Family

Written by Eric Wilkins Wednesday, 30 January 2013 14:00

The longer I have been with CTI the more I see that it is not just a community of believers: it is a family. Throughout the past couple of weeks 14:21 has been staying with one CTI alum after another as we travel around the southeastern United States. I amazes me that I have never met many of these people, but there is an immediate connection. They have experienced CTI in another time and have been through many of the situations we have gone through or will go through. It's so cool to hear their crazy and inspiring stories from on the road and their lives after CTI, to hear how it changed and affected their lives from then on. I was so encouraged by their immediate love for us and how much they truly cared about us. Since they know what this life is like they know what we need and want during our time on the road.  

One thing they know and probably understand better than we do is the reason why CTI exists and what our role is in this ministry. Dale Madden, one of the last alumni we stayed with, took the time to sit down with us and have a short devo, because he knew that it is easy to lose sight of our purpose. In it he talked about remembering why we are with CTI and what the ministry exists to do. It is not focused on our comfort or about traveling or making friends. Those are all great things and an awesome part of what we do, but we are part of CTI ultimately to bring glory to our Maker and Sustainer. He reminded us that part of glorifying God was loving those around us, mainly, our team members, our immediate family. Despite the attempts of Satan to distract us and tear the team down, God has us in the places we go and on this team for a reason. He ended the devo with Philippians 1:3-11:

"I thank God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ -- to the glory and praise of God."

There is so much joy in knowing that our brothers and sisters in Christ in the staff at CTI, on 14:22 and those who have been a part of CTI in the past are thinking of and praying for us in this way as we do likewise. We are blood relatives, washed in the blood of Christ. 
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