Live the Word

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace  and truth" (John 1:14, ESV).      

This weekend, I was blessed to bring a message to the ladies at the North Carolina state convention Women's Prayer Evangelism Conference. Their theme was Stepping Out from Romans 10:13-15 (how beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news). When we look at John's gospel, we can see how the gospel spread as Jesus walked though life.

Here are the main points, one taken from every chapter in John:

Live the Word: 21 Ways to Step Out for Jesus!

1. Be inviting - Andrew, Philip, Nathanael were invited to come to Jesus and we are to do the same, 1:37-51

2. Be involved - Jesus took time to go to wedding and be with people so we need to take time to be in the community, 2:1-11

3. Be available - Nicodemus came to Jesus at night and Jesus took time for him so we are to be available for others, 3:1-22

4. Be missional - Jesus crossed cultural boundaries with Samaritan woman so we are to try to get to know others who are not like us, 4:1-45

5. Be expecting - Jesus healed the man at the pool and we must remember to expect miracles, 5:1-17

6. Be giving - the boy brought his five loves and two fish to give and Jesus multiplied it so we are to give what we have for use in His kingdom 6:1-15

7. Be intentional - Jesus is intentional about where He goes, what He says, and who He spends time with so we are to intentionally develop relationships with those who do not know Him  (reference 7:35)

8. Be forgiving - Jesus forgives woman caught in adultery and we are to forgive others, 8:1-11

9. Be looking - Jesus healed a blind man and now he can see. We can look for opportunities to share about Christ.

10. Be shepherding - Jesus is the good shepherd and we are to model being a shepherd by feeding people spiritually and caring for their needs, 10:1-21

11. Be Life - Jesus is Life and we are to represent life and hope to others, 11:1-27

12. Be sacrificial - Mary anointed Jesus with expensive perfume and we are to give sacrificially for the work of the Lord, 12:1-8

13. Be serving - Jesus washes the feet of the disciples and we are to out-serve those we work with, 13:1-20

14. Be Truth - Jesus was Truth and we are the speak Truth and stand for Truth, 14:1-14

15. Be fruitful - Jesus is vine and we are branches. We are to stay connected to Him and reproduce fruit in our lives, 15:1-17

16. Be loving - Jesus tells of the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who convicts of sin. We share the love of the Lord through all we say and do.

17. Be prayerful - Jesus prays for the world and we are to pray for people to come to know Him.

18. Be open - Jesus was open to what He was teaching. We are to be open to questions and not be in secret about what we believe,18:19-24

19. Be real - The crucifixion shows that life is not easy. We don't have to hide our struggles or our imperfections or try to be perfect. Let people see how Jesus helps us through tough times.

20. Be sharing - The women saw that the tomb was empty and went to share the good news with others. We need to share the gospel story, 20:18

21. Be testimonial - John has testified to the gospel, we are to testify and share our stories of what Jesus is doing in our lives, 21:24

Let's look for ways we can Live the Word this week! You are gifted2go!

Converts Vs. Disciples

"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 28:29-10)

These words are probably very familiar to us. But I wonder how intentional we are about the "go" AND the "make disciples." We have to get out of our comfort zone to "go" rather than sit and wait for people to come to us. Our churches often give the message of "Come and hear." rather than "Go and tell." We may not have to go further than our next door neighbor's house or down the street, but we must challenge each other to be intentional about sharing the gospel.

Besides "going," we are also told to make disciples. I wonder if we sometimes get excited when we have someone that admits that she is a sinner, believes that Jesus died for her sins, and prays a prayer. We SHOULD get excited about that--but it must not stop there. We are commanded to make disciples, not just converts. I will share some tips on following up a new believer in some future blogs. But in the meantime, let's GO because we are all Gifted2Go!

FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real!

"Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you...For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment."

2 Timothy 1:6-7 (HCSB)



As we prepare to share Jesus with others, the enemy uses one of his tricks to cause us to NOT witness...FEAR=False Evidence Appearing Real! God is not the author of FEAR, and through His Spirit He causes us to "FEAR NOT"!

I would like to share with you three FEARS that the enemy uses to put out the fire of Godly courage in our gifted2go lives:

1. FEAR of Rejection! Truth that will set us free from fear=we WILL be rejected by people as a witness for Jesus...BUT we will NEVER be rejected by God! "I ask, then, has God rejected His people? Absolutely not!" Romans 11:1 (HCSB)


2. FEAR of Failure! Truth that will set us free from fear=we WILL fall short as a witness for Jesus...BUT we will NEVER be forsaken by God! "...I will never leave you or forsake you..." Hebrews 13:5 (HCSB)


3. FEAR of the Future! Truth that will set us free from fear=we WILL not be in control of the results as a witness...BUT we can leave the future up to our Faithful God that is Always in Control! "So, what is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 (HCSB)

A "Gifted2Go" Word of Testimony: As a first-generation Christian, from the age of 22 when I first heard the name of Jesus, God called me to share Him with others from the day that I accepted Him as my Savior. I will never forget my first pastor sharing with me the very day that I became a Christ Follower for me to "Go, and Share with Everyone What Had Just Happened In My Life"...that is what I did, because FEAR was not something that I was feeling in my new LIFE in Christ, it was a moment full of FAITH! My first day as a believer I went door to door on my street as I shared with my neighbors how I had just given my life to Jesus; the responses from my neighbors were mixed from words of affirmation & joy as I learned that some of my neighbors said to me "that they had been praying for me and my husband (it was clear that we needed the Lord-Lost people look like Lost people!), but there were also some negative reactions from some of my neighbors and extended family that were not believers yet. With each negative reaction the enemy tried over and over to discourage me from being God's witness through the rejection that turned into the fears that I listed above...that is where the importance of discipleship and evangelism training came into my life (PTL!)...with every TRUTH that I learned and lived out from God & His Word, The Holy Spirit turned my FEAR into FAITH not just once but over and over again even up to this day 26 years later since the very time that I first heard the name of JESUS and ran to HIM with ALL MY HEART and made the sold-out commitment to follow Him and Share Him as His "Evangelistic Concerned for Others: Gifted2Go" Witness!!

What specific FEAR is stopping you from being God's Witness? Will you join me in giving God all of our FEAR as we exchange FEAR for FAITH? YES, LORD!! "...Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness, access, and confidence through faith in Him"!! Ephesians 3:12 (HCSB)

Enjoy these 2 songs that remind us that God has set us FREE from the chains of all FEAR!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-mNT0axB9U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrO5KGCNGHM

Gifted2go Puzzle

Take the Gifted2go Puzzle. Choose the color or black & while (formatted for a notebook) version. Print both pages. Take the challenge and see where you fit in! Share with others and go! You are gifted2go!

What Would it Take?

John 4:34Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.

I love Sharon's post from yesterday; don't miss it. It led me to this question.

What would it take for Jesus' words to compel us?

Sovereign God of the universe became man to take on the sins of the world. He told us through the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 2:14"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ."

What would it take for us to live this out every day?

He told us through Luke in Luke 17:20Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, 21nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."

So what would it take to cause to live for His Kingdom & proclaim it, as He did, everywhere we go?!

Does this truth compel us enough to obey?

Romans 5:7"For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God." I pray that it does.

What would it take for you to take the Gospel everywhere? Is Jesus reason enough?

The World Needs More "Lerts"

"Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." (John 4:35b)

I am going through the book Radical by David Platt with over fifty high school students and some teachers He challenges us with the statement: "The cost of nondiscipleship is great. The cost of believers not taking Jesus seriously is vast for those who don't know Christ and devastating for those who are starving and suffering around the world.....It is profoundly greater for us than the cost of discipleship." (Platt, David. Radical, p. 16)

As leaders, we MUST emphasize the urgency of evangelism--it is part of being a true disciple of Christ and the results of not sharing our faith can be tragic for some. We must pray that our eyes are open to "look at the fields." Platt continues in his first chapter of Radical to say: "For the sake of more than a billion people today who have yet to even hear the gospel, I want to risk it all. " (Platt, p. 19) We ourselves need to have this mindset before we can lead others. Let us challenge ourselves and each other to ACT on the urgency of evangelism, be alert to any opportunities to share, and to be willing to "risk it all."

So - as a bumper sticker I saw said: "Be ALERT - the world needs more "LERTS!"

Quotes from Platt, David. Radical. Multnomah Books: Colorado Springs, 2010.

a memorable surprise

"I [Jesus speaking] am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just as the Father knows me and I know the Father - and I lay down my life for the sheep"  (John 10:14-15). 

Monday, I think I saw a good representation of a shepherd.  Around lunchtime in the office, some employees seemed to tiptoe in and out of the front lobby, peering both into the main conference room and to the door by the elevators.  It was a senior partner's 50th birthday, and the group was trying to surprise him with cake and lunch.  His wife phoned in, explaining that she was with him and was trying to convince him to come back to the office before they "left for lunch."

What drew my attention was another senior partner, who actually started the firm.  He made sure that other employees knew to come to the front area for the surprise, and he stood by the front.  When the man whose birthday it was exited the elevators with his wife, he smiled hugely as the office clapped and wished him a happy one.  The founding senior partner stepped towards him, stopping him before he said thanks, to explain his gratitude for his friendship and for being a part of the team.

The way this founding partner behaves in showing care to each person in the office came to mind when I read this verse about Jesus being the good shepherd.  God truly cares about us; He sent His Son Jesus to suffer for what we've done wrong so that we can know Him today and celebrate one day with Him in heaven.  God has a plan for us, so we don't need to fret.  When we trust in Him, He is right there to walk with us, just like a good shepherd is there to save his sheep. 

How can we share this with others?

"May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.  Amen" (Hebrews 13:20-21).