Matthew 28:5-7; I John 3:16a - "Until The Whole World Hears"

Last night God brought yesterday's sermon to me before I fell asleep. Come...See...Go...Tell. Several weeks ago He gave me the sermon series He desired preached leading up to Easter and then into the month of April. Last night He expounded upon the first part of next week's sermon. This morning I woke to a devotional in my email about Matthew 28:5-7. All of this put together tells me God is in control and has a specific message to be given. I need to be more intentional in practicing these commands from this Scripture. I need to be more intentional in living as Jesus desires so I not only hear His voice but I walk in obedience to it. I need to be more intentional in sharing my testimony so others will have the Hope of Christ living in them. My life has been 'colorful' with many opportunities to make the decision to walk away from God or lean deeper into Him. It has been filled with opportunities to blame God or allow Him to stretch my faith. My heart breaks in seeing people allow the enemy tear them apart instead of standing firm in their faith. I know it takes a firm faith to get through the things this world throws on us. We must remember it is not always the enemy who puts things in our path. God uses dire situations to stretch our faith. He desires us to allow Him to have total control over every aspect of life. The best way for us to live this type of life is to Come...See...Go...Tell. Today many will put away Easter decorations, have leftovers, get family pictures developed, etc. How many of us will keep the story of His death and resurrection resounding in our spirit? How many of us will thank God for the sacrifice He made with His Son? How many of us will share what He has done in our life? The celebration of Easter needs to be a daily celebration. It needs to be something we live out every day of our life. People need to see His love lived out of us every day. I John 3:16a reads in the New International Version: This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. Our life needs to revolve around and show His love. People need to see His love through us before they can experience it. People need to experience us being the hands and feet of Jesus to them. This Scripture has another commandment we all need to remember as we continue on our journey with the Lord. We are not to fear (vs 5). II Timothy 1:7 tells us God does not give us a spirit of fear but He gives us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. His empowerment over us is greater than any fear we could ever experience. We do not have to fear sharing Jesus. He will go before us and prepare the heart of those He puts before us. I love a prayer I read from the Proverbs 31 email. Jesus, I don't want to be a secret keeper with my faith. I want to be a bold and gracious truth proclaimer. For You. With You. Because of You. Yes! This is exactly how I desire to live. I do not want to hide my faith but instead want to boldly share it. Woo hoo! I am reminded of a song Casting Crowns sings called Until The Whole World Hears.

Want to be your hands and feet
Want to be a life that leads
To see you set the captive free
Until the whole world hears
And I pray that they will see more of you and less of me
Lord I want my life to be the song You sing
Until the whole world hears Lord we are calling out
Lifting your name up for all to hear the sound
Like voices in the wilderness we're crying out
As the day draws near
We'll sing until the whole world hears

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for a great Easter Sunday! Thank You for loving me so greatly! Thank You for going before me as I am Your hands and feet! Lord, cleanse me so You can fill me. I desire to get better at this. I desire to love with more of You and less of me. May You shine brightly through my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts today in a great way! Father, my prayer list is long but I want to lift to You some special requests this morning. May You be greater than the things that are happening in people's lives. May You draw people to You through their circumstances. I pray for: my sister Linda and my friend Kaye as they continue their road of recuperation from back surgery; Mary with health issues; Pete and Delores Avery; Lanier Smith with back issues; Elizabeth; Melanie; and so many others who need an extra dose of Your love today. Thank You for my friends who shared lunch with me yesterday! Jack and Paula, Nancy, and Carol. Thank You for the fun time Rhonda had with the children at her complex! Thank You for phone conversations with Paul and my Momma and texts with Ben, Adam, and Rachel! Thank You once again for the laughs over the phone with Rickey! Lord, You are so good at providing exactly what I need, when I need it. I pray I will bless You in abundance in the day ahead as I share You with whoever You put before me. Thank You Jesus for being My Reason For Living! Amen.