Rejoice in the Lord - Always!

Sunday night, as I scrolled through Facebook, I kept seeing postings about people who had decided to give their lives to Jesus - putting Him on in baptism, having their sins washed away.  I don't know how many people I read about....maybe 20....but it was people from all over the United States.

Yesterday I read about a lady who is working in a prison ministry and has taught 44 ladies there about Jesus using the book "A Muscle and a Shovel" by Michael Shank.  All 44 of them did the same or were restored....repenting of their sins and turning their lives and hearts back to Him.What a wonderful thing it is when the Lord adds people to the church or causes their heart to be pricked to turn back to Him!!

Mr. Shank's sequel to "A Muscle and a Shovel" is called, "When Shovels Break". It will be released in January 2015, but is about Mike's friend who became a Christian, but then turned back to his old life.  He almost committed suicide because he felt so unworthy of Christ's love and forgiveness. He was hopeless. He didn't feel like he could ever be redeemed because of his return to sin and didn't feel like God would even want him back.

Many feel that same way - that they've gone too far into the depths of sin.  Nothing is further from the truth! God can redeem the lost and those who walk away!  He will forgive, and He does!

I can't wait to read that story.  I'm sure it will direct many more souls to Jesus, pointing them to the truth found in God's Word.

Jesus' disciples are still fishing, just as they did 2,000 years ago! They are fishing for men and women, not fish!

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

Go and Tell Begins at Home

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

Most of us don't have to "go" very far to begin "making disciples". In fact, most of us can start right within the walls of our own homes.  And the very best time to start is right from the very beginning.  Even little ones can begin learning the elementary truths:  God is our Heavenly Father. Jesus is God's Son. The Bible is God's Word.  The church is God's people.  Those very first things are the foundation of faith.

It's great to send money or even go to other places to teach the Gospel to others, but if we do that, yet neglect teaching the very ones in our homes, then we've failed the ones we can influence the very most.  Parents spend hours and hours teaching and training or even spend money on training their children in schooling, sports, or hobbies, yet how much time is spent in studying and teaching them God's Word?  Do we leave that up to the Bible class teachers?  The youth minister?  Training begins at home!

Maybe you did teach them about God and Jesus and the church. Maybe you trained them the very best you could.  And maybe, for whatever reason, they didn't listen.  Remember that some day that instruction may come back to them. Perhaps some day they will turn to Him. Don't give up! Keep praying!  Keep being the example God would want you to be.

Never stop learning. Never stop teaching. And never stop doing what you can do to make disciples.

Special Ingredients - Make Every Effort

God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and for godliness. This power was given to us through knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and integrity. Through his glory and integrity he has given us his promises that are of the highest value. Through these promises you will share in the divine nature because you have escaped the corruption that sinful desires cause in the world. Because of this, make every effort to add integrity to your faith; and to integrity add knowledge; to knowledge add self-control; to self-control add endurance; to endurance add godliness; to godliness add Christian affection; and to Christian affection add love. If you have these qualities and they are increasing, it demonstrates that your knowledge about our Lord Jesus Christ is living and productive. 

2 Peter 1:3-8

Several years ago I did a lesson at a ladies' retreat about these verses. It was a recipe them, so these verses fit right with the theme.  I am using the God's Word Translation above, but the NIV says "increasing measure" on that last verse, instead of just increasing....so the 'measure' fit well with measuring ingredients in the recipe.

I love this passage of scripture because it shows us that it is not on our own power that we change into what God wants us to be.  He wants us to live a godly life.  He wants us to be holy, have faith, integrity, knowledge, self-control, endurance, and love for each other. But our sinful nature sometimes resists those changes.  It is ONLY through HIS divine power within us that we can change into what He knows we can be.

The Holy Spirit is given to us when we are baptized (Acts 2:38) and helps us grow spiritual fruits (Galatians 5-22:23).  His power has given us everything we need!  There is nothing more!

The key is in verse 5 in the passage above:  Make every effort.  Make every effort.  Am I making every effort to add these special ingredients to my life? Are you?   If I am, the last verse (8) says that my knowledge about Jesus is living and productive.  If I'm not, my knowledge about Jesus is not living and not productive.  

Jesus wants us to bear fruit for Him.  That shows that we are His disciples.  And because of Him, we have that power within us to do just that!  Thank you, Jesus!  Thank you, God! Thank you, Holy Spirit!

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory,that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

John 15:1-8

GO - It's a BIG Word! Part 2

So, in the last post we looked at the first two reasons "GO" is a big word. Now we'll look at the last two reasons.

3. GO is a big word because it is an open-ended command. Jesus said, "go and tell", but we ask the question, "When do I stop?". We may say, "I'm older now." "I've done my part." "I've taught others about Jesus." "I'm retiring from that job." But, we must realize God needs us for our entire life! You and I are never too old to serve God. You and I are never too old to tell others about Jesus. You and I may be telling others about Jesus from a nursing home bed or from a hospital bed, but we can still share the Good News!

Another question we may ask is, "How do I go?". You and I may make excuses. "I don't know what to say to others." "I don't know how to share the Good News about Jesus." By studying and reading God's Word, we become more and more comfortable with the teachings written there and then become more able to share those teachings with others. However, we do not have to be a Bible scholar to teach others! Just open the Good Book and share straight from the Word.

Another thing we have to realize about the word "go" is that maybe you and I are "going" and "telling", but maybe God wants us to get out of our comfort zone and go a different way. Maybe God can use us in a different way or in a different place. I have felt this way since I began teaching teenage girls. I was used to teaching adult women and had for 5 years. I was used to teaching preschoolers and had for 3 years, plus babies, and school-aged before that. But, I had never taught teens and was a little afraid to, honestly! But, God gave me the courage to teach these girls about Jesus and it's been exciting and gotten me out of my comfort zone. It's helped me, but more importantly they are learning about Jesus!

4. GO is a big word because of what we are asking of others. "Make disciples" is not a command that can be mass-produced in a factory. However, remember that Jesus gave this command in Matthew 28:16-20 and not very long afterwards about 3,000 disciples were 'made' in one day! Acts 2:41 says, "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."

God did mass produce, didn't he?!

We must remember that we are talking to real people with real lives. They have real opinions about what they believe. They have real experiences that they have gone through. That is an awesome responsibility and we cannot take that lightly. But, just as the Jesus' original disciples carried out the command and God gave them success, we must also have faith that God will bring about the same success now. We just need to get busy and get to work!

As we work trying to 'make disciples', we are telling them about Jesus and showing them His love and power. We are letting them know what a relationship with Jesus means...what following God's plan means for them - ultimately eternal life in Heaven! But, we also can only teach them about Jesus by showing them that we are living for Him. If we are trying to get someone else to become a Christian, it is implying that we have already given our lives to Him. We are telling them that we are striving to live our lives for Him each and every day. Not just once, not just a few times a year, not even 52 times a year, but every single day of our lives here on Earth.

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23


So....GO seems like such a big word because it is. It truly is a big word.

Have a Happy Easter, everyone!

You Go Girls!

When you hear something exciting, don't you get excited to tell about it? Now sometimes we have to be careful. Some things shouldn't be told. We have to be careful to avoid gossip. But what about good news that is worth sharing? Someone's getting married! Someone's had a baby! Something special like that....it's just worth telling, isn't it?

In the gospel of Matthew (28:1-10), we read Matthew's account of the resurrection of Jesus. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary had gone to visit the tomb, but when they arrived at the tomb, Jesus' body was not there. An angel of the Lord had come and rolled the stone away. He spoke to the women and told them to not be afraid, but to go quickly and tell his disciples.

They hurried on their way, but along the way met Jesus. They fell at his feet and worshipped him. In verse 10, Jesus told them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." The women went quickly.

Would you have wanted to be one of the women who went to the tomb early that Sunday morning? Would you have gone quickly when the angel said "go and tell"? After you met Jesus - risen and now alive - would you have clasped his feet and worshipped him? When Jesus told you to "go and tell", would you have gone?

I think almost all of us would answer a big YES to every one of those questions, without hesitation. We would have come in contact with the risen Savior!

Well, think about this today: If you are a Christian you, too, have come in contact with the risen Savior! He died, was buried, and rose for YOU! And like these women, you, too, have been told to "go and tell".

Later on in Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus sees the disciples for the first time since his resurrection. He tells them what he needs them to do in order to fulfill God's plan, in verses 19 and 20:

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

We are so excited about the risen Savior and, of course, we should be! But, are we just as excited to go and tell others about this good news? Mary and Mary Magdalene got the opportunity to go and tell the best news that can ever have been told!

Let's make it a point to tell this "juicy" news, too!