Less of the World, More of Christ

How sincerely do we really believe the Word of God?
This is the question that has spurred us on in the direction of seeking to trust His promises, and striving to live radically for the sake of the gospel, and the good of our poor brothers.
For years now, the Word of God has been pressing us to sell all our possessions and give to the poor, in order that we may have treasure in heaven. To say that we've resisted this "extreme measure," would be an understatement. We have strained against it and made up for ourselves all types of rationalizations for why this would be impractical. And so we've carried on feeling mostly content in, and even smug about living out our simplified version of the American dream.
But, the words of Christ and the writer's of the New Testament have pressed into us, and it seems we cannot ignore the Spirit in us, who delights in the Word of God, and instructs us from it. We also cannot ignore the examples of other believers, such as those in Philippi, whose "abundance of joy and extreme poverty" overflowed in a wealth of generosity toward taking part in the relief of the saints; and our dear brother George Mueller who devoted his life to demonstrating to the church how faithful and true is the God who loves us, and how great is His power toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ultimately, we've decided that we want more power. We want to have victory over sin, and we want a deeper, more abiding intimacy with Christ our Lord. We have prayed for it, sometimes with tears. And in faithfulness He has shown us his path toward gaining these things. Specifically, we believe He is calling us to loosen our grasp on the world - if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him - to the point of literally selling all our possessions, which we have held so dear and in which, as we are finding out, we have trusted for our joy and satisfaction.
Our deepest desire and longing is to take the money from this sale and give to the poor brothers and sisters, especially those who are persecuted for the sake of Christ. Unless God clearly leads us otherwise, this is what we will do with the money we earn.
However, there is one potential hindrance to our plan - our debt. We owe several thousand dollars in college loans, and about $11,000 on our mini van. We are praying that God would somehow pay off these debts, thus freeing us to give more radically with a clear conscience.

Here are our prayer requests as we plan and prepare:
-That God would bring buyers to our "moving" sale, and all our possessions would sell quickly and at reasonable prices.
-We and our kids would find that God in Christ, is the supreme treasure of the universe, and be satisfied that we have already gained him.
-That we would be guarded against spiritual attack as we seek to live out the gospel in practical ways.
-That others would be encouraged, and even join us in laying down our American lifestyle for the sake of our brothers.
-That our debt would be paid in full.