Day 140: The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Before Jesus Ascended into heaven He sent the disciples on a mission. He told them to go make more disciples. The message version of the bible puts it this way, “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…

Take what I have taught you and teach it to the nations, bring the message of Christ, the good news to the world. Jesus is giving them the authority to go and do what He did, but do it in His name. He tells them to go out and make more disciples, teach them this way of living. Let the people know that there is one way, and Christ Jesus is that way. As John 14:6 Jesus Himself tells us, ‘“ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”’

I believe that this commission goes for us as well, we have been discipled by Christ, now let's go lead others to Him.  There are people out there waiting to be lead to Christ, people who don’t know where to start or where to go. We don’t have to be pastors and preachers to lead people to Christ. As we pointed out yesterday, the life we live should point to Christ.

I believe that God has given us all a mission as followers of Christ to lead people to Him. We each have different platforms, different gifts, and talents, and we can use them all to the glory of God. We can use the gifts that God has given us to minister to other people. Whatever that may look like, for me that’s acting and performing, for someone else it could be science, or writing, art, whatever it may be, use it to the glory of God.

As an actress, there are many different things that different characters call for, but I love playing characters or being in productions that will open up a conversation. I was in a play recently where I played Abraham, and I had the opportunity to talk to my castmates about my faith, and even explain parts of the bible to them. This would not have been possible without me having the opportunity to play this character in the first place. It opened up the conversation about faith, family, and sexuality. It was a great experience, but the most rewarding thing was to share my faith with people through what I love to do most, act!

-Dyamond

God puts us in the places He wants us to be and He will use us right where we are. He has given us His word and shown us a life dedicated to following Christ. He walked with the disciples and when it was time for Him to head home he left them with the Holy Spirit and sent them on a mission. As we can see throughout acts and all the books to follow the Gospels, these men went out preaching, teaching, and baptizing in Jesus name. Even when they were persecuted, and thrown into prison and out of cities. They were stoned, some even to death, they were beaten. But even through all of this, they never stopped spreading the word of God. They were in the prisons praying and saving people. They were willing to die for it. Now I'm not telling you to go out and purposely put your life on the line to prove your faith, everyone can die for something but not everyone can live for it. What I’m saying is, like these disciples and apostles, we must realize that Christ is more important than this temporary life. He is eternal.

Use what God has given you to lead His people to Him. Do not neglect the mission.

Response/Reflection/Prayer Time

Take the time to think about what we talked about today and respond. In whatever way you feel lead to do so, do it. Then pray about it, have a conversation with God today. Just talk to Him or listen as He speaks to you.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening. You are amazing. See you tomorrow for Day 141!

Day 60: How Far Will You Go (Part 1)

There are a few things to speak on for the next few days, with the main subject being; How far are we willing to go for Christ? Also how far are we willing to go to forgive and love our enemies, in the same way Christ did. How far are we willing to go to let someone know that Jesus loves them, and that we love them?

Considering how far Christ went for us, it seems an appropriate question to ask. Are we willing to give it all up for the sake of Christ, if He asked. We’ve all been approached with the question, “If God told you to (Blank) would you do it?” And without a doubt our answer is hypothetically yes, we know for sure that we would drop everything for Christ because we love Him that much. Our response comes from a pure heart and the willingness to do it. But when we are approached with the task, we are disappointed and displeased to find that there are some conditions. Not preconceived conditions, but human conditions. We find that it is very hard to do, and this doesn’t make us bad people, it makes us human. We know we want to be able to drop everything and go is God asked us to and eventually we will get to that point.  

Matthew 19:21-24

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

This young man wanted to serve Christ, and he wanted to know what He had to do. What will make him a better follower of Christ. Jesus tells him to sell all of his possessions and give them to the poor, he immediately grew sad. Sometimes we are holding onto things tighter than we think. We have to be closer to God and attached to Him, more than we are to these tangible, earthly possessions. A lot of times our answer is yes, but there’s that one thing that will make us consider saying no.

A few people who were willing to drop everything and follow Christ were the disciples. Not all of them wanted to go immediately, they wanted to get their affairs at home together before they started following Him. When Jesus called to them, they answered, and it was most likely the best thing to happen to them. A lot of people might say that it was easier for them to do it because they weren’t really giving up much. That is not true, they were giving up everything. It may not be the same things we have now but for them it was everything. I think when we read the bible we forget that these people are real, these stories aren’t myths, they actually happened. These men had families, jobs, hobbies, etc. They were human just like us, yet they were willing to drop it all because God was calling.

We have to be so close to God that if He told us to drop everything for Him we would without question, because He is the tightest thing we are holding on to. That if someone told us to drop God, we would give up everything else before we even think about doing that.

Reflection

1. If God told you to drop everything and follow Him, would you do it?
2. What do you think would stop you from following Christ?
3. Is there anything that you hold on to tighter than God?

Prayer Time

Allow the answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Talk to God about your willingness to follow Him, and wanting to do what is right. Talk to God about the things that you unconsciously put before HIm, allow HIm to show you what that is. Remember that a prayer is just a conversation with God, talk to Him. He’s listening.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening, make sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 61!