel. You can click the link in this email and start partnering financially today.
Join the Team: We have many campaigns planned, and with them come opportunities to serve God not only in the Church but as the Church. Whether through outreach, prayer, or logistics, your role is vital.
Together, as crucified messengers, we can advance for the Glory of God and the proclamation of His Gospel.
By His grace and for His glory,
Matthew Ausby Meadows