You are making disciples when others watch your life.

Jesus said to go and make disciples. (Mat 28:19) Whether we like it or not, people will watch our lives and be influenced by us. That makes us responsible to be the heart of God everywhere we go. If we are flippant in our responses, if we lose our patience, if we become angry easily, we misrepresent the Father to people who are desperate for the Father’s love.

We all have issues that we need to clean up. It’s part of our human condition. Thankfully, God made a way for us to clear out all the stuff that doesn’t honor Him. All we have to do is confess our sins to Him, and He will forgive us. Repentance must be real. We have to change our ways and be led by His Spirit.

That kind of repentance is noticeable. That kind of influence is seen and felt by others who need the same touch of God. If you know you don’t show God well, confess it to Him. Ask Him to change your heart and take out anything that doesn’t honor Him. Allow yourself to be changed and molded by Him.

You may not feel like a disciple maker, but you are when others are watching you. Let your life be the influence of God to the world.

Another post on making disciples: Rise Up Disciple Maker

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Love is the foundation of the kingdom of God.

When you read about the kingdom of God and ask God to show you His heart, you begin to see a world far different from we’ve been raised to live in. We’d like to think that we get saved by believing that Jesus died for our sins and that He will make everything better for us. Then we get angry because we still have to deal with our life, and accuse God of not caring when nothing really changes. What are we doing wrong?

Well, are we doing what the scripture says to do? Are we loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind? Take a minute and think about that. We need to be sold out to God. He must be number one in our life, above our family, our work, and our personal dreams. If He is not, then we will never see the blessings of His promise.

Work this out first. Confess to Him if you have not loved Him heart, soul, and mind. This is the foundation from which your eternity will be based. And the wonderful part is that once you turn your heart to loving God, you won’t be able to get enough of Him. You will always want more, because once you get a glimpse of His glory and beauty, you’ll be ruined for life. That’s step one.

Step two is loving other people. This is really the hard part. People hurt us. People can be mean, forgetful, sarcastic. The first time we are hurt by someone else, walls go up to prevent that from happening again. Automatically, we are prevented from loving them because there’s a wall in the way. Jesus said to love them as much as you love yourself.

Confess your unforgiveness. Ask God to help you love the way you need to. Ask God to let you see how much He loves other people. It will change your perspective, like looking through proper lenses for the first time. It will take work. Practice putting others first. Practice being kind. Ask the Holy Spirit to release His kindness, patience, and grace in your life. All His gifts are available, so use them.

That’s it. Love God and love people. Don’t allow walls to go up. If you get hurt, take it to Jesus and give it to Him. He’ll take care of it. Just love back. Live like that and you’ll start to see life in the kingdom of God from heaven’s point of view and blessings will flow to you.

Another post on the kingdom: Salvation = Transformation

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You are a royal son or daughter of the great King.

God does not have grandchildren and there are no second class citizens in heaven. Salvation through Christ makes us sons and daughters adopted into His family. That makes us royals. The fact that you may not feel like it, does not alter the reality of it.

How would you live if you knew you were the royal son or daughter of the greatest King ever to live? The position comes with some perks and lots of responsibility. The perks are all the blessings of heaven. That’s a major perk. Plus, Jesus has given us His name to use. That’s more power than you can imagine.

But what will you do with this position? You are responsible to represent your Father to the world, to be His heart, to do His works. That’s why Jesus has allowed us to use His name, so we can heal the sick and deliver people from bondage.  Can you imagine this world if every son and daughter of the King lived out of that royal mindset? If all of us used the authority we’ve been given to rescue people who need our help? It would be an amazing place to live.

It’s time to start living like we’re supposed to. We’ve got a world to change.

Another post on being an heir to Christ. Learn To Live Like An Heir

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God has given everyone something to be good at.

God made everyone unique and awesome. We all have talents and skills, gifts to work in some area. Stop it. I can hear you from here. Yes, you do too have talents and gifts. You can do things that I can’t, and I can do things that you can’t. Don’t assume that your gifts have to be spiritual in nature. You have those as well—all the gifts of the Spirit, but what God put in you is unique.

We assume that our gifts must have to do with some kind of ministry. I don’t believe that they do. What if you are a great dog trainer? What if you are a fantastic cook? A math wiz? A master gardener? God isn’t just interested in what happens on Sunday morning. He’s interested in every area of our lives.

I believe that God gives us special talents to make us good at what we do, regardless of it being “spiritual” or not. Don’t dismiss your talents because there’s not a ministry for what you do. A gift is a gift and God has given you talents that you can excel in, so excel away and thank Him for what you have. What if you don’t  know what your area of gifting is yet? Try things that sound interesting and see what happens.

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You have a job to do in the body of Christ.

Everyone has a place in the body of Christ. Everyone. And if you are not functioning in your place, then part of the body isn’t working. Just think about any body part that stopped working for you—you’d feel it. Imagine if most of your body wasn’t working. It would be a bad situation. Unfortunately, that is a picture of the church today.

I know you have a job. I know you have a family. I know you’re really busy. And? God has not called you to anything He has not equipped you for. You are completely able to do everything that you are meant to do.

Don’t assume that you have to go into ministry. Maybe you are supposed to raise up the next Moses or David. Maybe you are to help fund a missions project. Maybe you need to talk to your neighbor about healing, then pray for healing.

Whenever a body part sits idle, the rest of the body works in stress mode. It’s not natural. We all need to be working together to do the work of the church. You have a place and a function. And when you act in it, you release the kingdom of God everywhere you go. So, get going!

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Start believing the plain truth of the Bible.

There has always been division in the Christian world about what is true and what isn’t. The first test should always be, is it supported in the Bible? That makes sense, but what if it is clearly in the Bible and you still don’t believe it? That’s an obvious indication of believing the enemy and not God.

What did Satan whisper in the garden? Did God really say? He makes you second guess what is clearly written. Jesus said we should be doing greater works than He did. We haven’t been doing them because we’ve  believed the lie that we’re not supposed to.

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also, and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. (Jhn 14:12)

Could He make it any plainer? We’re supposed to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons. Yes, demons. They didn’t go away. We are called to be disciples of Christ. That means, doing what He did.

Start believing the truth of what the Bible says and start living it. It’s a whole new world of excitement and breakthrough. If you’re not in the middle of it, you’re missing out. If you love me, keep my commandments. (Jhn 14:15)

Another post on living the truth: Stop Listening To The Lies

Salvation changes who you were into who you are.

When you become a believer in Christ, you become a new creation. Do you feel like a new creation? You’re supposed to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. (Phi 2:12) That means you should fully grasp all that Jesus did for you and take on who He says you are. If you are covered by His blood, you are a new creation whether you believe it or not.

To not realize your identity in Christ is to be misled by the enemy into believing that nothing has really changed. The perception that salvation means that you are who you are, except that you’ll go to heaven when you die, is wrong. You are not who you were. You are new, reborn. Now you are an heir of Christ, seated in heavenly places with Him. Before, you were not.

Why is it important to understand your new identity? Because until you do, you won’t live with the authority you’re supposed to. You need to speak peace to the storms, healing to the sick, and blessing to those around you. How can you do that until you stand firmly in your new skin?

God is waiting for you to take your place in the kingdom. Begin by confirming to yourself that you are born again. Read your owner’s manual and see what you should be doing.

Another post on being changed: Salvation = Transformation

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Salvation is more than making a decision to be saved.

Jesus never told us to say a prayer and get saved. He said to become a disciple. When we look at the disciples in the Bible, we see that they followed Jesus all over the place. They watched Him work and pray. They saw His relationship with His Father. They were friends.

Jesus wants us all to be that close. We need to know what He taught and how He prayed. We need to have the same relationship with God that Jesus had. None of this is academic. It’s all relational.

If we live the life of a disciple, we will be changed. You cannot be a disciple without changing. You must walk away from the old attitudes of your sinful nature and take on the attitudes of His Spirit—-love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self-control, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness.

When you live as a disciple, you put others first. Your lifestyle becomes one of kindness to other people. Worshiping God becomes your chief joy. He will be the center of all that is important to you. You can’t help but want to share His amazing love and power to heal and bless.

If all you’ve ever done is pray a prayer to be saved, you’re on the right path. The next step is to get to know Jesus. He’s in your heart and in the Bible. Go find Him.

Another post on discipleship: Rise Up Disciple Maker

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A grateful heart will keep you safe.

When bad things happen in our lives, we usually feel that the enemy is beating us up. That happens. But what about the good times? What do you do when everything you asked for comes to you? You’re happy. You’re joyful. You make plans you couldn’t make before. You can become distracted by what is good and begin focusing your thoughts and attention on all the good things and suddenly Jesus isn’t even on your radar.

Then we wonder why God has to shake things up in our lives just to get our attention again. He does what we ask Him to do and then we forget Him. Guard against this. It doesn’t have to happen if you are diligent in your praise and worship, remembering that He is the source of all that is good in your life.

Keep a humble spirit. Remember that everything in this world is transient. Give God the glory for the blessing. Thank Him for everything that He is doing for you. Keep a firm grip on your faith. When things go well, it’s because God has been good to you. Be gracious and grateful.

The enemy is sly and subtle and will use every opportunity to steal your relationship with God. Don’t let it happen.