Use this for inspiration and equipping you to be a Christian who is fulfilling the Great Commission!

Matt 28:16-20

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Download (PDF, 80KB)

The post Hell’s Best Kept Secret first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

The post Desperate Days first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

Here’s just the beginning…

The post His Blessings first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

Because Jesus rose again….

We don’t have to fear tomorrow or face it alone

We have peace that surpasses all understanding

We are sons and daughters of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords

We can sing praises of your matchless love, grace and mercy

We can sleep knowing that should we never wake, the splendors of Heaven await us

We have hope that never ends, regardless of the darkness chasing us

We can take our greatest treasures with us to Heaven…our family and friends

We enjoy the majesty of this gift of life and the beauty you’ve filled it with

We can live an abundant life experiencing joy as only you can give

We can smile through tears, knowing that all things work together for good

We can stand strong in His strength and work though His power, not our own

We are refreshed by the daily renewing of His mercies

We are encouraged by His faithfulness

We know that every tear will be wiped away

We know that His love reaches us…..regardless

We know true, honest and pure love

We know that our God is greater

AND because a single promise was kept….

We are looking for the promised return, knowing it could be any moment… a twinkling of an eye

Marie Wikle

@spreadingJOY

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfgf-R7bPsw

John 2:19-22 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQge-HcanSM&feature=related

1 Corinthians 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnHy1VC5EQo

Acts 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

The post A Promise Kept first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

When Jesus said to ‘Follow Me‘, he was looking for completely committed followers, not just fans. He wants us to be all in, not just with our toes in the water at the edge of the pool. Meditate on these awesome verses and join in following the King of Kings!

• “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  Matthew 4:19
• But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”  Matthew 8:22
• As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.  Matthew 9:9
• Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.   Matthew 10:38
• Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24
• 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.”  Matthew 19:21
• Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.   Matthew 19:28
• “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  Matthew 1:17
• As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.  Mark 2:14
• Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  Mark 10:21
• After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him,  Luke 5:27
• Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”  Luke 9:23
• He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”  Luke 9:59
• Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”  Luke 9:61
• And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.  Luke 14:27
• When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  Luke 18:22
• The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”  John 1:43
• When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12
• My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27
• Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.  John 12:26
• Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”  John 21:19
• Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”  John 21:22

Watch this interview with Kyle Idleman, Teaching Pastor at Southeast Christian Church, talk about what it means to go from being an enthusiastic admirer of Jesus to a completely and utterly, committed follower.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVXs0vkQNvc

Visit their website for more testimonies at not a fan.

Interested in reading more what this means? Check out the book on Amazon…

The post Are You A Fan Or A Follower? first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

Mark 4:13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.  Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

Any farmer worth his pay will know that if you don’t put seed in the ground you will never see a harvest. Somehow, in our day, many Christians I meet don’t believe this is true. They have the strange idea that somehow God should just make fruit grow in their lives without any attempt on their part to, 1. put some seed in the ground or, 2. to be a field that can grow something.

The story Jesus told speaks to an interesting reality- it’s easy to get distracted and end up without any fruit in your life. There’s a lot that catches a life and makes it unproductive. If you know that you will realize how important this sowing seed thing really is.

Here’s another thing to note- all this soil, these different kinds of soil, are all in the same field….in the same life. I have times when nothing grows and other times and places in my life that are wonderfully fruitful. It’s all part of a life lived with distractions. A life lived in a fallen world.

But the key for me is this- I have to throw some seed in my field! If I don’t do that then nothing can grow. In other words I have to get into God’s word and read it! If I don’t put his word in my mind, in my heart then the world will put it’s seeds there. My life is like that field, ready to grow whatever I throw on the soil. It doesn’t care what kind of seed it is, it’s job is to produce fruit. And so, each life will see a harvest. Some rich with produce and other lives full of thorns and loss.

The key for me is this- that I get God’s word into my life, my field. If I do that then God can make something grow….there’s a harvest coming. There will be a harvest IF I plant good seed.

Visit Mike at Finishing Well.

The post Sowing Seed, Seeing Fruit first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

“…the disciples were finding fault with each other because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus overheard and said, “Why are you fussing because you forgot bread? Don’t you see the point of all this? Don’t you get it at all? Remember the five loaves I broke for the five thousand? How many baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”

They said, “Twelve.”

“And the seven loaves for the four thousand—how many bags full of leftovers did you get?”

“Seven.”

He said, “Do you still not get it?”

What an interesting question from Jesus, “Do you still not get it?” In other versions the wording is, “are your hearts hardened?” It’s clear, from these miracles, they were supposed to understand something but they had completely missed it. They were right there in the middle of miracles and missed the purpose of it all!

A little earlier in Mark, as they struggled with the oars on the lake, Jesus came to them walking on the water and said to them, “Courage! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” In that brief statement is the thing they were supposed to get. It’s right there in the middle of three short statements. Between his admonition to take courage and “don’t be afraid” is the “secret” they (and we) are to get. Here it is- “It’s me!” In the English we miss it entirely, but in the Greek it’s once more a declaration of who he is, the very thing they were to learn from all the miracles.

“It’s me.” The two Greek words are ??? ????. In English Jesus is saying “I am”. It’s the same claim he made in John 8:58 and was nearly stoned for. It’s the same name God told Moses to use to describe himself in Exodus 3. It’s a claim to deity. As he walked on the water to these weary fishermen Jesus encouraged them. Between their lack of courage and their fears he reassured them with this- “I am” is here.

Some say that Jesus never claimed to be God, but standing on the sea of Galilee he proclaims it loud and clear, “Take courage, I’m God, don’t be afraid.” It’s the same thing he says to us, the same thing he wants us to know, because he’s God we can be courageous and abandon our fears. God is in our midst.

Visit Mike at Finishing Well.

The post Thoughts On A Day With The Disciples first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

Stiff necks describe people who are, even knowing what God wants from them, unwilling to change directions, unwilling to repent. They have set their course and will not “turn their necks,” change their minds or direction.

I’m thinking about this because I’m reading a passage, studying a portion of scripture where I see the disciples witnessing some of the most amazing miracles of all history and seems untouched, unaffected by them. They had hardened their hearts. They had become insensitive to God’s amazing work in their midst.
I wonder….I wonder how hard my heart is. I wonder what God is doing in my life, around me, speaking to me and I simply don’t hear it, sense it, feel his presence. This is a dangerous place to be because we don’t realize that a hardness has developed in our lives and our relationship with God. I wonder if my stiff neck, my unwillingness to change my course is made worse by my hard heart?

These are my challenges. These are your challenges. I pray that my heart will be soft to God, sensitive to his touch, responsive to his voice. I pray that I will not be so stubborn that I can’t change, can’t turn my neck to God’s directions in my life. I’m thinking about this because 12 men who lived for three years in the very presence of God on earth struggled with it. I know I do to.

Lord, soften my heart, massage my stiff neck. Help me to respond quickly, to hear well your voice and respond to your leading in my life.

Visit Mike at Finishing Well.

The post Hard Hearts And Stiff Necks first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

The disciples, in the midst of fear and crisis, asked a question we have all asked, “don’t you care?” Their crisis was the sea and storm that had flooded their boat. Their crisis was their apparent impending death….and so they wake Jesus and ask, “don’t you care?”

Have you ever asked God that question in your own life? Have you ever wondered? Jesus’ response to the question from the disciples was action, not words, “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” He demonstrated, in a most dramatic way, that he did indeed care!

Does he care for us in the same way? Yes! When we come to him with all our fears and worries, our panic and dread, when we come to ask, “don’t you care?” Jesus takes action. The one who created the universe spoke to the wind and the sea that he had made and they obeyed. Does he care for you in this same way? Is he aware of your crisis of faith? Your fears? Your panic? Yes! Invite him into your boat. Go to him with you own question and time of need. You will find that he does indeed care for you.

Their response? “They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Who is this? He is the Lord of glory! Creator of heaven and earth. Does he care for you? YES! Bring your own sinking ship to him and watch his loving response. Does he care for me? Yes, indeed!

The post Don’t you care? first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

Those questions began to rumble about in me this morning after a time of rest from the long trip to Kenya and back. We all live in cultures where we become numb to the cultural nuances of our faith lived in a society. Not everything we believe is correct. Not everything we do is right, so how should I live? What about me should be private? What should the world see?

Immediately I think about Jesus’ words in John 13. These words really bother me because they tell me something about me and they tell me that God has put in the minds and hearts of those who are not Christians what they SHOULD see in my life. It’s really very simple, but very convicting. Here is what should be seen,

John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The command is simple and clear, isn’t it? We are to love one another. That’s it. Simple, clear, evident….but did you see HOW we are to do this? That’s where the rub comes, “As I have loved you,” The model for this is how Jesus lived and walked in a fallen world. That’s how we are to love others as well. That’s what they should see! If they don’t see me loving them as Jesus did then I have failed!

But here’s the part that bothers me the most. It’s as if God has placed in the world’s common mindset what this should look like. The lost man, the atheist knows what I should live like. God built it into him to know what a Christians should look like and when we don’t live that way they become bitter, angry and reject Christ. Did you see what Jesus said in verse 35? “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The world knows what a Christian should look like in the public square. We should be men and women in love with those around us. It’s the mark of the Christian. It’s the sign that what we believe is true. It’s the lifestyle that will silence a watching world.

So, what should be private? Honestly, most of my Christian life should be private. What should be public? My love for others.

Let’s turn down the volume on lifestyles, morals, what people should do, what they shouldn’t and let’s live out these simple verses. I wonder, if a few believers ever did take Jesus’ words seriously, what might happen around them….I wonder.

image via www.freedigitalphoto.net

The post Public vs. Private first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.