Juarez, Mexico. Week 1

Doing things the easy way, or doing things God's way?

This whole year I have been doing missionary work in an underdeveloped barrio in Nicaragua, along with doing a Bible School in Spanish. Too keep it short I will just say that the "Escuela de la Biblia" has been the greatest challenge as well as the greatest blessing in my whole life. After 9 months of classes, we have an opportunity for 2 months of "outreach." That's where my story begins. Two of my school leaders: Jason (USA) and Jazmina (Nicaragua), and I all felt called to do our outreach in Juarez, Mexico (one of the worlds most dangerous cities right now). I want to be part of the change, and allow God use me in His plan to bring this city from darkness to light.

So I am writing now as we have just finished the first week of outreach in Juarez. Every day we have been giving a Bible Seminars, one each morning in a local center of rehabilitation as well as one each night in a local church. We taught on: The Truth of God, The Nature of God, the Character of God, The Design and Purpose of Man, and the Loving Commands of God.. and we really do believe in John 8:32 that they know the truth, and the truth will set them free! I have been teaching in Spanish the whole week, so sometimes I take a step back and just try to fathom the fact that I'm really teaching bible seminars in Spanish in Mexico, it amazes me! However, God is the real teacher, that is the main point. I can't teach if God is not speaking through me, I can't reach their hearts like God can and I am certainly not qualified like God is. I see myself as more of a guide and Jesus is the teacher, and He's a very good teacher at that!

He's always teaching me many things, and I'd like to share one of the lessons He taught me this week: Are you doing things the easy way, or God's way? It's a miracle that my friend Jazmina (a woman missionary from Nicaragua) is here teaching with us. It seems she has everything working against her.. she's a woman, and she's from a very poor country and to even get into the country she needs a VISA that's very hard to get for a Nicaraguan (even though she has an American Visa). She tried to get the VISA in her country and they denied her, but we knew that God was calling us and that He'd make a way so we flew to Colorado to try and get it, and through very unlucky circumstances and miscommunication, she couldn't get it in Colorado either!

We flew to Texas in faith, and I thought in my mind "Well we should take our chances at the border, they barely stop anyone" and I was encouraging Jazmina to just go because it would be so much easier than staying and trying to get the VISA in Texas. Jazmina, however, stood strong to her convictions and said "God has given me my American Visa, and I'm not going to take advantage of it. God tells us in the Bible to respect the authorities, and if I'm going to get into Mexico, I'm going to do it the right way." It would have been so easy to just go over the border (they didn't stop us) but it wouldn't have been right. Jazmina stayed an extra two days and fought for her VISA doing everything possible and it certainly was not easy but at the end they gave it to her. She did an amazing job teaching this week and it is obvious the blessing God is pouring out on her in honor of her obedience and faith. The enemy didn't want her to get into this country but my God can do all things and He opened the doors and didn't need to cheat to do it.

This reminds me of the story in the Bible when Jesus was tempted by the devil:
Luke 4:5-8 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, 'I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours.' Jesus answered, 'It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'

Jesus is the king of kings and lord of lords: he had the right to the authority over the kingdoms of the earth... He could have taken the easy way out and skipped all the pain and suffering on earth, but He decided to do things Gods way, the right way. He humbled himself and lived a life of rejection, even humbled himself to death.. on a cross. So God, then, exalted Him and gave Him the name above all names, and now Jesus is sitting on the throne in His rightful place, and has authority over all the kingdoms of the earth but not only that but we, as sinners, have an incredible opportunity to be forgiven, which we would never have if Jesus would have taken the easy way out.

Well that's the update from the first week, more on the way!
God bless you and keep you!

Morgan Taylor

Lord have mercy. How did I get here...

This is a blog I wrote on facebook on my 20th birthday (less than a month ago). Although I have dedicated this blog to be a blog of the present and not of the past, I felt it to be important to share this message, but I promise from now on it's going to be just what God is doing in my life RIGHT NOW.... Enjoy!

Well I'm 20 years old, and lately I've been looking back on my life.. where I'm at.. how I got here, and I've noticed that it's time to testify! The good Lord has done some miracles in my life and I gotta make it known to the world, ok! As I write this, I am sitting in a beautiful, lush tropical scene watching a fiery red sunset, surrounded by amazing people from all over the world and let me tell you brothas and sistas there's something in my heart right now that I cannot contain. There's somethin' in my heart that's screamin out and it wants to be known. That little heart deep down inside of me has a story and it has a message so listen up y'all!

In this story we find Jesus Christ taking center stage. Without him, my life would have no story worth telling but as my heart knows there aint no keeping Jesus Christ out of the story! I challenge you all to open your eyes and see that Jesus is not just here in the moment, or in our spiritual times but he is always with us every moment and has always been there through everything we've gone through, and I mean EVERYTHING!

When I was growing up I had my struggles, oh we all had our struggles but I felt myself suffering from rejection I felt like I wasn't good enough, I felt like I wasn't man enough and what I did was I opened up my heart to some lies, my heart began to hurt and there started a problem deep inside of me but you know what - Jesus was there. He was there every time someone called me a name, every time someone picked me last, oh when I felt out of place and insecure he was there right by my side, I see it now His hands moved with compassion reaching out to me trying to wipe away every tear but I did not let Him in, I did not turn to Jesus. I did not realize or understand that He was exactly what I needed and that He longed to tell me the Truth of who he created me to be, of the strong man I am and of my potential to make a difference in this world.

Over time my heart began to harden, I chose to rebel against what I knew was right and made bad decisions. Making poor friendship choices, falling into sinful habits of drinking and smoking and every time hardening my heart even more and killing my conscience away little by little. I fed the emptiness inside of me and the wounds and pain would never go away. I see now the pain my Jesus suffered by watching me in this time, I see the ways I hurt His heart by rejecting and rebelling against Him. He was always there reaching out to me calling out my name, but I was too cold and hardened to sense His love, to feel Him desperately trying to break in. He wants the best for our lives and love us so inexplicably that even when we are choosing to continue in destructive lifestyles Jesus is there in every decision and doing everything he can to help us, he became man and experienced every kind of temptation yet he did not sin, and he does have the power to keep us from sinning, he died to give us victory and salvation over sin and reconcile us back to a loving relationship with Him. But like so many people I did not respond, I was too trapped in immorality, but my Jesus never gave up.

There was one night I remember vividly, I felt torn and depressed and choking in hopelessness lying in my bed, feeling like I could never change, feelin like I had ruined everything and that I was some kind of monster oh but that night my friends that is the night where something happened. My ears heard the voice of Jesus and I'll never forget what he told me, he told me “I love you, you're a good man Morgan” that's all he said but you know what, that was enough. Jesus was there with me that night. Before that, I did not believe in God, I was offended by Him, how can he say he is loving and faithful if I am in so much pain and there is so much evil in this world. Oh how I see now that it was never His will for any bad thing to happen, but in His unfathomable love He made us with free-will and we are responsible for choosing evil over good and the consequences of our decisions, and even as we mess up and fail he is always doing everything to turn things around, to redeem us! I always had blamed God for my problems when in reality I can not justify myself for having done what I know is wrong, and there's always consequences good consequences if we obey God's loving and reasonable commands but very bad consequences if we selfishly choose to break those commands which have been summed up simply to love God and love one another (clearly the best way to live).Well I decided that night I didn't know if God was real or not, and I did not know if He truly is who He says He is, but I wanted to believe, how can you refuse such a beautiful thing? So I decided to give God the benefit of the doubt, let me tell you in that decision my cold dead heart began to have a small beat of hope.

And now I'm going to testify to just what happens when you give your life over to Jesus. Well now, without any doubt that was the best decision I've ever made! Jesus rescued me, he picked me up on wings like eagles and delivered me from my corrupt lifestyle and it was scary but faith moved me to do a discipleship training school in Costa Rica and that's when God really started to move y'all! He began to speak to me more and more clearly every single day I am hearing His guiding, comforting, loving voice of truth. He moved in every single area of my life, he restored my relationships, he freed me from sin, he healed my heart, renewed my mind, transformed me from the inside out and Lord have mercy I am a new creation, my heart was once dead but Jesus came in and it's more alive than ever! I realize I am a witness to the God of the impossible doing His thing in my life. My life is a testimony that God is mighty to save, but that is not all my friends! It is just the beginning of an exciting, fulfilling life with a relationship with Jesus Christ, a life with purpose, walking in freedom, and with JC on my team we gonna change the world!

Well that's where I'm at and how I got here, I really don't deserve to be here, or to have this second chance but hey that's why it's called grace.

Now It's my birthday wish that you all see Jesus Christ in every aspect of your lives, he has always been there and it's never too late to open up to him. He is who He says He is, and He's AWESOME. He is there knocking at your door, so invite him in to your heart and see that your life aint never gonna be the same ok!

All Aboard - Room for Everybody!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!

My name is Morgan Taylor, I'm 20 years old and I'm on a mission!

My life is a witness to God's miraculous power, healing touch, infinite grace and perfect love.

I am approaching my 3rd year as a missionary in Central America, and God truly has blessed me with a marvelous testimony of how I got to be here, and a higher calling and purpose for a life that was running fast into destruction and misery. I could write so many things about my past and God's faithfulness in my life.. I really do want to share all my stories and adventures, but I realize that I am still very young and this is just the beginning of all my adventures with God! I have decided that it is very important to keep a record of what God is doing in my life, so that I will always remember, like when God was leading the Israelites from Egypt to the Promise Land, he always wanted them to do things to help them remember in future times what God had done.. but most importantly I want to invite others to be a part of my mission, I am not alone! God is with me and so are you... so brace yourself and lets see what happens in a mans life when he dedicates himself to the Lord and moves by listening and obeying the voice of God!

God bless and thanks for reading,

Morgan Taylor