Acts 2:21
But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. (NLT)
We thank God for the truth in this statement. Everyone! Not just one or two and nobody has to stand in line. All one must do is call on the name of Jesus and they will be saved. But then what?
Too often those who are saved are left on their own. Nobody takes up the task of discipling them. Sure we invite them to church and then encourage them to go to the sunday school program. They get a canned approach on what to do.
Each Christian religion has its own set of traditions and doctrine. Discipleship tends to focus on this and not on what Jesus asked us to do. True discipleship is a one on one experience.
How much more will a new believer get out of spending a day each week following around another believer. They need to see Christ in action in their mentor's life style. Jesus is alive because we are alive in Him and He works through us as we listen to Holy Spirit.
Who are you spending time with this week?
Monday, July 30, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Making Plans
Proverbs 16:9
We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. (NLT)
You have probably heard the old adage "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail". And I am not against planning. Often I do too much of it. We can be so wrapped up in the details of our own plan we miss Holy Spirit trying to get a word in edgewise.
James 4:13-17 tells us "Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.' How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog-it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that." Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."
This tells me we need to look first each day to God. He will order our steps for the day. Those steps may be in line with our to-do list or they may take us to an entirely new place. Then we have to re-do our to-do. Our plans change based on the steps He has us take.
Too often I like my plan so much I do not even listen for His. If I stop to listen I might have to change the plan and I like my plan! How about you? Do you really want to know God's plan? Are you willing to step up and step out in what He has for you to do?
"Father God, help me look outside the box I have created that contains my plan. Help me to open the door for you to tell me the steps I am to take today to get closer to the plan you have for my life. In Jesus name, I pray."
We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. (NLT)
You have probably heard the old adage "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail". And I am not against planning. Often I do too much of it. We can be so wrapped up in the details of our own plan we miss Holy Spirit trying to get a word in edgewise.
James 4:13-17 tells us "Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.' How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog-it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that." Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."
This tells me we need to look first each day to God. He will order our steps for the day. Those steps may be in line with our to-do list or they may take us to an entirely new place. Then we have to re-do our to-do. Our plans change based on the steps He has us take.
Too often I like my plan so much I do not even listen for His. If I stop to listen I might have to change the plan and I like my plan! How about you? Do you really want to know God's plan? Are you willing to step up and step out in what He has for you to do?
"Father God, help me look outside the box I have created that contains my plan. Help me to open the door for you to tell me the steps I am to take today to get closer to the plan you have for my life. In Jesus name, I pray."
Monday, July 16, 2012
Heal Me
John 12:40
"The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts- so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and have me heal them." (NLT)
Sometimes I have a hard time understanding why others do not see things as I do. What seems so clear to me is hard for them to understand. From their perspective, I probably seem the same to them because I just do not get what they are trying to tell me.
And yet, if think back over my life and the choices I made I wonder what I was thinking. Some of those choices were just not the right ones. Had I known what I know today, I would have gone in a different direction. But, we would not be who we are today had we made a different choice back then!
Today I am walking with the Lord trying to stay on the right path in all I do. I wish I could say I am successful every day in every way. I am not. Each day I try again and with His help I know today will be one step closer.
In Mark 16:18 Jesus tells us we will lay hands on the sick and see them recover. And we do. But there are times when the healing does not take place. Is it our hands? Does He not want them healed?
We do our part as Holy Spirit leads us and in His authority and power healing should take place for He wants all His children healed. But some are not because they do not believe. They cannot turn to Him so He can heal them.
"The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts- so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and have me heal them." (NLT)
Sometimes I have a hard time understanding why others do not see things as I do. What seems so clear to me is hard for them to understand. From their perspective, I probably seem the same to them because I just do not get what they are trying to tell me.
And yet, if think back over my life and the choices I made I wonder what I was thinking. Some of those choices were just not the right ones. Had I known what I know today, I would have gone in a different direction. But, we would not be who we are today had we made a different choice back then!
Today I am walking with the Lord trying to stay on the right path in all I do. I wish I could say I am successful every day in every way. I am not. Each day I try again and with His help I know today will be one step closer.
In Mark 16:18 Jesus tells us we will lay hands on the sick and see them recover. And we do. But there are times when the healing does not take place. Is it our hands? Does He not want them healed?
We do our part as Holy Spirit leads us and in His authority and power healing should take place for He wants all His children healed. But some are not because they do not believe. They cannot turn to Him so He can heal them.
Monday, July 09, 2012
Testify
Psalm 105:1
Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. (NLT)
It is easy to sit back in our comfortable chair at home all by ourselves and thank God proclaiming His greatness while singing along with our favorite collection of Christian music. Even in our vehicle while we motor to and from our daily engagements.
Yet, when we meet up with others in town the conversation tends toward sharing about the latest news regarding our family, the local news, the football or basketball game we watched on the weekend, political gossip, and anything but what God has done in our lives. We testify to everything else, but not about Him.
And He tells us to "Let the whole world know what he has done."
This is a Psalm and words spoken long before Jesus came into the world. But didn't Jesus give us the same word when He said "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." (Luke 8:38 NLT)? Or in Mark 16:15 when He commands, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."
Unless we tell others what God has done in our lives and how Holy Spirit is guiding us each and every day, how can we "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19 NIV)?
Father God, give me the boldness to speak to others today about what you are doing in my life. Help me to open my mouth and let Holy Spirit fill it with words of truth to share today. In Jesus name I pray!
Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. (NLT)
It is easy to sit back in our comfortable chair at home all by ourselves and thank God proclaiming His greatness while singing along with our favorite collection of Christian music. Even in our vehicle while we motor to and from our daily engagements.
Yet, when we meet up with others in town the conversation tends toward sharing about the latest news regarding our family, the local news, the football or basketball game we watched on the weekend, political gossip, and anything but what God has done in our lives. We testify to everything else, but not about Him.
And He tells us to "Let the whole world know what he has done."
This is a Psalm and words spoken long before Jesus came into the world. But didn't Jesus give us the same word when He said "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." (Luke 8:38 NLT)? Or in Mark 16:15 when He commands, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."
Unless we tell others what God has done in our lives and how Holy Spirit is guiding us each and every day, how can we "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19 NIV)?
Father God, give me the boldness to speak to others today about what you are doing in my life. Help me to open my mouth and let Holy Spirit fill it with words of truth to share today. In Jesus name I pray!
Monday, July 02, 2012
Be a Doer
John 4:34
My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. (NLT)
And as His disciples for today I believe we are tasked with the same mission.
There are so many places to go for a meal it would be difficult to name more than a handful of them. Of course our tastes differ so those you might name would be different from the ones I might. And some of us cannot afford ones some of you might enjoy.
But when we leave after finishing our meal, we are either just filled up for the sake of eating or we are really satisfied after a great meal at a special place.
Usually we pick the place based on the occasion. The other night we went to a restaurant we had never been to before in hopes of a great meal as we celebrated another wedding anniversary. The success of the evening could not be enhanced or lessened by the ambiance or the meal, but it was nice to be out together for a special time.
There is nothing as exciting and fulfilling as seeing Him work through our hands and the words Holy Spirit speaks through us. Of course those we speak to are those He has placed in our path and made known to us. The work we have to do is helping in the finishing of what God has begun in their lives; the task he has placed before us.
We must be always at the ready; ready to reach out and be a doer of the word as Holy Spirit encourages us forward to complete the Fathers' work.
My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. (NLT)
And as His disciples for today I believe we are tasked with the same mission.
There are so many places to go for a meal it would be difficult to name more than a handful of them. Of course our tastes differ so those you might name would be different from the ones I might. And some of us cannot afford ones some of you might enjoy.
But when we leave after finishing our meal, we are either just filled up for the sake of eating or we are really satisfied after a great meal at a special place.
Usually we pick the place based on the occasion. The other night we went to a restaurant we had never been to before in hopes of a great meal as we celebrated another wedding anniversary. The success of the evening could not be enhanced or lessened by the ambiance or the meal, but it was nice to be out together for a special time.
There is nothing as exciting and fulfilling as seeing Him work through our hands and the words Holy Spirit speaks through us. Of course those we speak to are those He has placed in our path and made known to us. The work we have to do is helping in the finishing of what God has begun in their lives; the task he has placed before us.
We must be always at the ready; ready to reach out and be a doer of the word as Holy Spirit encourages us forward to complete the Fathers' work.
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