Faith, hope and love

As promised, now I've got my bible and notes I'll share what God put on my heart to share as my testimony in Estonia. I think it will lose some of the effect now it doesn't have to be translated twice, and I'll leave out the joke that got me in trouble with the corps officers there.

I never know what a "testimony" is meant to be. My life story is boring most of the way through, and not pretty in parts, so I'll leave that out and just concentrate on this last year. When I was praying about what to say, I was reminded of the passage in 1Corinthians 13 that speaks about faith, hope and love - so I tried to fit something around that.

Faith - I spoke about my obedient response to God's call to Salvation Army officership...namely "no, never, why, I can't", and that however many arguments or excuses I put in the way, God put each and every one to shame in a way that not even my mum can do. John 15:16 says "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name" I didn't choose that direction for my life - I thought it was a stupid idea. But God did, and since I stopped arguing about it a year ago, He's changed and taught me so much. There's still a lot I'm not sure about (most recently, what country I'll be serving in!) but I've learnt to trust God to make me the person He wants me to be - and I want to encourage you to do the same. Romans 8:28; "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"

Hope - I'm told that hope comes from our faith, so I thought about what I hoped for. Whilst I was on the platform speaking, my main hope was that what I was saying was making sense and that the translators weren't changing it to make me look even more stupid (I did wonder why the russian seemed to be 3 times longer than anything else)! I hoped that over the weekend, people would be spoken to and challenged by our ministry. But ultimately, I hope that over time I'll get to know God better, and I want you to as well. Colossians 1:27; "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory"

That passage vaguely leads on to the last one - Love, because it speaks about "Christ in you". And when Christ is in you, it shows. Love, as the Regional Commander's wife put it when I asked her, is the outward expression of our faith. I wasn't bought up in a Christian family...I'm a Christian because of the love, friendship and support of a friend. Sometimes, telling people about God isn't enough...no matter how much I was preached at, I didn't believe it - until I was shown. The man that showed me what God was like matched the description of love that Paul gives us in 1Corinthians...he was patient, kind, humble; not rude, or selfish, or angry. Love is about protection, trust and perseverance. When he showed me that, I became a Christian and it is now my mission to show people how much God loves them. And I want to encourage you to do the same, to "live a life of love, just as Christ loved us" (Ephesians 5:2)