Watch This Powerful Video of A Seed Growing to Understand How God’s Word Works in Your Heart

When you remember that you’re forgiven and God has cleansed you from your sins, you are free to live untethered. The strength of sin of the law but the strength of righteousness is freedom. (See last week’s article for more on this idea).

From there on you have to guard your heart against the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of this world, as well as not yield your body to sin. You do so to keep your heart and conscience clear to hear and follow God’s instructions.

There is a responsibility to freedom. True freedom does not seek permissiveness, it seeks righteousness.

You can steward your freedom in Christ well and watch the free gift of righteousness bear fruit beyond measure. You don’t have to convince God to move, you just have to stop allowing things into your heart that choke out his word from growing into your life.

God Has Moved

God has set in motion all you will ever need already in Christ. Everything you will ever pray for has been given you in seed form in Christ. All provision, healing and deliverance is already a true reality in Christ and it’s seeking to grow into your life. Like a seed in the ground trying to break through the ground and grow, so are all of God’s promises hidden within Christ who is within you.

We are not trying to get God to act on our behalf, we are trying to experience the fruit of what’s already available.

Christ is the soil in which all of God’s will abides, but it is not far from you, it is in your newly created heart, trying to break through the soil of your life and bear its abundant fruit in every single aspect of your life, no matter what external circumstance you may find yourself in.

Affirm your identity in Christ, affirm you are the temple of the spirit of the living, holy God, acknowledge all that he’s done in you through Christ, and watch his character develop into your life.

Clear away the distractions that rob faith and rest in your true eternal identity which is a child of God, a current citizen of Heaven with all of his kingdom within you now. Yield and let it grow.

Making Your Life Count

This process is not to make you a better Christian or to earn blessings from God, engaging in the process of guarding your heart from the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things is for your fruitfulness and effectiveness.

God has some things he wants you to do to spread the good news of his kingdom, if you are burdened with guilt, debt and sin consciousness then you probably won’t have the peace and confidence to fulfill those assignments.

You are a blood washed child of God, that won’t change, but the Gospel needs to be spread. You have some things in your heart that need to be birthed into this world. You are a significant member of the body of Christ that needs to be bold and free to express your creativity in Christ.

You are important!!

Take the time to tend the garden of your heart. Don’t allow things in that rob your energy and confidence. You can do this!! God will help you!!

Be bold, guard your heart and take steps forward i your assignment from God!!

Watch the video above for the whole sermon.

How To Overcome Limiting Beliefs That Keep You From Growing and Succeeding

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When you try to grow and move beyond your current place in life, you may experience limiting beliefs that try to keep you stuck. The good news is, if you know it’s coming, you can be prepared to face and overcome those internal limitations.

Insecurities, past failures, things said to you by parents, fear about money - all kinds of things may rise up in your thinking and attempt to derail you from growing and moving forward.

The key is to know who you are in Christ, remember that you’re forgiven, and be honest with yourself.

What do you do when you try to move forward and face internal opposition?

Peter teaches a valuable principle in living by faith. He essentially encourages us to live by faith and do it well. He suggests making sure these specific character attributes are present in your lives as you seek to live by faith, following Jesus.

The interesting thing about it this, if you don’t have these godly attributes in your life, his solution is not to try to do better or work harder to be a good person, his solution is for you to remember that you’re already forgiven. Peter suggests that you have forgotten that your sins have been cleansed if you aren’t seeing these godly traits in your life.

Why would remembering that your sins have been cleansed develop godly character traits in your life?

• You’d remember that you’re forgiven

• You’d remember that God has cleansed you with the life-blood of Jesus

• You’d remember that because you’ve been forgiven and cleansed that you’re holy before God because of this cleansing

• You’d remember that you’re now in right standing before God because of this cleansing

• You’d remember that you have a new heart that that has God’s character traits encoded within it

• You’d remember that His spirit is in you

• You’d remember that God is not holding your sins against you, even the sin of not being godly enough

• You’d remember that you’re free from the law and that you’re not saved by works

• You’d remember that you’re under grace and God is seeking to continually transform you into the image of Jesus

• The list goes on…

Because you’d remember those things you mind would be renewed to your true eternal identity in Christ and you’d naturally bear the fruit of the character traits Peter suggests should be part of your faith.

The conclusion is that if you aren’t living godly, remember all these things, and it will renew your mind to the point that you experience transformation and naturally live how God would lead you to.

It’s a beautiful thing when you recognize the power of our freedom in Christ and how God’s spirit works best in us when our hearts are free from the condemnation of not being good enough. It may be paradoxical but powerful for certain.

Then What?

Keep in mind we’re talking about growth in your personal life. We’re also talking about moving forward in your assignment from God. I just know that all kinds of things will come up to keep you down and I want you to be prepared to overcome them when they do.

Once you have this process as part of your faith-walk in Christ you can face and conquer anything. This process will not allow you to stay in sin. This process will not allow you to stay in a place of debilitating limitations. It will remind you of the power that works in you and compel you to follow God freely and boldly!!

From then on you’re only limited by your unwillingness to remind yourself of how free and unlimited you are in Him!!

Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t, you’re right ~ Henry Ford

Practical Example

So let’s say you need to add more self-control to your faith walk with Jesus. You may need more self-control because you keep sinning. It would be important for you to go to God and confess your sin but you must do it from the attitude that you’re already forgiven, you’re not going to him for forgiveness, you’re acknowledging and remembering that you’re already cleansed and in right relationship with him.

This process promotes personal responsibility to guard your freedom and not slip back in to sin.

When you go to God with your sin as a believer, you aren’t seeking to be forgiven, you’re seeking to be reminded by God that you were already forgiven. It is incredibly powerful to know that you have not lost standing with God, that it was all in your own mind.

Now - because of your failures you may feel a sense of remorse for your sin, which is appropriate. As you recapture the reality that you’re already cleansed in Christ, it repositions your mind to walk in what’s already true of you.

You can’t become more virtuous, but you may forget that you already possess that character trait in Christ.

You’re not confessing sin to become forgiven, you’re doing it to be reminded that you already are. As you remember who you are in him, you will begin to display those attributes.

Know That It’s Coming

If you experience an old emotion, an old sin or something else from your past as you try to move forward, just remember that your heart is serving things up to you something that you need to process and let go.

If you bury something in your heart and never deal with it, when you go digging in there to get rid of it, the aroma of that thing may resurface. You may not have been equipped with the transformative power of the Gospel when you stuffed that issue away in your heart.

Now you have the knowledge and the grace to get rid of it for good!!

So be ready. As you seek to grow and step into your calling and assignment from God, you may be your own worst enemy. You may have such deeply rooted beliefs that try to hold you back - BUT - now you know how to deal with them. Now you know who you are in Christ. Now you know the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice on your behalf, and you can face anything about yourself and come out victorious in Christ!!!

You stand in a place of connection with the father that’s based on the finished work of Christ. He loves you, he has forgiven you, and you’re safe in him. From that place you can deal with anything, no matter what comes up, you can get it out of your life and get rid of it for good. No matter the limitation, you can take it to God and experience the power to be free.

How to Always be Effective and Fruitful

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Do you want to always be fruitful and effective? Do this:

Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8

Peter says if you do these things it will keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful.

I think we’d all agree these are good qualities that every Jesus follower should have in their lives. So what does it mean if you do not have these qualities, what should you do? Does it mean you need to work harder to be a better Christian? Let’s see…

For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 2 Peter 1:9

Peter’s solution is this - remember that you’re forgiven and your sins have been cleansed.

In other words, affirm the finished work of Christ and your identity in Him and godly character will be the fruit.

Because you are already forgiven and cleansed from all your sin, you should seek to live out the character of God. In fact, you cannot live out the character of God in your life without being cleansed, forgiven and in-dwelt by his spirit. This doesn’t mean you should continue in sin, God forbid, we’re under grace, not sin.

You Were Already Cleansed

Peter says if you are not living out these character attributes it’s because you have forgotten that you were already cleansed. Because God has cleansed you, the qualities and character traits are a byproduct, not something you strive to add to your behavior.

Peter says if you’re not displaying this fruit, it’s not because you aren’t truly saved, it’s because you have forgotten that you have already been sanctified and made holy.

Why do I equate Peter’s phrase “sins were cleansed” with sanctification and holiness? Because they’re the SAME THING. The process by which God cleanses you of sin is sanctification. Once something is properly sanctified it is holy.

Sanctification is a one-time event in your spirit that then has lasting effects in the rest of your being.

How Do You “Add To Your Faith?”

You can’t add to your salvation, but you can add to your faith.

First of all, the definition of faith is “to be confidently persuaded.”

Adding to your faith means you do things that reinforce your confidence in God so you’re more persuaded of who he is.

Living uprightly causes your heart to be confident before God. When you’re confident before God, you will not limit his actions in your life. John actually says you’ll have everything you ask when your heart is confident before God.

Here’s my paraphrase of what Peter is saying, “It’s hard out there guys, make sure you’re not drawing back in your faith. I have seen Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, I know what it’s like to deny him and turn your back on him. I don’t want you to lose faith and do what I did. Live well so your life testifies of God and his righteousness. Strive to display godly character. And if you become ineffective and unfruitful, remind yourself of the FINISHED WORK of Christ in your heart. Remember all that he has done for you. In remembering, you bring glory and honor to God because remembering manifests in strong faith.”

So if you’re not living in a way that “good Christians” should live, it’s because you aren’t presently experiencing the power of the Gospel, you’re not inspired by Christ’s actions for you, you’re not living from your new-covenant, new-creation identity - you’ve forgotten you’re already forgiven.

Why Is This Important?

Too many Christians think they have to become better as if they’re not already complete in him and they need to become something more than they already are. More righteous, more sanctified, more holy, etc… Peter affirms that you’re already cleansed, you’re already all those things, so if you aren’t living that way, go back and affirm who you are and what he’s done.

Too many Christians don’t understand the sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ for salvation and a blessed, godly life. I want you to be confident in your salvation and know that you can’t improve on what God has done. You can only deepen your appreciation and understanding for what he’s already done, and as you do so it bears godly fruit in your life.

Homework

Let me give you some homework, go through these attributes and look up each word in a Greek lexicon. (click for lexicon links)

2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

Take some time to think about what each one of them looks like in your life. Get a vision for what each attribute looks like in your life. Affirm who you are in Christ and make decisions that are in alignment with these character traits.

Keeping in mind that you are not trying to become these things, you are just getting a vision for what they look like as the fruit of a person that is already forgiven and right with God.

Rest in him, be confident of your new-creation identity in Christ and never forget you’re forgiven.

These FREE series go deeper into your new-creation identity:

You don't need answers, you need RESOLVE.

Life happens. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it’s an unexpected blessing, sometimes it’s an unfortunate loss. Sometimes it’s welcoming a new child into your home, sometimes it’s losing a loved one. No matter what, we have every reason to stay confident toward God, knowing that he only has good plans for us.

When the bad things happen we tend to seek answers. How we see God will color what kind of answers we seek and which kinds of questions we’ll ask in the first place.

Our church family just experienced one of those tragedies that beg difficult questions.

I’m sorry to say that we lost a beloved member of our Forward Church family this weekend, Michael Owens suffered a massive heart attack and entered the arms of Jesus around 3pm Saturday, December 14, 2019. His wife Donna was by his side as he entered into his eternal reward.

I know Michael, he was a friend. He wasn’t just a “church member,'“ he was part of my life. He was always the first person to talk to me about my sermons and how much he got out of them. He would tell me that God would use my words to instruct him throughout the week. Of course, they were God’s words to begin with, but he would always relate back to me what he was applying each week from the message. He did this for years. He told me the reason he stayed at Forward after his first visit was because I seemed to really believe what I was preaching about the goodness of God and it helped him believe. Michael was an electrician, he rewired our church without charging us labor costs, he gathered other friends and raised money to bless Sara and me with landscape lighting for our yard, and he would always buy my lunch if I ran into him in a restaurant. Mike was the salt of the earth. Above all, Michael was 100% convinced that God is good and only good! I’ll miss him.

Now allow me to address the questions that arise in difficulty from a more general perspective.

Questions

When someone leaves us prematurely, we have questions. When a child suffers a debilitating illness we have questions. When we lose our job, we have questions. When our marriages fall apart, we have questions.

It’s fine to have questions but you really don’t need answers, you need resolve. Resolve over the character of God. Before you arrive at your conclusions about God and the circumstance you find yourself in, make sure you are standing firmly on the true character of God.

Before adopting beliefs about God from your circumstances, and before changing your approach to faith, take time to reinforce the truth about God in your heart. Tell your mind and heart who God is rather than letting the circumstance inform your belief about God.

Sometimes that’s really hard to do, especially if your circumstances don’t reflect a particular character trait of God. It’s especially hard if you were standing on one of his promises but it didn’t come to pass.

The most important thing to do is guard your heart, even from yourself at times. Always reinforce who God is to yourself, especially in times of questioning his faithfulness.

I’ve seen people go through difficulty and then distance themselves from God. Sometimes because their faith was shallow, sometimes because the relationship that failed was unhealthy, and the sometimes distance themselves from God because they are holding God responsible for the circumstance.

God has given us free will, some folks call it permissive will. He has plans for us but sometimes our choices derail us from arriving safely into those plans. If we blame God for our derailment we will come to the wrong conclusion about his faithfulness. All I can say is be careful! Guard your heart against anything that contradicts the character of God, including your own thoughts and emotions.

God Is Good

If we’re willing to be honest with ourselves, we’ll always come to the conclusion that God is for us, he’s seeking to bless us and he’s not introducing the pain in our lives, but how we respond to difficulty will determine if we’ll keep our hearts open to all those truths about God.

It’s easy to amen preaching about the promises of God when things are going your way, but do you continue to trust that God is faithful to his word when your life is not working out?

The world needs to see a group of people, Jesus followers, who are confident in the identity of God. The world, even the believing world, is starving for truth, for something to believe in.

We believe in God, we trust God, we stand firm in the knowledge that God is merciful, kind and loving, and we can’t back down from that conviction.

It’s not just a positive confession, it’s a decision to always believe the truth about God. God is a healer, God is a provider, God is a comforter, always, no matter what. When we don’t experience those promises and attributes it’s not because he changed or is withholding himself, it’s because life happens.

In this world there will be trouble, you can’t avoid it. And along with that trouble is the opportunity to question the character and faithfulness of God. But we must have a spiritual and eternal perspective of God, he is who he is no matter what. Stand firmly on that foundation and you’ll always have a lighthouse to lead you back to the harbor in the middle of the storm.

This Is God’s Heart Toward Us

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

God desires to provide and care for us because he has great value for us. When we face any adversity and are tempted to question the faithfulness and integrity of God, we must take time to remind ourselves of passages like this, passages that affirm God’s kind heart toward us, so we will not drawback.

There is no going back! Stay confident in him and who he is!

Identity + Promise + Faith = Mind Renewal unto Transformation

Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for us so we can be with him. I think it’s safe to call that place Heaven, would you agree? What is that place like? What is Heaven like?

Take a minute and think about that before you finish reading this article.

For real, think about Heaven, where Jesus is walking around right now…

I’m a pastor, so teaching doctrine properly is important, but I want to suspend doctrine for a minute and just think about some things.

Jesus Is At Work

When I think about Jesus preparing a place for us, it makes me think of his prayer “your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” It’s something he wants for us.

I think about what the garden of Eden must have been like, in all its perfection. I think of what it would have been like to see Jesus transform and openly speak with Moses and Elijah. It makes me think of all the supernatural encounters with angels ordinary men and women in the Bible experienced.

It makes me think Jesus must want us to experience Heaven if he’s going through the process of preparing it for us. Like…right now, maybe he’s walking around Heaven inspecting things to make sure they’re just right for you. Maybe he’s walking with your loved ones that have gone before you and they’re excited for you to see what he’s prepared for you. Maybe they’re giving him insight into what you like, helping him make everything just right. WOW!!!

I don’t necessarily have a doctrine for that but I do know he’s preparing a place for us, and it’s fun to think about what it will be like.

Continuing on that same path, I think of these passages that instruct us on what to think about…

Colossians 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Ephesians 4:17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness (fairness) be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Why is there so much focus on your thoughts? Why is there so much instruction on what to think about?

Because as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7a). Because you are transformed by renewing your mind (Romans 12:2).

You do what you think. You attract to you what you think about. Your thoughts determine your emotions which drive choices. Your life is shaped by what you think.

How you think and what you think about are the main factors in the current condition of your life. So if you want an area of your life to change, you first have to start by changing how and what you think in that area.

Practical Application

Pick an area of life you want to change and walk through this process…

1. Identify the area

2. Admit the truth to yourself about that area, good or bad

3. Identify an aspect of the great exchange in Jesus that applies to that area

   1. For example; he died so I can live, he became sin so I can become righteous, he was judged so I can be free, he took on my sorrows so I can have his joy, he took on my disease so I can be healed, he faced temptation so I can overcome sin, he fulfilled that Law so I won’t be judged for righteousness, he became poor so I can be rich

4. Believe the good report of the results of the Gospel for you

5. Think about yourself as Colossians 3 says, your old life id dead and you’re now alive in Christ.

6. Hold the new reality in your heart, mind, and emotions until you become persuaded that your situation can change for the better. Think about it from Heaven’s perspective that it’s already true of you.

7. Be patient and don’t lose ground in your heart through fear and worry

We are to live in the newness of the spirit. It is possible because Jesus died for us, in Him we are dead to sin and death. But how do we live in it? How do we walk by faith and confidence in him and his faithfulness!! Through mind renewal, just like Abraham. Abraham didn’t consider his infertile body or the deadness of Sarah’s womb, he considered the promise God made.

What promise of God are you considering? What promise of God, that may seem impossible, are you more persuaded of than your current situation?

As we have faith, as we have confidence, we engage in mind-renewal and experience transformation. By remaining patient under tribulation but also walking in love. By casting down imaginations that tell us that God’s promises aren’t for us.

Test Yourself to See If You’re Persuaded of God’s Promise

Think of a promise that relates to your life. You probably already know one, but if you don’t, take a moment and find a promise in the Bible that relates to your situation. Google can find one for you if you don’t know where to look.

Once you have that promise, say it out loud. For example, “I am free from the power of sin.” Or “God gives me the power to get wealth.” Or “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” After you say it out loud, see how you feel inside. Notice if God’s promise feels true for you, or if you feel doubt and unbelief.

IMPORTANT!!

If you feel doubt and unbelief, think about Jesus walking around in Heaven, preparing the perfect place for you. Set your mind above where he is in Heaven, King and Lord of all. He’s paying attention to every detail so it’ll be just right for his brothers and sisters - you and me. He’s excited for Heaven, for all of us to be together. Notice his face, he wants to give you eternal life and take away all the pain and sorrow. He wants to show you what he’s prepared for you.

Now, you probably have no doubt believing that you will have no lack, disease or sorrow in Heaven. I dare you to believe that Jesus wants the same quality of life for you now and is seeking to prepare that kind of life for you, right here, right now.

Yes, we still have these bodies that crave sin if we let them, those bodies are still subject to death, but remember all those instructions on what to think about. Remember that your transformation lies within your mind-renewal. Remember that he’s a good father who will not give you stones if you ask for bread.

The real issue is that you may think change only happens when you get your behavior right. But it’s just the opposite, when you get your thinking right, everything else lines up, from the inside out. His spirit is like a seed within you, growing into kingdom life through you. His will is to build Heaven for you. Dare to dream and believe that God has good things for you in this life and is preparing them for you, even as you read this.

Sit back, relax, and believe.

Listen to the full series Living in the Power of Righteousness

God Performed Spiritual Surgery On You So You Can Have A New Life

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””

— Romans 1:16-17

The Gospel is Powerful in 2 Ways

1. THE INFORMATION OF THE GOSPEL: It’s incredibly wonderful information to know that God is no longer holding your sins against you and offers the free gift of righteousness and eternal life by grace through faith in Christ. But it doesn’t stop there, there are results of believing this truth.

2. THE RESULTS OF BELIEVING THE GOSPEL: The results of believing the Gospel are even better. He removes your old heart and gives you a new one that knows how to hear and follow him. God places his spirit in you. You become a new creature in Christ. After those things, you are actually righteous and holy because of the work of the spirit in you. You are empowered with graces to bless others. You are qualified for all the blessings of Abraham. God will never leave you or forsake you. He’ll lead and guide you into truth and blessing. The list just goes on and on.

Check out these resources that expound on your new creation identity and the promises that are now available.

The Good news that you are no longer obligated to God through law should be good enough news to your heart that you naturally obey him by faith. Obedience from the heart is still impossible without receiving a new one. God needed to perform surgery and make you a new kind of creature.

He cut out your diseased heart/nature and put in a new one, a spiritual heart transplant, if you will. He didn’t just cut out the disease, he replaced it with new living tissue, with eternal life flowing through it.

He gives you righteousness, so he can give you a new heart, so you can receive grace and live by faith in the freedom of the spirit.

I’ll talk more about what it means to “live by faith” in an upcoming article, for now, let’s look closer at this spiritual surgery God performed in you.

Romans 2:25 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

Paul is speaking to people familiar with the Law and the ritual of circumcision given to Abraham. His point in this passage is that circumcision of the flesh is good but something else needs to happen for a person to live in the newness of spirit that he’s trying to explain to them. He elaborates in his letter to the Colossians.

Colossians 2:11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

The word “flesh” in the phrase “body of flesh” is the Greek word SARX. Sarx has two applications. It refers to your physical body (flesh) AND it refers to the nature of man. God cut away your old nature and replaced it with the righteousness of Christ. You truly are a new creature!!

New Heart / New Life

It is absolutely vital that you know the effects of believing the Gospel, i.e. you get a new heart. You don’t have two natures fighting in you. You don’t have a black dog and a white dog barking at your heels in you. You are the righteousness of God in Christ! You are no longer a sinner by nature, you are a cleansed and justified child of the living God!

Jesus didn’t die to open the door to Heaven for you. He didn’t die for you and then say “I hope you make it.” He did something in you to ensure your eternal salvation, he changed you.

Knowing the Gospel isn’t just knowing that Jesus died for you, it’s knowing and living in the power of its effects. Those effects are your new life in him. The results of believing the Gospel are largely overlooked by most Christians. Too many Christians don’t understand what God did in them when they were born again.

I’m convinced that if more believers actually believed in the power of the spirit in them we would be a much more effective influence for his kingdom in this world. We would live in the power of this new life. We would see his blessings manifest more often in our lives.

I want that! I want to experience the promises of this new life, don’t you?

Unfortunately, your body still remembers what it’s like to be dead and enslaved to sin, but if you can renew your mind to the new work that God has done in you, you will actually be a slave to righteousness and obey God by faith from the heart. Don’t worry, he’ll supply enough grace to do so. He doesn’t supply grace for you to obey, obedience is just the byproduct, he supplies grace for you to live in the new kind of life he provides.

I want to help you do more than just know the Gospel, I want to help you live in the power of its results! Please stay tuned to this series for practical ways to live by faith in the newness of life that God offers in Christ.

Listen to the complete series Living In The Power of Righteousness

Obey God By Yielding to Him as an Instrument of His Righteousness

God has always wanted you to obey him. His 613 Laws demand it but only FAITH can produce the kind of obedience that God really wants.

Obedience from the heart pleases God. Obedience that is the fruit of a responsive heart to his love is what God wants. God is pleased with the kind of obedience that seeks to preserve the freedom he offers in Christ. God is n0t impressed with obedience that is rooted in rule-keeping, his heart is after those who have been transformed by his love and now only desire to bring glory to his name.

The good news is, God gave you a new heart that has the capacity to actually obey him in this way, by faith.

Faith is this - God said it, I believe it, now I’ll make decisions in agreement with it.

Faith says…
”God said sin produces death, God said I’m dead to sin in Christ, God says there is more grace available than opportunities for sin, so I believe it. Now I yield myself to his inner strength, as an instrument in his hands. I receive his life-giving love in my heart and rise above the lure of sin.”

That pleases God much more than the kind of obedience that says, “God said I must obey, if I don’t he will punish me, therefore I must obey.”

Instruments of Righteousness

Obedience never produces or earns righteousness. In fact, faith-based obedience is the fruit of a heart that understands that righteousness is a free gift through faith in Christ.

“When you know just how forgiven you are you will want to live in a way that honors God’s mercy.”

When you know just how forgiven you are you will want to live in a way that honors God’s mercy.

When you truly grasp the transformative power of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, you will yield your heart to his influence and only seek to live in a manner worthy of the gift he’s given.

The legalistic mind-set would agree with this in theory but not in practice. The moment you mess up, the Pharisee no longer sees obedience through the lens of faith but works. Maybe you hold yourself under legalistic judgment, Maybe when you mess up you feel like you’re further away from God or he’s displeased with you.

Faith-righteousness doesn’t make allowances for sin, it understands that the new creature in Christ is dead to sin.

Romans 6:1 What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer? 3 Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 We therefore were buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. 7 For anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

To be dead in Christ means your old man that had a propensity toward sin was removed. You are dead to sin and its effects because you now have eternal life. Your physical body will still die but the real you, the eternal spiritual you is no longer subject to sin. And to the degree you believe in your mind that you are a new creation, you can yield to God’s power in your heart and rise above the craving for sin in your physical body.

Let me say it another way, the aspect of your being that craved sin by nature was removed and it died, now you’re a new creation that doesn’t naturally crave sin.

Colossians 2:9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by PUTTING OFF THE BODY OF THE FLESH, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

King James Version says it this way in verse 11 “putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ”

This is the true fulfillment that Abraham’s foreskin circumcision foreshadowed. This single verse is absolutely massive for the believer. Cutting away the body of sin means your fallen, sinful nature has been removed. God performs a circumcision in your inner man, cutting away your old heart, which is your old nature and replaces it with a new heart, therefore making you complete in Christ.

The word “flesh” in the phrase “body of flesh” is the Greek word SARX. Sarx has two applications. It refers to your physical body (flesh) AND it refers to the nature of man.

God cut away your old nature and replaced it with the righteousness of Christ. You truly are a new creature!!

You can obey God, not because you have to, but because you naturally want to!!

Romans 6:15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Because you are righteous in Christ, yield yourself to God’s inner power and live in such a way that brings glory to his name and peace to your heart.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog, I’ll send you a practical process to yield yourself to God that can set you free from sin forever!!

Listen to the complete series Living In The Power of Righteousness

Jesus Went Through Hell and Back For You

Did Jesus go to hell after he died on the cross?

King David, Peter and the Apostle Paul confirm he did. King David prophesied about it, Peter clarified those prophecies and Paul addressed it in his teachings.

Let me clarify what I mean by “hell.”

Jesus did not go into the Lake of Fire, he went into a place called Hades, which is typically translated as “hell.” The place or realm these three men referred to is called several things in scripture.

• Hades (Greek) - Acts 2:27 - Hades is translated as “hell” in the KJV

• Sheol (Hebrew) - Psalm 116 - Also translated as “hell” in the KJV

• The lower parts of the earth (the grave) - Ephesians 4:9

• Other references include “the grave,” “the pit” and “places desolate of old.”

All of these are the same place/realm. Hades, Sheol, the grave and the lower parts of the earth are all words and descriptions for the “realm of the dead” or the holding place for the wicked that are awaiting judgment.

The Lake of Fire is something different. Again, Jesus did NOT go into the Lake of Fire. The eternal lake of fire was created for fallen angels, the beast of Revelation and those who worship it. It will also be the place where unsaved souls perish at the final judgment. Also…Death, Hades and the grave are all cast into the Lake of Fire at the final judgment, so they can’t be the same place.

What Did Jesus Experience In Hades?

There are two different perspectives on Jesus’ experience in the grave.

One says Jesus went into the grave to take the keys of death and hell away from the devil. “Take the keys” means to take authority over.

The other perspective acknowledges the first perspective as true, but acknowledges a period of suffering in the grave before his resurrection. “Did the Messiah suffer in the grave?” is the big question. To some, it’s not essential, but I believe it's an integral part of theology to get right.

Both perspectives understand the messiah overcame the enemy and stripped him/them of any and all authority. Every Christian believes Jesus died and passed through the grave; the only debate is whether or not he suffered in the grave. I submit that he did, and here’s why.

I’ll use Psalm 16 and Acts 2 as my text.

In Acts 2, Peter explains that the Holy Spirit has been poured out as Joel prophesied. He then quotes Psalm 16 and explains its context. Peter explains that King David prophesied about the Messiah in Psalm 16. Peter explains that David is still dead, so the words he’s prophesying are not ABOUT the Messiah but are indeed the words OF the Messiah.

Peter clarifies that Psalm 16 is the words of the Messiah, not just words about the Messiah.

So if Psalm 16 is the words of the Messiah, he is describing firsthand what he experienced in his death. Not just what he experienced but where he experienced it. The point I’m making is not just that Jesus passed into the grave, but he passed into the grave after becoming sin and experienced the death that you, as a wicked person, should have experienced.

Jesus didn’t just die and then go and take the authority over Hades away from the enemy and gain victory over death; he first suffered what you would have suffered in the grave without salvation. Jesus, as a human, had to face and conquer everything a human would have experienced, including suffering in the grave. He was separated from His Father so you never have to be, if your faith is in Christ.

Read Psalm 16 for context:

1 {Michtam of David.} Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.

2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

3 But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.

4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

5 The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.

6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

7 I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.

8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

The locational context is in the grave, not on the cross. Some say these are the words of the Messiah while he was on the cross, but the grammar doesn’t support that. This is post-death but pre-resurrection.

Why is this important?

It’s first essential to properly exegete these passages for the integrity of theology. Secondly, it’s important because you see the depths to which your God went to remove anything that could ever possibly separate you from him. There is not one thing remaining that exists which can rear its head and separate you from him if you trust in Christ as your righteousness.

It’s as if Jesus not only went into prison, but he also took the authority of the guards that would have held you there, and he served your sentence for you, so there is no longer a judgment against you that would have sent you to prison to begin with.

Jesus had to become your sin so you could become righteous, and just as Jesus had to be cursed so you could be blessed with eternal life, Jesus had to go into the grave as that sin and curse to experience that realm’s punishment as well.

Even though Jesus passed into the grave as your wicked self, he still trusted God’s promise to him that he would rule and reign forever from his right hand, that he would be a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, and that he would sit at God’s right hand as God made every enemy his footstool. Those promises couldn’t be fulfilled if Jesus were dead; Jesus had to believe in God to receive and inherit those eternal promises, which was the calling and mandate of the Messiah. To become sin, to be cursed and experience the full penalty, even eternal separation from God in hades, but he trusted his father until death, hades, the grave, and the enemy could no longer hold him. The faith of Jesus, in his father’s promises, was indeed stronger than death.

Praise the living God!

I actually feel like I explained these powerful truths in this sermon better than in this article. Watch the video above, starting around 14:00, for a more thorough explanation of these passages.

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Articles from This Series

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Listen to the complete series Living In The Power of Righteousness

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Establish Your Heart In What Christ Endured For You

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Kanye West and Evangelism

Who Is Kanye West?

Kanye West is a popular rapper that just released his 9th record. This record is different than his previous records because it’s all about Jesus. In fact, the title is Jesus Is King. The record is at the top of the Billboard charts in spite of people telling Kanye a Gospel record would “kill his career.” People from all walks of life and all sections of popular culture are talking about Kanye and Kanye is talking about Jesus.

Some Christians are wondering if his conversion is authentic, he even references that issue in the song “Hands On.”

What have you been hearin' from the Christians?
They'll be the first one to judge me
Make it feel like nobody love me
Make you feel alone in the dark and you'll never see the light

Sorry about that Kanye, we should know better.

Some in the music industry say it’s just clever marketing, I disagree.

Kanye has professed Jesus as Lord for most of his life, his mom raised him as a Christian, but something has changed. Now he seems to want to live his life to glorify God rather than himself.

On a recent record, he declared himself a god. Now he says that he was blasphemous and wants to change his ways. I can’t make a judgment on Kanye’s heart but I have watched several interviews with him and he consistently refers to his previous life as sinful and something to be left behind. It sounds like repentance to me.

He has even asked his celebrity wife, Kim Kardashian, to dress more conservatively. Not because God is upset with her if she doesn’t, but because of the kind of example it sets for their young daughters.

I’ve seen several fashion media outlets discuss the impact of provocative clothing on small children as a result of the West’s conversation about clothing.. The discussion is centered around Kanye and Kim’s very public marital issues, but the context of the public conversation is whether or not certain clothing is a good example for kids or not. New York fashion week hasn’t been too concerned about their impact on kids, but now it’s being discussed.

That may seem like a superficial issue, but I see it as a seed. Kanye and Kim’s public discussion about honoring their bodies as the temple of God is causing conversations about godliness is sections of culture that would never talk about Jesus.

The conversation over that particular issue isn’t over the lordship of Jesus, but it may cause enough of a pause in some people’s lives in that industry to turn to God and think about their influence on kids. God only needs the slightest crack in the door to invade someone’s heart.

I pray those seeds, no matter how shallow they may be, are watered by kind and loving Christians so the Holy Spirit has the opportunity to bring an increase in their lives…unto salvation.

You may not have been around very dark places or sections of culture, but trust me, the smallest light is incredibly noticeable in those circles.

Kanye’s impact on the fashion world is just one example.

Why Talk About Kanye West?

I have paid attention to the media coverage, all different kinds of people are talking about Jesus because they’re talking about Kanye. He’s popular right now, so people are going to talk about him, so he’s using that influence to point the conversation to Jesus.

One interviewer told Kanye that it seems like he wants to convert people to Christianity, as if that were an un-politically correct thing to do. Kanye’s response was, “that’s all I want to do.” The interviewer couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Kanye was being bold and wasn’t making room for people to believe whatever they wanted.

Kanye is forcing the conversation, and he’s doing it with the Gospel. Kanye isn’t telling the world they’re sinful and they need to repent, he’s telling them who Jesus is. He’s telling the world that Jesus was sent by God to die for them because God loves them. He’s telling they need to be and can be saved by grace through faith in Jesus.

Believe it or not, millions of people still don’t know that. Their only encounter with Jesus has been through judgmental Christians that give them condemnation rather than mercy.

Think about how many celebrity Christians are radical for Jesus. Not many right? We see lots of public figures profess their faith or acknowledge Jesus, but how many high profile people are radically evangelizing the world for Jesus?

Most people that are famous walk their faith back a bit. They'll acknowledge Jesus but make a concession for other beliefs. Especially politicians, most of them don’t want to offend people or lose votes so they don’t use their platform to encourage people to receive Jesus and be born again.

Millions of Christians obviously do this, we’re sold out for Jesus, but I just don’t see many famous people radically using their platforms to bring people to the saving knowledge of Jesus.

What if there were 1000 Kanye’s?

Kanye is at the very top of the music industry right now, what if other people at the top of their industries were radically sold out to Jesus. And of course, what if you were? I’ll let the Holy Spirit work that one out for you and move on.

Just for fun, let’s list some people at the top of their industries and imagine what it would look like if they were using their influence to preach the Gospel and bring people to Christ. I’m praying for these people.

• President Donald Trump

• Bill Gates

• George Soros

• Cristiano Ronaldo

• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

• Barack Obama

• Mark Zuckerberg

• Nancy Pelosi

• Sam Harris

• All the heads of state of every nation

• Who is on your list?

It may “seem” impossible, but what if?

Let’s Make Jesus Popular

Pop culture responds to what is popular. Most of the church would say the world is too dark or too far gone to be predominantly Christian or be receptive to Jesus. Many Christians believe the world is going to get darker, the church is going to have to hide in caves and the devil is going to take over the planet. I think the spirit of God in the hearts of his people is more powerful than that. I think we can actually be effective. More importantly, I think the kingdom of God will not be denied. Jesus was the seed that God planted in the earth and he will continue to grow until his kingdom is all that’s left.

Don’t forget, Jesus wins!!

People knowing the true Gospel and having a real encounter with Jesus is what makes the difference. It’s the kindness and goodness of God that brings people to repentance.

Christians are praying for a move of repentance but aren’t focusing on the “kindness of God” message. It’s time to change our approach, lead with kindness, love, and mercy.

Romans 2:1 You therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that GOD’S KINDNESS LEADS YOU TO REPENTANCE?

People encounter God’s kindness through other Christians and the Gospel. Our kindness toward the world and our bold declarations of the Gospel will be the catalyst for a massive move of repentance.

Evangelism and You

What does evangelism look like for you? To me, it’s a unique expression of your relationship with Jesus. It looks different for everyone. Evangelism is like art, it’s personal and from the heart. Evangelism is most effective if it’s the fruit of a personal relationship with Jesus rather than an obligation.

Many of us walk back our faith because of life’s circumstances. We’ve been through some hard things and we’re just trying to do the best we can. So many of us are in debt, are sick or are in pain, and it robs our drive to live beyond ourselves and be radical witnesses for Jesus.

I want to encourage you to spend some time with God and ask him what he wants you to do to proclaim his Gospel to others. No more excuses! Be ready in season and out of season.

You can trust that the Gospel will bear fruit in people’s lives. Take some time to revisit your understanding of the simple message of the Gospel and simply tell others about it. People are dying to hear about Jesus and his love for them. You can do it, step out a little, ask God to lead you, share the Gospel!!

Listen to this free series entitled The Power of the Gospel

The Little Things Build A Legacy

You don’t get to decide your own legacy. You set your goals, you live your life but history will judge your legacy. Funny thing is, your legacy is less about what you’ve done and more about how you treated people. Even if you’re known for what you do, it’s still judged by how what you did affected people.

History will judge your legacy but God will judge your works. Your deeds and actions matter. God will judge your works at the resurrection. The good news is your salvation is determined by your faith in Christ alone, but your works determine your rewards.

1 Corinthians 3:11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

We’re not 100% sure what the rewards are but I think it’s safe to say God will still get all the glory for what you allowed him to do through you.

By the way, don’t forget about this passage when reading about the judgment of your works…

1 John 4:16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.

You don’t have to be afraid of any future judgment because you are just like Jesus as far as God is concerned. Meaning you’re his beloved child whom he loves. You’ve been adopted by God into his eternal family because you believe in Jesus as your right-standing with God.

Back to my point about deeds and legacy…

Many of you know that my mom recently passed away. I’ve talked to so many people about the impact she had in their lives. The overwhelming majority of people who came to her memorial or contacted me said she was kind, loving and accepting. Many have stories of her helping them, her being there for them when they were going through a difficult time. That’s mom’s legacy, she’s someone who helped people when times were tough…including me.

There’s another facet to her legacy — my ministry. Let me give you a little background, mom was a believer but we didn’t go to church when I was young, it just wasn’t part of our lives. I got saved from a bad substance abuse experience in my late teens and began seeking God on my own. I would speak with my mom about Jesus during my years of searching but she just didn’t know much. Her influence would manifest another way.

When I was 21, mom met a lady in her shag dance club that invited her to church. Mom then invited me to church. That was December 0f 1994, the church was Faith Cornerstone Church in Dunwoody, GA, pastored by David and Erline Michael.

After listening to Pastor David for a few months I knew that I was going to be in ministry somehow. I didn’t know what a “calling” was, I didn’t know I was supposed to “live for Jesus” but it was clear to me I would someday do what pastor David was doing, I just knew it in my heart. From that point on, every decision I made was a step in that direction.

It’s the little things that build a legacy…

What if mom had not invited me to church? What if the lady that invited her hadn’t invited her? Would you be reading this email? I can’t say for sure but probably not.

I want to encourage you, do the little things that seem insignificant. It’s a reality that our deeds will be judged, but those deeds can also make an eternal difference in people’s lives. Your actions matter. I think following his leading to invite someone to church is one of the kinds of deeds you’ll be rewarded for. There are probably millions of small deeds that people will be rewarded for on that day.

It’s the little things that build a legacy. It’s the little things that build a life. It’s probably the little things that God sees in secret for which he will reward you openly. All the bad deeds will burn away and never again plague you, but that’s another conversation.

I want to encourage you to do good works. Not because you’ll be judged, but because they make a difference in people’s lives. Mom inviting me to church at 21 years old mattered it ended up defining my life. She would have never guessed what would come of her inviting me to church. She would have never imagined that Sara and I would one day plant a church that reaches people all over the world and has been used to lead people to Jesus.

I thank God for my mom, in a way she saved my life. I hope you have someone in your life who did the little thing that changed your life. I hope you get the opportunity to do something little that will change someone else’s life.

Like last week, I want to encourage you to open your heart to God to be led into someone’s life that needs a little nudge toward Jesus. It doesn’t take much, just a small seed will suffice. Be willing, be bold even, do the little things and watch God turn them into eternal rewards!!