When you talk with a friend about Jesus in a public place do you speak in hushed tones? When someone asks you about Jesus in a crowded room do you whisper in their ear, or just nod you head? If so, let me tell you a couple of stories, and give you some scripture, that might change your behavior.
How often do we sin, then confess and ask for forgiveness only to find purity before retreating once again into that selfsame sin? How many battles must we fight with an adversary before they are at last declared defeated? Do we ask God to heal the wounds of sin, but neglect to ask that He fight for us?
Do you have a plan for your life? Have you set everything before you and determined what pieces of the puzzle go where, and begun the process of fitting them perfectly together? If so, there is probably a nice spot for God, another for Jesus, and oh yes, let’s not forget the Holy Spirit, but is that really how our life is formed, and our faith is shaped?
Do you go about rationalizing your own actions while claiming to be a servant of God and follower of Jesus? Do you use the good nature of God as an excuse for disobedience? If so, then you need to re-evaluate your faith. God may not be forcing you to do His will, but that doesn’t diminish it in the least.
We have been purchased with the very blood of Jesus, and have come to know Him. We have been baptized in water, and then again in the Holy Spirit as it was poured over, and into, us... born on the sweet breath of Christ Himself. Yet still we can find the allure of sin to be too great. How can this possibly be?
Are You Facing trials in your life right now? Does it feel like God has abandoned you and let the world have its way with you? Well praise God for where you are right now because in your misery God is expanding the beam of our faith. It is in such times that our faith isn’t tested... it is stretched as we reach desperately for His hand.
Are you someone who prides themselves on common sense and morality? Do you believe it to be a substitute for faith in God? Throughout my life I have heard people say about someone, “they are a good person and do good things.” Is that enough to please God? Is that enough to earn you eternal life?
Do you think that Jesus gave His life for us out of sympathy for our plight? Do you think He saw our sin and set about to relieve us of it because of empathy or mercy? No, Jesus gave His life out of obedience to the Father, and He agreed to pay a price without knowing how much it was.
Are you in search of the “things” of your life; you know, the thrill of your life, the job of your life, the experience of your life, and if you are so fortunate, the love of your life? These are all examples of the “things” that we seek after. These are the “things” that we believe will make us happy, but be honest with yourself... we all do this to some degree, and are you ever truly happy when you think you’ve found them?
The hardest question that any missionary faces isn’t “can I go out and do this?”, but rather “is Jesus able to do this?” It all boils down to faith, and it begins with the faith of the missionaries themselves. Going out and reciting scripture can be done by anyone, but believing belongs to the disciple, and what is a missionary if not a disciple?
Do you identify yourself as a missionary? Is that what you do as a vocation, or is it a part of your everyday life as you go to and from work, and mix with all those you come into contact with each day? Being a missionary is not just an amazing calling, but should be the goal of every Christian. Spreading the gospel to one, or one hundred thousand makes no difference in what we are asked to do, and to what we are called. Whether you refer to yourself as an evangelist, a missionary, or just a Christian... spreading the gospel is what we are meant to do.
Have you found Jesus, and now you are attempting to reach out and bring others to Him? Well, are you certain you really know who He is? If you think you have sought and found Him, I wonder, because we don’t find Him through searching... God draws, or calls, us to Him. And, is there a great mystery in this? Let’s read these two passages.
Do you lay awake at night and plot the course you will take tomorrow? Do you make battle plans against the forces of darkness, or arrange your spiritual strategy for holiness? If so, then woe to you, because the seas we sail, and the battles we fight, are not ours. We are just sailors aboard the vessel of God, and soldiers in the army of the King. We sail for him and do battle in His war. When we triumph it is in Jesus Christ alone... follow His lead.
What is your mission? What has God asked you to do? Is it to feed the bodies of hungry people, or to feed their souls? Is it to cloth the naked with soft wool, or to cloth them in the white robes of God? Is it to quench the thirst of dehydrated mouths, or to give them living water to satisfy the spirit? Jesus sent His disciples into the world to deliver the gospel, and so He sends you too... deliver the message!
When God calls or speaks to us we more often than not hear the message, and then receive a confirmation. Sometimes we aren’t quick in listening or answering and God repeats himself, but when we finally say “Here am I” to God, we still get confirmation. Does God sign the letters He sends you? Are you the signature on someone else’s note?