This blog is about encouraging, empowering and equipping Ordinary Christians live an intentionally missional life that shine the Light of Christ brightly back into this dark world. We will provide training on on developing the basic skills necessary for living a life of a missionary; Biblical insights that will empower Ordinary Christians to share their faith; and inspirational stories of other Ordinary Christians who are living a life on mission with Christ.
Showing posts with label missions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label missions. Show all posts
Monday, January 22, 2018
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Friday, May 29, 2015
1 Missional Living Idea On How To Saturate Your Community With The Gospe...
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Saturday, April 25, 2015
MISSIONAL LIVING IS ABOUT STARTING SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONS WITH STRANGERS
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Tuesday, September 2, 2014
5 Tips For Doing Missions God's Way
5 TIPS FOR DOING MISSIONS GOD'S WAY:
Ephesians 2:10 & Matthew 5:14-16
#1: Remember That God's The Designer Of Your Life - Not You!
"For we are God's workmanship ..."
Did you notice that it said that we are God's workmanship? He is the one who created us to be what He wants us to be. We don't tell God what we will or won't be! God is the one who determines the role that we are to play in the area of missions.
#2: The Venue For God's Creative Work Is In Christ - Not In The World!
" ... created in Christ Jesus ..."
The place that this transformation and the new creation that we are becoming happens "In Christ"! We are to be enveloped by Christ, like a cocoon, that allows the transformation of our lives to take place. We will never become what God intends for us to be and the kind of missionaries He intends for us to be if we try to do it in a worldly manner. WE MUST STAY CONNECT TO JESUS!
#3: The Purpose For God's Creative Work Is To Produce Ministry Through You - Not For You!
" ... created in Christ to do good works..."
The work of ministry and missions is not for us but to be done through us for others. Our work of missions isn't primarily to make us fee fulfilled or good (thought it will) but the primary purpose for ministry and missions is to help others still caught in the bonds of sin.
#4: The Missional Work You Are To Do Is Determined By God - Not You!
"... which God prepared in advance. for us to do."
Did you see that? God is the one doing the preparing of the work that you and I will do. We don't chose. We are to trust and obey God in doing the assignment that He has given us to do.
#5: We Are To Do Missions In A Way That Bring Glory To God - Not Us!
"Let your light so shine before men that they see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven." Matthew 5:16
When you do good deeds as a ministry to others it is not for you to look good and thereby get the praise - it is to make God look good and for Him to get the praise. ALWAYS!
I hope you found this devotional to be helpful and encouraging. If you did please take a few moments and share this devotional on Facebook and Twitter. Take care and God bless.
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Wednesday, January 8, 2014
MISSIONAL FAITH: IT WILL STRETCH YOUR IMAGINATION
When it come to living a powerful and effective missional life, it will require having amazing faith! But as we apply the concept of faith in God to being on mission with God one thing becomes extremely evident! And that is: Missional faith will always stretch your imagination! Read what God’s word say,
“… now glory be to God! By his might power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope for.” Eph. 3:20 (NL)
DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT? Do you sincerely believe that it is God’s desire to accomplish” infinitely more” that you are able to ask for? THAT REQUIRES FAITH! And not just any ole faith but amazing faith.
Let’s think about this for a moment! Try and imagine the greatest thing that God could ever accomplish through your life! Do you have it? Is it clear in your mind? Well, guess what? You still haven’t come close to what God wants to do through you! Your imagination will always be to small. You are incapable to dreaming up something as big as what God wants to do through you. What God wants to accomplish you can’t be figured out by dreaming it up the most amazing pursuit. No, God’s plans are always so huge that it can only be revealed to you by God himself.
This kind of activity with God will always begin with a revelation from Him showing you His plans and His ways. When God does show you these things it is going to blow your mind away and will require you to have a faith that truly believes that God can do anything, through anybody, including you.
Think for a moment about the idea of Abraham becoming the father of a great nation ...
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Friday, July 19, 2013
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Monday, June 24, 2013
FAITH: An Essential Ingredient For Missional Living
“Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified; do not be afraid
of them. The Lord your God, who is
going before you, will fight for you as he did for you in Egypt, before your
very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father
carries his son, all the way you went until your reach this place. In spite of this, you did not trust in
the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and
in a cloud by day to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way
you should go. When the Lord heard
what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore: ‘not a man of this generation shall see the good land I swore
to give your forefathers, except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and
his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord
wholeheartedly.” Deuteronomy 1:
29-36 NIV
The biggest obstacle to following God is fear. As a matter of fact, it is impossible
to follow God and join Him in pursuing His mission when fear is holding our
heart captive. Fear causes us to
doubt and to question whether God is really able to accomplish what he has
called us to join Him in do! This
is the reason why here in the beginning in Deuteronomy and throughout the rest
of the book of Deuteronomy and on into Joshua God keeps reminding His people
and leaders to not be afraid and to not be terrified. When people focus on the object of terror they have in
essence removed their eyes off of God who is able to overcome whatever it is
that brings that terror.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
BATTLEFIELD CHRISTIANITY: Missional Living Is Not For The Faint Of Heart
Listen to how the Bible describes the missional life that we as ordinary christian are to live!
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1 Peter 5:8,9 (NIV)
Here the Apostle Peter is admonishing us to be on guard, aware of the realities that are taking place, able to fight back against our enemy and to stand firm against Satan because he's looking for an opportunity to devour us like a lion. Now I don't know about you but that sounds a lot like life in this world is more of a warzone than taking a relaxing walk along the beach! For many Christians in North America that's not the kind of attitude they possess. They don't look at life as a warzone or battle field. When they get up in the morning they're thinking about what they're going to wear for their jobs but they are in no way preparing to suit up for a spiritual battle. The thought of putting on an armor and getting ready for a battle is the farthest thing from their minds.
Instead they see life more as a picnic where they're laying on a blanket, drinking some wine and eating some crackers. They're enjoying the moment with a loved one and soaking up the sun while thinking that this is the kind of life they need to always to be living!
But could it be that this kind of world view and attitude is what's hindering the church of North America? Could one of the reasons why the church in North America is so impotent is that we have failed to see that the life we live is a life at war with demonic spiritual forces around us? Could it be that while the Christians of North America are sitting around at their picnics they have also made themselves extremely vulnerable and easy prey to Satan who is hiding in the grass ready to ponce on them and devour them?
Maybe it's about time we wake up and begin to look at life for what it really is, A LIFE AT WAR! Maybe it's time for pastors to get serious about provide basic training in spiritual warfare for their congregation! And if we did change our view of life from picnic to war wouldn't that also change our understanding of the role of the pastor? I mean if you really believed that each morning when you woke up you were getting ready for a day of spiritual warfare against Satan wouldn't that change how you view what your pastor should do? Would you want a pastor who'll hold your hand and ask you how you're feeling or would you prefer your pastor to be more like a drill sergeant who'll kick in your butt and prepare you to survive?
When we change our view of what life is (a war) wouldn't that also necessitate changing our view of what the church is to be like? Maybe we should view the church as a BASIC TRAINING CAMP! Don't you think it would change? I think so! Ordinary Christian it's time for you to expect, and in some cases demand, that your pastor prepare you, train you and equip you to effectively engage in the spiritual battle you're already in! You're in fight and it's time to learn how you can defend yourself.
If you already have a pastor who equipping you for the fight then be grateful for them. Don't whine and complain when your pastor old you accountable for they are your drill sergeants (Men of God) who are the ones getting you ready for the fight! They may be hard on you but that's only because they want you to be prepared. We have a real enemy and he is an expert war strategist, so you need to be well trained. Missional living is a life prepare for spiritual warfare. When we are effectively trained then we'll be prepared to accomplish our mission.
Go Shine The Light - Get Ready For The Fight!
If you need some help in eliminating the causes for not living a missional life then I highly recommend you check out this blog. It's powerful: Eliminating The Causes For Not Living A Missional Life
If you are an ordinary christians wishing to live a more effective life for Christ then I encourage you to get a FREE subscription to Missional Devotionals. By subscribing you will receive empowerment, encouragement and equipping for living a missional life that shines the Light of Christ. Take a few moments and sign up now for your FREE subscription!
Instead they see life more as a picnic where they're laying on a blanket, drinking some wine and eating some crackers. They're enjoying the moment with a loved one and soaking up the sun while thinking that this is the kind of life they need to always to be living!
But could it be that this kind of world view and attitude is what's hindering the church of North America? Could one of the reasons why the church in North America is so impotent is that we have failed to see that the life we live is a life at war with demonic spiritual forces around us? Could it be that while the Christians of North America are sitting around at their picnics they have also made themselves extremely vulnerable and easy prey to Satan who is hiding in the grass ready to ponce on them and devour them?
Maybe it's about time we wake up and begin to look at life for what it really is, A LIFE AT WAR! Maybe it's time for pastors to get serious about provide basic training in spiritual warfare for their congregation! And if we did change our view of life from picnic to war wouldn't that also change our understanding of the role of the pastor? I mean if you really believed that each morning when you woke up you were getting ready for a day of spiritual warfare against Satan wouldn't that change how you view what your pastor should do? Would you want a pastor who'll hold your hand and ask you how you're feeling or would you prefer your pastor to be more like a drill sergeant who'll kick in your butt and prepare you to survive?
When we change our view of what life is (a war) wouldn't that also necessitate changing our view of what the church is to be like? Maybe we should view the church as a BASIC TRAINING CAMP! Don't you think it would change? I think so! Ordinary Christian it's time for you to expect, and in some cases demand, that your pastor prepare you, train you and equip you to effectively engage in the spiritual battle you're already in! You're in fight and it's time to learn how you can defend yourself.
If you already have a pastor who equipping you for the fight then be grateful for them. Don't whine and complain when your pastor old you accountable for they are your drill sergeants (Men of God) who are the ones getting you ready for the fight! They may be hard on you but that's only because they want you to be prepared. We have a real enemy and he is an expert war strategist, so you need to be well trained. Missional living is a life prepare for spiritual warfare. When we are effectively trained then we'll be prepared to accomplish our mission.
Go Shine The Light - Get Ready For The Fight!
If you need some help in eliminating the causes for not living a missional life then I highly recommend you check out this blog. It's powerful: Eliminating The Causes For Not Living A Missional Life
If you are an ordinary christians wishing to live a more effective life for Christ then I encourage you to get a FREE subscription to Missional Devotionals. By subscribing you will receive empowerment, encouragement and equipping for living a missional life that shines the Light of Christ. Take a few moments and sign up now for your FREE subscription!
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Friday, March 15, 2013
CHAPLAIN OR COACH: The Primary Role Of A Pastor
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to
the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Eph. 4:11-13
If the goal of every pastor is to be obedient to this passage of scripture of equipping the saints to perform the works of ministry then pastors should be more like a COACH than a CHAPLAIN! In North American many Christians have come to the idea that the primary role of the pastor is to be there for their church members when they are going through a difficult time and provide emotional support. And then when they are through the crisis what happens? They go about their normal daily living just as they had before the crisis, which means playing the church game of going to worship once a week and maybe a few other activities at the church campus with the rest of the time being lived out for their own self with no real regard to God's activity around them in the community. In other words the pastor exists to provide support, encouragement and compassion when people are having a hard time but not necessarily to prod, poke or push people to live the missional life that Christ has commanded all believers to live.But is that really the job description a pastor is suppose to have? Not according to Ephesians 4:11-13. According to the Bible pastors along with the prophets, evangelists, apostles and teachers are to equip the saints, God's People, Ordinary Christians to do the work of ministry. That's right they are to equip and train Ordinary Christians to do the work of the ministry that Christ himself gave us to do. In other words pastor should act more like a coach than a chaplain. Chaplains will hold your hand when you're not feeling well but Coaches are their to train you and if need be get in your face to hold you accountable for your poor performance. You may feel better with a Chaplin at your side but you will accomplish more and perform better with a Coach by your side.
If our goal is to win a championship then we need a person who believes in us, sees the potential in us and trains us but who will also push us far beyond what we think we can handle, get in our faces when we are slacking off and make us do over and over again those things, we hate, that will make us more competitive. Coaches are hated and despised during practices but they are admired and appreciated at the end of the season when the championship has been obtained.
Ordinary Christians who are to live an effective missional life don't need a chaplain they need coaches. They need a coach who will raise them up, train them up and then unleash them to perform the works of ministry back into this dark world. Ordinary Christians don't need someone to come hold their hand and talk about their feelings! THAT WILL ONLY STIFLE THEM FROM EXCELLING! They need someone who will kick them in the butt, get in their face and demand they to run another lap.
The mission of Christ is accomplished by Ordinary Christians who have been well coached and trained to press through the momentary pain and to perform with excellence the ministry of Christ so that when Christ returns they will hear him say, "Well done good and faithful servant." It's on that day - the day of Christs return - you will be grateful for a pastor who believed in you enough to get in your face and demanded more from you!
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Saturday, February 16, 2013
A NEW TESTAMENT STRATEGY FOR IGNITING A CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENT
In the 4 Gospels we see three different invitations that Christ and his disciples extended to people depending upon their level of commitment.
The First Invitation: COME & SEE: This was an invitation for people to come see and experience the power, presence and message of Christ. Sometime these turned out to be a large gathering of people but only lasted a day or two. As ordinary people came they got to meet Jesus, hear his teaching on the Kingdom of God, experience his power when he performed miracles and healings and they would receive an invitation to join him in a deeper committed which was the second Invitation. The goal of this event was to discover the Person of Peace who would open their home that would form the beach head for the new movement and to find those who were prepared to follow Jesus and become His disciples.
The Second Invitation: COME & FOLLOW: These were people who were willing to leave everything to come and follow Christ. They considered the cost of discipleship and made a decision to be Christ's disciples. As they did Jesus taught them how to become spiritually mature through laying a strong foundation of himself/Christ and his teaching, about living in the Spirit, how to relate to one another, spiritual warfare and pursuing His mission. As he watched and prayed he then would extend a third invitation to some of those the Father identified. The goal of this following was to establish his follower to be strong in their faith and to identify those who would form the apostolic leadership from which the movement would gain momentum.
The Third Invitation: COME & BE WITH ME. The few that Jesus identified through prayer He made them to be His apostles. He would teach them to do what he did and implement the same pattern (come and see, come and follow and come and be with me). They would watch Jesus do it, they would practice it under His supervision and he would them unleash them to go do it themselves in teams. As they did the work they then would gather those who were identified from the Come and Be With Me to be the second generation of apostolic leadership and then repeat the process. This time not with just twelve but with seventy-two. It is here with this third group THE COME & BE WITH ME that we see the rapidly reproduction begin to happen. They were the apostolic leadership that would leave to go to other unreached groups to share the gospel.
As the process was repeated over and over again more disciples increased and more apostolic leadership were developed thereby increasing the momentum of the movement. It is important to note that this strategy was used to raise up, train up and unleash ordinary christians, people, to create this church planting movement. The church planting was done by ordinary christians who had no special training. These regular guys were used by God to do some pretty extraordinary and amazing things. These ordinary christians or regular guys were the one's that God used to be His missionaries!
So here are some question for us to consider:
- What if we were to follow the same pattern?
- What would it look like in N. America?
- What would COME & SEE EVENT look like?
- What would a COME & FOLLOW GROUP look like? And what would a COME & BE WITH ME TRAINING look like?
Share your thoughts in the comments space Let's brainstorm and begin to experiment and see what God does.
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Saturday, January 19, 2013
I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FISH: A Principle On Missional Living
So what do I mean by the title? What missional living principle can we learn from the statement, "I Don't Have Enough Fish."? To understand this we need to look at John 6:1-13:
"Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, 'Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?' He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, 'It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!' Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 'Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?' Jesus said, 'Have the people sit down.' There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks,and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, 'Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.' So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten."So now I think you are beginning to understand what I mean by the title. Here Jesus assigned a task for his disciples to go find or buy food for the crowd of over 5,000 people so they could eat. The Bible said that Jesus assigned that task because he already knew what he was going to do and so he could test them to reveal the state of their faith. Phillip looked at the practicality and impossibility of fulfilling that request. Not even half a years wage would be enough to feed that many people. Andrew began looking for a solution and found a boy with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes but then he quickly realized that the need was far greater than the resources that were available. The interesting thing is that both of these men were correct! There wasn't enough money and there wasn't enough food! From a practical standpoint Jesus' request was impossible. Andrews statement says a lot about the faith that all of the disciples had at that point in their life. When he said, "... but how far will they go among so many?" All they could see was the size of the of the task and how limiting the resources were. What they didn't see was how powerful the one who request the work to be done! They're faith had not grown to the place where they could say with full confidence that God can do anything, through anybody, including them and their small resources.
How many times have we found ourselves to be just like the disciples in this story? We are faced with a task given to us by our Lord and as we look around to see what we have and as we look inside to see what we have to offer we quickly realize that we are sadly and greatly inadequate in the needed provisions to accomplish the task. We look and all we see is our sad and puny self and we give up, never attempting what Christ is commanding, because our faith hasn't grown to the place where we can sincerely say that our God is able to do anything, through anybody, including me.
I just love the way Jesus handled the situation. He didn't rebuke them or scold them. He just told them to have the crowd sit down. It's almost as if he was saying, "Ok, get everyone comfortable because I'm about to show you, my disciples, something that will absolutely blow your minds! And blow their minds it did!
Then as the people were sitting down on the grass and getting comfortable Jesus took the bread and fish and blessed it. He asked our Heavenly Father to use what was provided to meet the need that was apparent. After praying over it he had the disciples begin to distribute the food as far as it would go. In this Jesus was showing how sincere and powerful faith is demonstrated. Jesus took what they had available, prayed for God's blessing and then started meeting the need with what they had. It was as simple as that.
The disciples began to meet the need with what was available and were not going to stop until one of two things happened. They would stop if the resources ran out or they would stop when the need was met. Either way, whatever came first, they would stop then and only then. To much of their surprise and amazement it wasn't the resources that ran out first - it was the need that was met that came first. Can you imagine with me how the disciples must have been when Jesus gave them the fish and bread and said after his prayer, "OK guys you're on. Go distribute the food!" I don't if they were laughing under their breath while doing what he said or if they were thinking that what Jesus was asking was a total waste of time. The Bible doesn't say what they were thinking but I know what I would be thinking and I can assure you it wouldn't sound like much faith. But they were faithful in doing what Jesus asked and as a result they were able to experience God's power.
When they finished distributing the food everyone had eaten. When they had finished collecting up the remains there were 12 basket full of food. One basked collected by each of the twelve disciples. Now that' what I call amazing. You see when we give God all that we have for him to use to meet the needs that he has revealed we discover that God's blessing are overflowing to his faithful servants. And what an important lesson was learned about the missional lifestyle that Christ commands us to live. What exactly is that principle? It's this:
It's Not The Size Of What You Have To Offer God That Makes The Difference
It's The Power Of God That Bless' It That Will Multiply It"
So here's a simple process to assist you as you step out in faith and offer to God whatever you have, great or small to be used by him to shine the light of Christ back in this spiritually dark world:
- Recognize the need that Christ is revealing to you.
- Access what resources you have to meet that need.
- Offer those resources to God for his blessing.
- Start meeting that need until one of two things happen - either the need is completely met and no longer a need or when you're resources run out. It's a good bet that the need will be met before the resources run out.
- When the need is met collect what remains of the resources and stand amazed on the increase of God's blessings.
In conclusion: Don't worry about how many fish you have! It matters not! Concentrate on how big your faith is and believe that God truly can do anything, through anybody, including you and whatever you have to offer him. But remember faith without deeds is dead! In order to prove your faith once you've asked for God's blessing you have to step out on faith and start distributing the bread.
GO SHINE YOUR THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
IN YOUR PART OF THIS DARK WORLD!
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