Hello, my name is, Isiah Smith. 

I’m 30, I live in Mustang, Oklahoma. I love to play basketball and soccer. Football is my favorite sport to watch. I believe it’s one of if not the ultimate team sport. You’ll find me gazing at the stars, hanging out with friends, learning the stock market, learning real estate, reading a good book and trying to write something remotely coherent.

May we grow closer to love, grow in love, and spread his love.

I'll be stepping into the next step in what The Lord has for me by being a Missionary Associate in Rotterdam, Netherlands. I'll be assisting Josh Allen at Gateway City Church in every area of the church. I'll also be helping with Students for Christ (Chi Alpha) at Erasmus University in Rotterdam.

Hosea 4:6 says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." This word "knowledge" really isn't just mental activity or realization of who God is, although that is utterly necessary. It's this relationship with the Lord that Hosea is talking about. In your life, you who are reading this, you know people who know about Jesus. But they do not know him personally. They do not have a relationship with Jesus. I'm sure you can name a handful of people. Imagine that, but an entire country. The Netherlands was once a part of the Reformation and has had many brilliant minds and faithful servants for the kingdom come out of The Netherlands. For example, Corrie Ten Boom, Desiderius Erasmus, the famous painter Rembrandt painted the picture of The Prodigal Son in the 1600s, Vincent Van Gogh felt as if he was called into ministry in his younger years. But I believe, most importantly (albeit all aforementioned extremely important people), this group of people has a direct effect on us who are Americans. In the borough of Delfshaven, these pilgrims escaped the UK to The Netherlands to seek religious persecution in 1608. Fast forward to 1620, a group of pilgrims in The Netherlands left The Netherlands for concern that their children would acclimate into Dutch life and culture, as well as the economic situation of The Netherlands not being great at the time. Evidently, it was a decision to join Christopher Columbus on the Mayflower to seek religious freedom and raise their kids in the way they believed would be honoring to God. Today, The Netherlands is HIGHLY secular. Another way to think about secularism is relativism. This is the oldest strategy of the enemy. Relativism says, "If I'm not hurting anyone and if this is beneficial for me, then so be it, let your conscience be your guide and enjoy." We can see traces of this in Genesis 3 in the fall where Eve saw the fruit was good for food; she disobeyed God's commandments and ate of the fruit because she believed it was good for her, a self-centered philosophy. Some argue that relativism can be self-centered because it prioritizes individual perspectives and beliefs above any objective truth. From this viewpoint, relativism is seen as emphasizing personal preferences and feelings over universal principles or values. As Christians, we believe there to be an object of truth, Jesus. I think we can trace traces of relativism or secularism in Genesis.

The people in the story of the Tower of Babel sought to build a tower that reached the heavens as a symbol of their own achievements and greatness. This ambition can be seen as a form of human autonomy and self-reliance, which are values deeply rooted in secularism. Secularism emphasizes the separation of religious and governmental institutions, promoting individual autonomy and human agency in decision-making, and can be interpreted as a disregard for divine authority. They sought to make a name for themselves and establish their own identity apart from God's guidance or intervention. This rejection of divine authority aligns with the secular principle of separating religious influence from public or collective endeavors. With all of this in mind, it's no wonder The Netherlands are where they are socially and culturally and how things like The Red Light District is able to exists. 

Would you be a part of what God is doing in The Netherlands?

gatewaycitychurch.nl

studentsforchrist.nl