Are you dead enough?

I have been praying and asking the Lord to give me a heart to evangelize at a greater level.  I want a heart that is not always looking inward but one that is looking outward for those that need Jesus.  It is so EASY to get stuck on Anika; my fears of rejection and what others think of me. As I pray and study His word I see that effective evangelism requires death to oneself.  So I leave you with this question, “Are you dead enough?”

 

ARE YOU DEAD ENOUGH?

Many times as Christians we are afraid of speaking and living the whole truth.

Why?

We are afraid of the response.

We are afraid of how others will become offended because the words we speak

And the way we live highlights their sins

Then they lash out

And our feelings get hurt

We take it personal and we shrink back

Why?

Because we are not dead enough

Yeah cause see it is no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me

But maybe

Maybe my death is not a reality

And I have to be honest and say

I am not dead enough

Not dead enough to myself

Not dead enough to recognize that I have been given a mandate to Go

A mandate that takes the focus off of me and puts it all on Jesus

A mandate that asks me to let my light shine,

A light that highlights the darkness of sin

The very light that should be a reflection of Him

His attitude

His courage

His love

His words

And when I am dead enough

I recognize that it is not my words that I am speaking

Consequently I know that they are not rejecting me

But they are rejecting the ONLY one that can set them free

So when I am dead enough, I shake off the rejection

And say, ok on to the next one.

 

 

I want my edge back. Operating in Boldness for Christ!

I want my edge back.  I want that boldness back.  As I read familiar passages of scriptures in the book of Acts something has been stirred in me.  I remember when I got saved my third year in college. I was an on fire somebody and anyone that was willing to listen, I would tell them about Jesus.  I was so focused on leading souls to Christ.  Yes I may not have had much wisdom and I still had things I needed to be delivered from but my zeal and love for the Lord and the lost were undeniable.  I went when He said to go, I spoke when He told me to speak, and I didn’t rationalize it.

 

I was crazy enough to believe that I can pray for someone to be filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues once they accepted the Lord, so I shared the little I knew and I prayed and God moved. I was not afraid to get straight to the point and tell you that if you didn’t repent, your sins would lead you straight to hell. I said it without apology.  I didn’t look for ways to massage the truth, I spoke it just like it was stated in scripture.  So as I am sitting here reading the book of Acts, I ask myself, what happened?  How did I become so toned down under the guise of, “Oh I just have more wisdom now?” How did I allow myself to become so silent and lose my passion to see the lost saved?  It’s not to say that I haven’t been witnessing, I have… but not with the same intensity.  I find that I measure my words carefully to make sure that I don’t offend, I overthink what you think of me when I share the truth. But I want it back Lord.  I want you to fill me with your boldness, your passion, I want a heart that beats for the lost.  A heart that is willing to turn down my plate, and silence the noise so that I can hear from you.  I want to learn to pray unselfish prayers, prayers that are not always about me…but prayers for the lost, for the broken, for the rejected, for the hurt. You know the ones that are in the same shoes that I was before you came and rescued me.  Yes I have a husband and six children I have to train.  Yes I have new responsibilities and a host of other “excuses” that I didn’t have back then. But my God, you are still God and you still want to see the lost come back to you.

You are still the God that breaks chains!  You are still the God who empowers your children to cast out even the most stubborn demons in Jesus’ name.  You are still the God who fills people with your Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues!  You are still the God that moves mountains because of our fervent prayers.  You are still the God who heals the sick and raise the dead!  You haven’t changed, but I pray and ask you to change me so that I can lead others to you!

What about you, do you want to become bolder for Christ?

Don’t be afraid to share all of the Good News!

As believers we have all been given the mandate to share the good news with this world.  This is not an option.   The world is in need of truth. Sure most of us don’t hesitate to let people know that we love Jesus and for a bonus, we let them know He loves them too.  Not a bad sales pitch for Jesus and it keeps us in good standing with the one we are “witnessing” to.  No offense, just all love.

 

However, God is calling His church to step up our witnessing efforts, we have to go deeper.  It is as much about his judgement of sin as it is about his love.  We have to sound the alarm, HELL IS REAL and those that practice sin will spend an eternity there.  We have to call sin for what it is…SIN! We can’t be afraid to let people know that sin, their sin is offensive to God and there is a need to repent. The reality of being rejected is not appealing to most so because of this we sometimes hesitate to share in depth.  We have to be careful to not be more concerned about protecting our feelings than sharing truth that has the ability to keep someone from eternal damnation if they receive it.  That is just PLAIN SELFISH!   I am asking God to help me to get over myself, get over the fear of being rejected (because it will happen), and share with a boldness that is motivated by love.  How about you?

 

DO YOU LIE ON JESUS WHEN YOU EVANGELIZE?

September 25, 2015

 

I am afraid that we have lied on Jesus more times than we realize.  We offer a package and an approach that He does not endorse.  We go to great lengths to manipulate people to come to church to “accept” Jesus.  But what happens when we can’t keep up the show?  What happens when we get tired of chasing people down and coming up with great programs to distract them from what they really want to do, which is SIN!

When I read the word through the proper lens I get to see Jesus for who He really is, in His power and His simplicity.  Jesus knew all that He had to offer…life and that more abundantly (John 10:10).  Because of this He was confident and knew that He didn’t have to sell Himself to anyone.  No gimmicks, no lies, no half-truths.  He had no great sales pitch because He is the word made flesh which makes Him enough…more than!  He is the beginning and the end, the first and the last and everything in between.  He gave it to them straight.

He did this to expose their hearts and to chase away those that were only there for a show, not for true surrender.

So as I comb through scripture and I get to know Jesus, it makes me take a hard look at how I evangelize.  Do I invite people to church, leading the conversation with all the programs we may have to pacify their children, and make the parents comfortable or do I shoot it straight.  Do I tell them this is the best decision they will ever make but they must be willing to count the cost?  Do I tell them that once they put their hands to the plow and if they look back they are not fit for the kingdom (Luke 9:62)? Do I tell them that they will suffer because they accept Christ, but to be encouraged because if they suffer for Him they will also reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12)?  Do I tell them the truth, do I tell them about Jesus?  No this approach is not harsh, it is love on full display.  Knowing that if they accept this truth it sets them free (John 8:32) and offers a peace that is beyond human understanding (Philippians 4:7)!

No longer should we be paralyzed if they don’t want Jesus. And for the record, He never tells us to go chase down those who really don’t want Him. Remember what He told the 12 disciples in Luke 9:5 when He first sent them out? The truth of God’s word is a sure repellant to those who don’t mean business with God.  If we get people to “come” to Jesus on a faulty foundation and lies they will not have a lasting relationship which is counterproductive, don’t you think?  May we be freed from looking “successful” to the world.  My God may we hunger for souls that are set on fire!  Even if it is only ten of them in the pews!

So I want to encourage you to take a hard look at how you evangelize. Do you find yourself dumbing down God’s standards in an effort to first get them in?  This is a worldly approach, one that is not endorsed by Jesus.  Come on brothers and sisters, let us go out in love, telling the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth and may God help us to do just that!  As we do this, watch God bring in those that are really hungry for Him!  We have work to do, and our job is to help bring in true laborers into the kingdom to set this world on fire for our God.  How about it?  Are you on board to return to true evangelism?

 

 

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