.faith you can't fake.

For the third time this afternoon, I close the windows to my room hoping that I'll be able to drown out the sound of Muslim prayers echoing throughout the city. A deafening loudspeaker blasts them throughout all of Batam though, and it makes them nearly impossible to ignore.

To be quite frank, it makes me a little queasy.

I find myself in a community where Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians roam the streets believing that their religion is something they're born into, instead of something they choose. As a result, many of them seem religious out of obligation. It's all about the rules.

At first I found that questions about my faith multiplied here as I was surrounded by so many people determined that their way is the right way. So, who is right? Am I right? Are they? There is only one right way, which makes the others wrong.

When I review the religions that I've encountered overseas, the contrast is drastic between those that believe because of love, and those that are religious out of obligation. The Christians I've met here in Indonesia are passionately in love with Christ and they don't check their Christianity at the doorstep when they finish their Sunday service. Their faith isn't an obligation or a game. It's not a drain on their weekend that prohibits them from sleeping in or something that steals away their fun. It's dangerous to believe what they do and even more so to walk it out. My friend Revelation was held at sword point (Yes, I said sword point.) just for mentioning Christ's name in a Muslim territory.

The Christians here face heartaches I could never fathom, but they laugh through the circumstances because they know the God they serve is real. They read the Bible and do what it says simply because it brings them closer to the one they love, not because the rules say they need to. They are joyful and push through hardships because they know that they'll eventually come out on top. Pastor Johannes told us that when the bible school started, they had five packs of roman noodles for 30 male bible students. Regardless, they laughed their way through prayers, knowing God would provide. And provide He did...
That's faith you can't fake.

So, what does this mean for us?

It means discipline, devotion, endless joy, and sacrifice. It means that we stop caring what the world wants because we don't serve the world. It means that when our culture tells us how normalcy and success are defined, that we throw out every definition because our Father has definitions all His own. It means that we might look crazy, and it means that we might be separated from those we love most because we want His will for our lives so badly. It means that we love our Father so much that it makes us want to obey His call.
It means we don't just believe, but we acknowledge our need for a Savior.

Do all of these things strike us as appealing? No, not particularly...but we remember that He loves us unconditionally and it's all the motivation we need to continue.

The strength that I've found within me since I became a Christian has been nothing short of miraculous. I could have never generated such strength had I been relying on myself. It has been the Spirit of the Living God within me. This strength makes me confident in the reality and truth that is my faith in Jesus Christ. Wow, I love Him...and in each country I visit, despite the doubt that surrounds the people of these nations, I am sure now more than ever that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only way for any of us to be sanctified before the Lord God Almighty.

Our world didn't come to be from an explosion. It was intimately created by the Alpha and Omega and saved again by His atoning sacrifice of a Son. Religion isn't a game that we play with in our spare time. We are here for a purpose, and it amazes me how Americans seem so blind to it. The rest of the world is quite aware. Life isn't about self-gratification and contentment. It's about falling madly in love with the Savior of the world, so that we can spend an eternity with Him in heaven.
That reason is why I'm on this trip...

I didn't leave all the comforts of home to sleep on dirty floors, snuggle with ants, and bathe from buckets out of boredom. I didn't sign up to travel the world, "World Race" style, and leave the people I love because I thought it would be an adventure or because I'm a nice person. I'm doing this because I'm madly in love with Jesus Christ and each day I'm assured of His sovereignty. I've got a desire to testify to the nations about His glory and I won't let something like cockroaches on the dinner table slow me down.

This isn't just something I do because "christianity works for me." Jesus is IT and I wish we'd all be serving Him like He was.