You are a history maker, whether you think so or not. Everything you do effects your life, the lives of people around you, and how it all fits together for the future. You actions, or lack of action, creates a ripple the extends out through time. You don’t have to be a statesman to effect tremendous change. The question is, will it be for good or bad?

To effect change for good, we need to have the mind of Christ. If the Spirit of God is within you to hear His voice, you can make decisions that He is directing. Think about it — everything you do can be the right thing. Yes, we are human, and we will make mistakes, but God can still work with that. Being submissive to His will and His voice gives us the direction and inspiration that we need to release the kingdom of God on earth.

What if your encouragement is all that is needed for someone especially marked by God to change nations? What happens if you don’t do it? Will God use someone else? Who knows? What if your life is such an example of righteousness that you impress people who may never speak to you about it? What you say and don’t say can be vitally important to the destiny of lives you know nothing about.

There is some pressure on us to be righteous beyond our personal needs and wants. We are connected to people, places, and nations. Listen to God and change history today. You have no idea how you will be used.

What is the legacy that you will leave?

To live in the kingdom is to live in inheritance. We have the fullness of everything that God has given us, whether we chose to receive it or not. We are adopted into the family of God through the blood so our inheritance is sure.

But what do we do with it? If we accept the amazing blessing of being a child in the King’s house, we have more than enough to give away. God is a God of abundance. We’re not meant to hold onto what we’ve been given. We’re meant to live in community and family and bless each other.

We should be known for the blessings of God. We should leave a trail behind us of goodness, the fragrance of heaven. We should be helping the next generation to come into the kingdom and prepare them to take our place. The wisdom that we’ve learned needs to be passed on. Freely we’ve been given, freely we should give.

The legacy in the kingdom will look different on each one of us. Don’t try to be a copy of someone else. Be who you’ve been made to be and your legacy will be exactly as it should — a shining light to help others follow you to God.

I think there’s a lot of good that could be done in the church if people would be honest with each other. The stereotype of the church being filled with hypocrites is based on reality. I think we would all consider it shameful if we talk righteously in church and then live in an ungodly way, but we don’t consider the small ways we fail to live in truth.

Jesus said, Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you,rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. (Luke 17:3)

How often do we allow offense to go unaddressed because we don’t have the nerve to say anything about it? Instead, we carry it around and let it fester and make us unhappy. If we would be honest about it, we can correct it and move on.

Rebuke does not have to be threatening. In fact, that’s a terrible way to deal with it. If we recognize that love is the motivation for clearing the air, then rebuke is merely pointing out something that happened with honesty. If the other person was unaware of how they offended you, it gives them revelation and a chance to ask forgiveness. If they did know how they offended you, it give them a chance to explain their motivations. (Forgive them anyway.)

The point is, don’t sit on it. Never carry around anything that makes you unhappy or guilty. Clear the air, in a loving and kind way. We are family and we take care of each other, and that means being honest.

Should churches be a place for those who are saved to come together and honor God, or can it also be a place for the broken come to be healed? Jesus said, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. (Mark 2:17)

How will the broken feel safe enough to come if they are not welcome? They are not welcome when they’ve been given labels. They are gay. They had an affair. They do drugs. These lifestyles indicate brokenness somewhere. They need healing and love. They need a place where they can talk about God and receive His compassion. What about all those young people who grew up in Christian families then left the church as soon as they got older? How will they come back if they don’t feel welcome?

Sometimes we don’t need to fix people, we just need to love them. God can do what we cannot. He  needs us to extend His love and mercy, not His condemnation. Maybe the broken need a place to come that is not church. Maybe it’s a home or a park or a coffee shop. God can meet them anywhere, and so can we.

Get help when you need it. I don’t care who you are, if you are the pastor or the leader, everyone runs out of steam at some point. The worst thing is to retreat into exhaustion and stew in your miseries. Exhaustion will come, but you don’t have suffer through it alone.

We are a family. The reason Jesus said the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself was second only to loving God is because His plan for us is to live in family, community — to help each other when we need it.

But people may not be aware of your need. You have to be open enough to ask for help. Go to the ones you trust. Allow them to minister to you. If they can hear God for you, you may get the exact encouragement that you need.

That’s the wonderful part of our family. If we can’t hear God ourselves, because of stress, pain, whatever, the people who love us can. Let them help you. Let them love you. Take the step that you need to take to allow your friends to do what you need them to do. You will all be blessed in the process.

Later on, you will be able to see the signs in other people who need your help. You will know how to pray and be there for them. That’s what friends do.