Make Disciples

My small group that I lead has been studying the book "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream" by David Platt. This book has been a real eye opener for all of us. This book examines the Gospel and reminds us of what Jesus wants us to do as Christians. The "American Dream" is to work hard and to be prosperous. Buy the house with the white picket fence. Send our children to college. Work and save enough for retirement. The list goes on and on. While none of those things are wrong, in fact those are great things. But where does God fit in and our purpose for being put here on the earth? As Jesus said in Matthew, "Go therefore and make disciples..." It does not say go to church, fill up on God's word, and just stay in the church building as a spectator. He says make disciples. Jesus didn't just say pastors, evangelists, or just the called to make disciples, but he calls all of us to make disciples. For some reason, the American church has been side tracked.

David Platt's book gives many examples of Christians in other countries that are risking their lives to spread the gospel. We have religious freedom here in America, the only opposition we have my be someone talking about us, telling us they don't want to hear it, or maybe someone slamming a door in our face. That is nothing compared to be put in jail, having your life threatened, your family not ever talking to you again, or even having your house burned down. What do we as American Christians really have to fear?

I openly confess, that I used to be afraid to share my faith and to go witness to people. I am so ashamed that I was even like that. The Holy Spirit really convicted me. God has given me eternal life and the Holy Spirit. How could I be so selfish and keep this to myself? There are so many people hurting out there that have no hope. In addition to that if no one share's the Gospel with them they will go to Hell after this life. As David Platt says in his book, "We are plan A there is no plan B." We were put on this earth to spread the gospel. It is not fair to those people that we are sitting in comfortable churches, getting fat on God's Word, and being entertained, while there our lost and hurting souls out there.

I had an opportunity to go out and witness recently. I am going to share one encounter while I was out there. There was an older woman outside with two young children. We went up to her and introduced ourselves. After a few minutes she shared with us that she was not the mother of the two children and that she was taking care of them because their mother had been recently murdered. Some of you that may live in my area probably saw the story on the news. But this woman was hurting, worried about her family, and at the same time was not sure about her salvation. We had a chance to pray with and for her. She was so thankful that we had came up to her. Now she is assured of her salvation and she was comforted. There were so many more stories from that day, but I don't have the time to share. But you see how important it is for us Christians to get out there in our communities. It is time to put aside fear and to go out there and save our brothers and sisters. You may not be ready to go door to door, but I am sure you have friends, families, and neighbors that are not saved. You may be the only person that they have that can share the gospel with them. Give it a try.

Prayer for Unity

¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,^[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

1 Corinthians 1:10 NIV

We serve a mighty God. He is our Rock. There is no weapon formed against us that shall prosper. But why does the condition of the church today as a whole not reflect this? If we serve a might God, shouldn't we be a mighty people? Shouldn't people look at us and say they want to serve their might God? What happened to the fellowship, the breaking of the bread together, and helping each other out in times of need? I know what happened.....we started thinking more about me and not He. I know I have been guilty of this and I openly admit it. But now I truly repent because I see the damage done to the church itself(Body of Believers). Jesus wants us to be one and out of our own selfishness, we are not doing what Christ told us to do.

 I have been praying for unity for quite some time no, but I would like to offer up this prayer to God today.

Father God,

I come to you today to give you honor, glory, and the praise that you deserve. I acknowledge that you are the Creator of all. You are the Alpha and the Omega. You are the One who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

I humbly approach your throne today. I ask for forgiveness for myself and others who have sinned against you. I ask that you will have mercy upon us. I ask that you will open up our eyes, ears, and hearts to your voice. I ask that you will break all strongholds in the church. I ask that you would bind all demonic forces that are dividing and compromising the church. 

Lord God I ask that you would help the body of Christ unify. First, I ask for unity in each individual church. That there will be no strife, jealousy, control, competition, or anything that is not of you within individual church walls. I ask that there would be fellowship among the body of believers. That there will be trust, so that every member can grow. Father God, I then ask that the Body of Christ, all churches would seek unity. Not be out there competing for church members or having fear of other churches snatching away their members. Lord God I ask that you help us see that we belong to you and not to a building. Let us take our eyes off of our selves and put our eyes on you. Lord God, there is so much that we can accomplish if we would have some unity. Lord God, I know it is not your will for us to be divided like this. Help us to see our wrongdoings so that we can fix them. 

I cry out to you for your help Father. We your people have worked so hard at dividing the church for so long. Forgive us, Lord for trusting our flesh more than your Holy Spirit. Forgive us for making decisions based on what we think is right rather than following the guide of the Holy Spirit. Father God I ask that you will bring your people together. That is my plea Lord God. I love you and am thankful for all that you have done, are doing, and will do. Thank you for salvation, your love, and the Holy Spirit. In the Mighty Name of Jesus, Amen

I am thankful for.....

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; 
    his love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1  NIV

Today instead of asking God for something, I thought I would just tell Him all the things that I am thankful for and give Him the praise that He deserves.

I am thankful for:

• His forgiveness
• His patience
• never leaving my side
• unconditional love
• salvation
• the Holy Spirit
• the air I breathe
• my family
• my friends
• my church and church family
• shelter, food, water, clothing
• my health
• sight to see all of His creation
• joy
• peace
• knowing there is a purpose for my life

Our Heavenly Father deserves all the praise that we could ever give Him. He has given me so much and has done so much for me that I feel like that I am not capable of giving Him all the praise that He deserves. What can I give, do or say that measures up to His greatness? What can I possibly give to the One that created everything? What words can I say when there aren't even words great enough to describe His greatness? There are words such as magnificent, omnipotent, awesome, Creator of all, Lord, Master, Healer, but I feel that God is a lot more than those things. There isn't a single word in the human language that can describe everything that God is. Nothing measures up to His greatness, but what I can do is give Him my all. My life belongs to Him.

So, what are you thankful for today? Take time out today and tell God how thankful you are.

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The Undercover Christian

Let me tell you why you are here You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage

Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand-shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16   MSG

Signs of an Undercover Christian:

• Looks and acts just like the world
• Never shares their faith
• Does not defend Jesus 
• Does not pray in public
• What happens at church stays at church
• Fear

Do you or anyone show signs of an undercover Christian? If you are really honest with yourself, I think all of us have been guilty of one or all of those signs at one time or another. As humans we want others to accept us. It is hard being different from others. It's almost as if society has programmed us to act a certain way, follow a certain style, listen to a certain kind of music, etc. But we cannot conform to what society wants us to be like. We are in the world, but not of the world. Our only role model should be Jesus Christ. We cannot look to man for an image to follow; man is not perfect. 

We need to get rid of this fear that is holding us back as Christians. This fear will prevent us from sharing the gospel and as a result many will not see heaven because we chose to hide our faith. I don't want someone else's blood on my hands because I chose to live a life as an undercover Christian. I don't want to answer to God, why I didn't share my faith. I don't want to answer to God, why I didn't defend His Name on this earth. I don't want to answer to God and tell Him I was too afraid to pray in public. We need to have fear of God, not fear of man. 

I look at the world and see evil running rampant. There is same sex marriages, drug abuse, sexual abuse, slavery, human trafficking, violence, abortion, and so forth. What are we doing as Christians to help stop these things? Are we sitting back and hoping someone else will take a stand or are we willing to do something? Are we being obedient to what God is telling us to do or are we ignoring His call? There is too much at stake for us to remain undercover Christians. Jesus will return and I don't want Him to find me sitting back doing nothing for the Kingdom of God. If you are reading this, it's not too late. Stop being an undercover Christian now!