GOD'S KINGDOM COME - GOD'S WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN~

What Do You Think Your Community Would Begin To Look Like If God's Kingdom Started To Come and His Will Was Being Done In Your Community Just Like It Was In Heaven?

NEED SOME WEEKLY ENCOURAGEMENT FOR LIVING A POWERFUL?

MISSIONAL LIFE?

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HE'S GONE TO BE THE GUEST OF SINNER!

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Powerful Missional Life?

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HOW THE 10TH VICTIM OF HILLSIDE STRANGLER (LAUREN WAGNER) CHANGED MY SPIRITUAL LIFE!

In November of 1977 while I was a freshman in college and when my girl friend (now my wife) were at a friends apartment eating dinner and watching TV a special new report broke in and the reporter announced, "This just in Laurene Wagner's body was found making her the 10th victim of the Hillside strangler," and then they put a picture of her up on the television screen.

I don't remember anything that the reporter said because once I heard her name, Laurene Wagner, and saw her picture my mind was immediately transported back to 9 months earlier when I was a Senior in high school and working for Taco Bell.  One of my co-workers was Laurene!  She pretty, funny and full of life and "yes" I was attracted to her!  Once, after getting my courage up, I asked Laurene if she would like to go out on a date sometime.  After her asked her that she just look at me with a little grin on her face and said, "Sure, I'd like to go out with you. But on one condition!"  "One condition", I said.  "And what condition is that?" I asked her.  "On the condition that you never talk to me about that Jesus crap!" Laurene had heard that I was Christian, that I went to church and that my father was a pastor and she didn't want to have anything to do with religion.  It wasn't what she said that impacted me but it was my response back to her that God has seared into my memory and for which came haunting me 9 months later.  For when she said, "Don't ever talk to me about that Jesus crap" I responded back to her with, "I wasn't going to tell you about Him any how!"  And I meant those words.  Though I was a Christian, at that time in my life I was more concern about my image of being popular than I was about people's salvation.

Then 9 months later those words that I said, words I didn't even remember saying until I saw her picture on the TV, came rushing back to me over and over again and the Holy Spirit convicted my soul unlike I have every experience before or since.  After I realized that Lauren had been brutally raped and murdered question started flooding my mind.  Question like: Did anyone tell her about Jesus?  Did she ever give her heart to Christ?  I knew I hadn't and I knew I never intended to!  Now God was convicting me by rebuking me by saying, "How dare you withhold the greatest gift ever given when you had a chance to share it!", "How dare you be more concerned with your image of popularity and you are about the eternal soul of another person!"  How dare you be disobedient with the most important command I have given my people!"  How Dare You!

I became overwhelmed with emotion and just ran out of the apartment without an explanation.  My girl friend came after me asking me what was wrong.  I sat there with my head in arms and through the tear of shame that flooded my heart shared with her all that was going on with me.

But something good did come out of that night.  For it was that night that I made a personal declaration.  On that night I declared "Never again would anyone wonder if I was a fully devoted follower of Christ; never again would I withhold the great gift ever given to mankind; Never again would I refuse to shine the Light of Christ to those who were still lost in the darkness.  Never Again!

Since that time day I have committed myself to improve and become the best witness for Christ that I could possibly be.  Don't misunderstand me, I am not an evangelist but I am a witness for Jesus.  If a person is going to get to me, they will have to get to know Jesus. For you cannot know me without knowing about Jesus.

This is why I have started The Ordinary Christian. It is to empower, encourage and equip ordinary christians to live powerful missional lives that shine the Light of Christ brightly in their part of this dark world.  That is why I produce a free weekly video devotional called Missional Devotionals to encourage God's people to be intentional about sharing Jesus.  You can find out more information about these devotionals at:

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT 

MISSIONAL DEVOTIONALS

So what keeps you from sharing Jesus to others who desperately need to hear of him?
Is it embarrassment? Fear? or Discouragement?  What then?  And what are you going to do about it?

 You are the delivery person of the great gift ever given!  A gift given by God himself and he want us to share with the world!

Let me encourage you to be intentional about sharing Jesus and making fully devoted followers of Christ.  Jesus said, "You Are The Light Of The World". Take that identity seriously and GO SHINE HIS LIGHT!

Missional Living Is About Joining God In Bringing Heaven To Earth

NEED ENCOURAGEMENT FOR MISSIONAL LIVING? Then I've Got Good News!

DON'T ALLOW:

• FEAR
• DISCOURAGEMENT
• INTIMIDATION 

KEEP YOU FROM LIVING A POWERFUL 

MISSIONAL LIFE!

As A Follower Of Christ We've Been Called To Shine The Light Of Christ Into Our Part Of This Dark World By Doing Good Deeds and Telling The Good News! 

BUT IN ORDER TO DO IT EFFECTIVELY

WE NEED TO RECEIVE REGULAR ENCOURAGEMENT!

Now you can receive that encouragement by subscribing to MISSIONAL DEVOTIONALS!  Missional Devotionals are weekly devotionals in a video format that are emailed out to empower, encourage and equip Ordinary Christians to live powerful missional lives where the Light of Christ shines through them and into their part of this dark world.  They are 4 to 6 minutes in length and are designed to help people to focus their week to join Christ on His mission.

Take A Few Minutes To Watch This Video To See Why I'm So Passionate About Encouraging Christians To Be On Mission With Christ:

 

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A GUIDE FOR ORDINARY CHRISTIANS HELPING WITH HOSPITAL VISITATION!

Keys to an Effective Hospital Visit

by Dr. Terry Dorsett.

(Dr. Dorsett is our guest blogger and is an experienced minister and trainer.  You can find more from him at: http://thoughtsfromdrt.blogspot.com)

When people are in the hospital, they are often scared, lonely, and in need of encouragement. When they receive a well timed spiritually based visit in that time of difficulty, not only does it meet their spiritual need, but a growing body of evidence also suggests that they also recover faster physically. Therefore learning how to make a good hospital visit is important for lay people who want to help their church become more effective in caring for its members.

Many lay people hesitate to make such visits because they are not sure what to say or do. By following these simple points, a visit with a hospital patient can be joyful and encouraging.

1. Do not wear cologne. Cologne can gag even healthy people and those in the hospital may be extra sensitive to smells because of the medicines they are taking.

2. Leave the gum at home. No one likes to listen to people chew and smack gum.

3. Always check with the nurse before bringing food to a patient, even if the patient asks for it. It might be a detriment to the patient’s condition if his or her diet has been restricted for medical reasons.

4. If a gift of food is taken, it is extremely rude for the person bringing the gift to eat it. Remember, it was brought for the patient and he and she cannot get any more of it once it is gone. Never eat the patient’s food from his or her tray, as the nurse may be monitoring how much has been eaten.

5. When greeting the patient, if it is physically feasible, take his or her hand gently. When people do not feel well, they often do not want to be hugged, especially if they have had surgery.

6. Be polite and stand if there are not enough chairs. Remember, the visit will only last a short time.

7. Never sit on the bed; it cramps the patient. If there is a second bed in the room, do not sit on it, even if it is not being used. The staff may have it ready for a new patient and may not have time to freshen it up before a new patient needs it.

8. Talk audibly, not too softly or too loudly. Increase volume if the patient does not seem to be able to hear while remaining mindful of other patients in the room. Sometimes, when people are sick, their minds are a bit fuzzy from pills and pain, so their hearing may be less sharp than normal.

9. Only stay a few minutes. The point of the visit is to wish the patient well, not to spend a long period of time with him or her. Extended visits often tire a patient more than he or she realizes.

10. If a gift is taken, make sure the gift is appropriate for the situation. For example, if the patient has just had eye surgery, then he or she will not be able to read a book.

11. Only talk about happy situations, not about bad news. Never talk about one’s own past illnesses or operations.

12. If there are relatives present, say a quick hello, leave your gift, wish the patient a speedy recovery, and then leave. The relatives will want quality time and privacy with the patient. Sometimes they come from quite a distance and may not be able to come back soon, but a local person from church can always return at a later time.

13. If either the nurse or doctor enters the room to do something for the patient, be polite and leave the room while they are attending the patient. Do this even if the patient says it is okay for you stay.

14. If the patient wants to go for a walk, check with the nurse first. The same would be true if the patient asks for assistance in getting out of bed or in using the bathroom.

15. If the visitor does not know how to respond to something the patient says, sometimes it is better to say nothing at all. Just express concern, offer a prayer, and graciously make a polite departure.

16. Remember that patients are in the hospital because they are sick. Use common sense, smile, and be positive during the visit. If the visitor becomes upset, they should excuse themselves until they can regain control of their own emotions. Be aware that conversations in the hall can be overheard. The whole point of visiting patients in the hospital is to cheer them up. So do not do anything to make the situation tenser than it already is.

17. Every hospital has guidelines they ask visitors to follow. Those guidelines have been put in place for safety reasons. Please be respectful of them.

18. Remember to maintain the confidentiality of those who have been visited. Do not share details of their situation without permission. Do not speculate about their future with others at church.

By following these simply guidelines, lay people can make a positive spiritually based visit to someone in the church. Such a visit can be a great encouragement to a person in the hospital.
____________________________
These ideas have been adapted from a chapter in the book, Developing Leadership Teams in the 

Bivocational Church

Living a missional life can get discouraging at times.  The Ordinary Christian Group has provide a new & FREE resource to provide weekly encouragement to people intentionally living a missional life.  This resource is a video devotional designed to provide encouragement to God's people. They emailed out each monday and are only 3 to 6 minutes in length.  TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO CLAIM YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO MISSIONAL DEVOTIONALS.

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Missional Principle: GO WHERE JESUS IS GOING!

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