Thursday's in the Truth: GO!

Often times, the assumption is made that ministry is in essence, merely a line of work. We truly fail to understand this term not defined within a title, but as believers, a way of life. In the Gospel of Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus’s earthly ministry has come to an end, and He delivers to the disciples His last words which are known as “The Great Commission.” Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Please understand something here. Jesus does NOT say you are required to be of a certain age or height, there is NO final exam to pass, and here’s the kicker…..you are NOT even expected to have all of the answers either. Christ instructed the disciples with one simple action….. GO!

Up until this point, the mission of the twelve had been restricted by Jesus mainly to the Jews. However, their message following, was to become worldwide. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior through baptism, discipleship is not something you acquire by learning an equation, but by living life through a covenant commitment with God’s people. The very significance of a covenant revolves around a relationship. Jesus explains the Parable of the Lost Coin in previous scripture reference, yet closes with “In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” (Luke 15:10) Friends, the angels of God rejoice when ONE person comes to know Christ. Imagine all of the un-tapped joy to be found in churches and in communities if more people actually shared the love and concern for the lost, NOT just the righteous!

I caution you to avoid only exposing yourself with others whom are already saved, and I challenge you to higher levels of obedience. Who is it that He has placed upon your heart? Is there a co-worker at the office, a member of the PTA, a neighbor down the street, or someone within your own family? I urge you to shut down the whispers from the enemy that tell you you’re not good enough, or intelligent enough, or equip enough to disciple anyone. I am saying to you today that Jesus IS enough. Stop making excuses for all of the reasons why you “can’t” and in His love, GO!

 

~Stef

Thursday's In the Truth: Prayer

I was thinking about prayer today and how often we under value prayer.  We go to God and ask Him for something, but don’t believe He will actually answer our prayers.  Or maybe we don’t even ask, thinking it is too big or too small.  How often do we tell someone we will pray for them when they are going through a hard time, but never feel like it is enough?  We underestimate prayer. 

 In Acts 12, Peter is imprisoned.  As soon as Peter was placed in prison, the church earnestly prayed to God for him to be released.  While they were praying late into the night, an angel appeared to Peter and walked him right out of prison, opening all the doors needed to leave.  He walked straight to the house where people were praying.  “Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door.  When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”  “You’re out of your mind,” they told her.  When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”  But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.”  Acts 12:13-16

I laughed when I read this, but then I realized I do the same thing all the time.  I pray, asking God to answer my requests, and then don’t believe it when it happens.  These people were praying into the night, earnestly, yet they really didn’t believe there prayers would be answered.  If they had, they would have all run to the door when they heard Peter was standing there.  Or maybe, they believed it was possible, but it wasn’t answered the way they had thought it was going to be, so they didn’t believe it was really Peter at the door.  How often do we do the same thing?  We pray for an answer, but we expect it to happen exactly the way we want and when it doesn’t, we assume it has not been answered.  Or, we pray, but we don’t really believe God is going to answer our request.

Through out Scripture, we see all sorts of verses on prayer:

Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”  John 15:7

Jesus said, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  Matthew 21:22

Jesus said, “Everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”  Matthew 7:8

God wants to be in communication with You.  He LOVES you and wants to bless you.  That does not mean He is going to give you everything you ask, but He will answer your requests, and it will always be in your best interest.  For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.  Jeremiah 29:11

Ask Him! 

So what do you need to take to God today?  What conversation do you need to have?  What request do you need to lay at his feet?  Don’t take prayer lightly.  God is longing to hear from you.

Thursday's in the Truth: Beth Moore is my BFF

I just finished an amazing Beth Moore bible study a few weeks ago and I’m sad.  I miss it.  It was a truly amazing study.  If you ever get the chance to bring some of your favorite sisters-in-Christ together for a study, get “The Patriarchs: Encountering the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.”  We learned so much and felt so many feelings.  It was a special 11 weeks that I won’t soon forget.  I changed so much and really grew during this study like no other.  I miss those ladies too.  As a busy mom, I looked forward to my one night a week with other my friends.  And when I say friends, I’m also including Beth.  You may want to stop reading now; this is going to get weird.

I think Beth Moore loves me.  She is always so nice to me.  She calls me “Beloved” and “Dear One.” She always smiles at me and looks right at me.  She prays for me.  She tells me funny stories about herself and her family.  And truth be told, I think I love her too.  I’m not a stalker.  It feels good to hear those things.  She has a way of making you feel special even though the video was filmed almost 10 years before I watched it.  Plus she knows the Bible like nobody’s business.  I miss seeing her big hair and sweet smile and hearing her twangy, southern accent.  (How many of you respond back to her with a twangy, southern accent in your head?  Just me? )

Well, now that my study is over.  I miss her.  I also miss her teaching.  You know I devoted quite a bit of time to her throughout those weeks.  Her studies are time consuming.  But I missed studying the Bible too.  So I immediately jumped into a SOAP study (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer).  I love the ladies in my group (mwah-you know who you are).  The problem is I feel a little scared.  How am I supposed to study the Bible?  I have never been to Bible College and I don’t speak Greek or Aramaic or Hebrew.  You know what, I just so happened to find a book that I am devouring.  It is The Modern Girls Guide to Studying the Bible by Jen Hatmaker. By the way, I’m pretty sure it was not coincidence that I found this book when I did.  In this book, Jen (I call her Jen because she is also a new friend) is totally transparent about how difficult it can be to start studying the Bible without the help of friends like Beth.  Jen shared a verse that really stuck out to me, Psalm 119:10 “I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.”  I can’t follow all of His commands by prayer only.  I need to immerse myself in His Word.  How do we do that? What does that look like?  Glad you asked.  Here are some tips I have compiled in all my wisdom, which really means I’ve seen them on blogs of other wiser women:

1. Don’t be random.  God was never random in his teachings or plans for us.  Be intentional when you open your bible.  Give yourself an “assignment” and read it.  It’s ok to start small but be ready to go big.
2. Find a sister-in-Christ who will keep you accountable.  And I don’t mean Beth.  Pick someone who is going to push you like a workout buddy.
3. Interact with the Bible.  Get a group together to talk about your reading.  Journal about your reading.  Heck, you can even do art journaling in your bible.  It’s a thing. Google it.  I’m totally obsessed with it and by obsessed I mean that I like to look at the beauty other people create because I can’t doodle to save my life.
4. Don’t give up.  God has great plans for you and He’s put everything we need into those 66 books that make up the Bible.  If you haven’t felt your blessings from reading the Bible, you need to read more.  As a great friend once said, if you aren’t sore from a workout, you didn’t really workout.
5. Pray.  Pray about your reading. All the time.  When you are in tune with God, it’s so much easier to see and hear His teachings in your life.

Listen, Beloveds, God put so many great stories in the Bible.  Way better than any soap opera.  They are scandalous, heartbreaking, and heartwarming.  And they were written for you. (and me too!)  As much as I like to think of people like Beth and Jen as friends, God truly is your friend and has so much to teach you. (and me too!)  Once you start reading the Bible without limiting yourself, you’ll desire to spend more time with God. He might even become your new BFF. J