Following in Your Footsteps: Anyone can do it

 

Last time we talked about what the common perceptions of a Christian and what it really means to be a Christian...a Christ follower.

 

A lot of people have this idea that only "good" people can be Christians.

Only people that have it all together can follow Christ.

Only people with money can be Christians.

Only people who have never said or done anything bad can follow Christ.

BUT, I tell you, none of that is true.

 

Jesus doesn't ask for only people with money to follow Him.

He doesn't ask for perfect people to follow Him.

INSTEAD, He asks for ALL people to follow Him.

 

Maybe you think that you have messed up too many times to follow Jesus

or maybe you don't feel like you're good enough, but the good news is that Jesus doesn't care about that. He wants you...all of you...flaws, past mistakes, everything. He wants you to follow Him where you are, right now.

 

In fact, Jesus could have picked rich, educated men to be His disciples while He was here on earth, but He didn't. He chose fishermen and one tax collector. He chose simple men who were not perfect, but imperfect. Acts 4:13 says, "Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus."

 

Jesus didn't have requirements like:

-You have to go to church every Sunday.

-You have to obtain a 4.0 gpa.

-You have to wear Sperry's and have the latest gaming system.

-You have to have a clean record.

-You must have the Bible memorized and recite it forwards/backwards.

 

Whew! I'm glad He doesn't have requirements like that for us.

His only requirement is:

"And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." ~Luke 9:23

(More on that later)

 

Kyle Idleman says in his book, Not a Fan..."When Jesus invited Matthew to follow, he was making it clear that this is an open invitation extended not solely to the religious elite , the morally upright, and those who have their lives together. But it is an invitation to all of us who are hiding some stains. Jesus throws out the elitist application process and gives you an open invitation."

He also writes...

 

"So who is invited to follow Jesus? Anyone.

Sexual past? Anyone.

Ex-con? Anyone. Current con? Anyone.

Recently divorced? Anyone.

Republican? Democrat? Anyone.

Alcoholic? Anyone.

Pothead? Anyone.

Addict? Anyone.

Hypocrite? Anyone."

 

You know what that means?

Jesus wants you to follow Him.

 

Next time, we'll talk about what it looks like to follow in Jesus' footsteps.

 

Reading plan for this week:

Monday: Esther 1-5

Tuesday: Esther 6-10

Wednesday: Job 1-4

Thursday: Job 5-7

Friday: Job 8-10

Saturday: Job 11-13

Now that I know...

Some of you may know that the past 15 weeks, I've been taking a college class called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Honestly, I wasn't really interested in the class, mainly because it cost money to take it and I'm rather...well, cheap. My sister wanted to go check it out and I was willing, because the first 2 classes were free and sure enough, just after sitting in the first class, their trick of luring me in had worked. I decided I would enroll in the class and commit the next 15 weeks to this class, every Tuesday night in hopes to learn some interesting information.

Well, last night was the last class of the course and I not only left the class with interesting information, but a better understanding of God's heart. 

A heart for the nations. 

Yes, as a child, I would sing...

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. 

Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight.

Jesus loves the little children of the world."

As I sang this song, I truly believed that Jesus loves every single person in the world, but I didn't realize that He wants me to be a part of His redemptive story by having a heart for the nations.

Now that the class is over and I've racked my brain of all the statistics, where does it leave me?

You would think I'd be at the finish line, with my arms lifted high in the air in celebration of this great course and being done with homework, but I'm not.

In actuality, I'm just at the starting gate. 

With all of this life changing information, I can't simply pass the baton off, but I have to keep running. 

With all of this information, I am held responsible to use it.

The truth is, the world will not come to know the truth of Jesus Christ with the mindset of, 

"well, I'll just sit here and everyone else can get busy telling people about Jesus."

You know why?

Because there is a good chance, a lot of other people are thinking the same thing, leaving no one to make disciples of all nations.

I hope all this doesn't sound like gibberish to you, but the main idea is this:

If we know that there are hurting and lost people out there, searching and longing for hope,

how can we possibly sit idle and do nothing about it?

It's completely different if we don't have a clue about what's going on in the world, but if we do, we are held responsible for doing something about it.

God calls us to love and to serve.

This class has opened my eyes to the importance of reaching out to others, whether overseas or at home, and sharing the hope we so dearly hold onto...Jesus Christ. What a privilege it is to know that God wants me a part of His team. He wants you to be a part of His team, too.

With that being said, I need you to do me a favor. Would you, please?

Will you pray that I hold onto all the information I have learned, instead of it going to waste?

Will you pray that I continue to hunger for God and His glory among the nations?

I would love for you to email me and ask me how my walk with the Lord and my quest to love the nations is going, that way I can be held accountable!

I really appreciate your prayers & accountability, but this isn't all about me...it's about you, too!

Will you declare with me, this.....

"Lord, by your grace and for your glory, I will commit my life to obeying your Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."), wherever and however you lead me."

We should trust, submit and follow.

The class coordinator warned us the first night of class...."this is going to change your life," and man, was he right! If you are interested in taking this class (which I highly recommend), check out www.perspectives.org to find a class near you. 

Thank you again for your prayers & accountability!

Don't forget to pray for the unreached people group of the day!

Here are some of my other posts talking about the Perspectives class:

Blessed to be a blessing

In the construction business 

Can you do me a favor?

Day 23 In Him we find...

I'm so sorry I missed yesterday. I was super busy all day and didn't have a chance to stop by for the series. I wasn't busy with Black Friday shopping, but I was busy hanging out with some of my favorite people. First, my parents and I hung out and ate lunch with family members that we didn't see on Thanksgiving. Then, I hung out with my parents and ended the day off with a game night with some of my closest friends. Lots of fellowship and lots of good times.

 

I love my alone time, but I also love being with people. God wants us to be in relationships with others.These relationships are meant to grow and encourage each other with His love.  To motivate others to strengthen their faith is His desire. Obviously, being in the presence of others is a powerful thing. God is with us when we are alone, but He is also with us when we are in groups.

 

Jesus had His alone time, but He was also with people most of the time. In fact, His fellowship with His 12 disciples was meant to teach and grow them into disciples that would share the Gospel with others. These 12 disciples did everything together. They prayed, listened, taught, served, and ate together. Acts 2:42 says, "And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." They shared life together.

 

God wants us to be in fellowship with others. It pleases Him when we are focused on one thing- to bring Him glory. Through our troubles, we can uplift each other. Through our joys, we can celebrate together. We can pray and study scripture together. When we live in this way, we are in true fellowship with God. Philippians 2:1-2 says, "If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose."

 

In Him we find fellowship.

 

Be in fellowship with others...enjoy it...and use it for His glory.

 

If you're joining me through my year long journey of the Bible, you should be caught up until Acts 16. Use today and tomorrow to get caught up.

"That's MY story & I'm stickin to it!"

So I made it to church again! 2 Sundays in a row for me and I hope it keeps going! Last Sunday, I blogged about the sermon because I felt that it was great information for us and today is the same. Maybe every Sunday my blog will be my perspective on the sermon I heard that day...hmm "Sunday's Sermon Notes"...I like that.

Anywho, the sermon today was about sharing your story. No, I'm not talking about sharing your funny story about your dog eating your homework or when you spilled spaghetti on your pastor (yes...I've done that...oops!) I'm talking about the story that God has written specifically for you. Did you know that God has written a story for you? He has your complete story on His bookshelf, while all you've read is the current chapter you're in and the previous chapters. I know, I know, all you want to know is how your story ends, trust me, I do too! However, I hate to break it to you, but you can't. No fortune teller or psychic can tell you how your story ends, but God can. That should be encouraging though because remember Jeremiah 29:11? It says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" I know I use that verse all the time, but it is full of hope and I think we all need some hope every once in awhile.

You may be thinking, "Why do I need to share my story? Who cares about my life?" Well, God made you for a reason. There is a reason that you are alive today. When we put our faith and trust in God, He turns our bad story into a good story. He wipes sins away. He gives us a new start. When He does these good things in our lives, we should shout it from the rooftops!

Maybe you're thinking now, "Well, my story isn't interesting...I'm an ordinary Joe." I've got news for you, it doesn't have to be interesting! God can use anyone and anything to show people His love, grace, and mercy. He can use any ordinary Joe. In fact, I think maybe He prefers to use ordinary people. Think about it,He used an ordinary man to build an ark that would save them from the flood. He used an ordinary teenage girl to be Jesus' mother. He used Moses even though Moses claimed he wasn't a good speaker. He used the twelve disciples who were uneducated fisherman and other tradesmen. These are just a few examples, but you get the point...God isn't looking for the most educated and skilled people to use, but He is looking for the ordinary too!

So think about your story right now. Think about how God has provided for you, protected you, changed you and so on. If you have trouble thinking about those things, I can for sure tell you one thing...He has kept you alive! Yes, you may have faced some hard times and things may not have gone your way (remember life on Earth can't be perfect), but I know that God has given you something to be thankful for. Pastor Doyle said, "we should all be able to say that even though we may have an ordinary story, it's extraordinary because God's in it." So think about ways and people you can share your story. God can use you when you talk about your life! Someone may be going through what you went through 3 months ago. Use what God has given you and share it with others. I'd love to hear your story!