Thursday, March 12, 2015

Matthew 28:16-18; James 1:2-3; I Thessalonians 5:16-18 - "We Believe"

I woke up this morning singing a song the Newsboys sing called "We Believe." The chorus goes like this…
We believe in God the Father
We believe in Jesus Christ
We believe in the Holy Spirit
And He's given us new life
We believe in the crucifixion
We believe that He conquered death
We believe in the resurrection
And He's comin' back again, we believe

When I get to the part that says "So, let our faith be more than anthems; Greater than the songs we sing…", I get emotional and the tears start to flow. How many times do we, as believers, get caught up in doing "stuff" that we miss being Jesus to others? I'm not saying that the "stuff" we do is all bad. What I'm saying is that even "good" stuff can be a distraction. And to that I say, "Lord, help us!" If we don't focus on the Lord, we won't be able to mean these words as we sing them...

Let the lost be found and the dead be raised!
In the here and now, let love invade!
Let the church live loud our God we'll say
We believe, we believe!
And the gates of hell will not prevail!
For the power of God, has torn the veil!
Now we know Your love will never fail!
We believe, we believe!
The other day I was in a setting where I was reminded the commandment the Lord gives us in the Great Commission. He doesn't command us to have x amount of church services or x amount of small groups. He doesn't command us to do this program or that program. What He does command us is to make disciples in the twenty-eighth chapter of the book of Matthew.

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We are to "…go and make disciples…baptizing them…teaching them to obey…" Plain and simple. How do we do that? We first must live a life for Him. When we surrender everything to Him, He enables us to heart His voice to know how and when to share Him with others. We don't have to push Him down their throat in order for them to follow Him. All it takes is loving them with His love. They may not come into a relationship with Him right away but they will eventually see how we live and want the same thing.

But of course we must allow Him to live through us. We can't go around in life moping and being negative. If we do, no one will want what we have. Instead we must remember the words of James 1:2-3 when we are going through a tough time…

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

We must live out the words of I Thessalonians 5:16-18...

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Dear Jesus,
I praise You for this song this morning to remind me my responsibility as a believer. It is not enough just to say "I believe." I must live it out each and every day. Lord, I know the best way to live it out comes in having more of You and less of me. Lord, fill me up. Lord, these days have been trying but I have tried my best to remain joyful through them. I do give thanks to You, Father, for these trials because I know it is through them that my faith will grow. I also want to praise You for Doc's stress test this morning. I praise You for the doctors and technicians who will be giving it. I ask that You give them Your wisdom. I also pray for the results. Lord, You already know them but I pray for us to accept them. I pray for Your healing hand to be upon Him today and tomorrow as He goes through the testing. Most of all, Lord, I pray for You to be glorified throughout them. Father, bless our day in a mighty way. You know I've been struggling with remembering, my words coming out wrong, etc. I know it's all part of being tired and stressed. I don't want to be stressed. I don't want to have MS issues creep in. Lord, You are greater. Come down upon my body and take over. Thank You Jesus for being The One I Believe In. Amen.


No comments: