Inspire

Most of my posts are about finding peace and joy through God alone, because I am very passionate about that. Sharing how I realized that I must spend time with God in prayer and His Word daily to find and keep that peace and joy. And that true fulfillment and purpose are only found in doing His Will, the work He planned for you to do before you were even conceived. All of that is of utmost importance, but it's not intended to be the ultimate goal. However, as American Christians we tend to stop there. We go to church or into our quiet time to feel better about ourselves and be filled up, so we can jump back into our week and accomplish our tasks and goals. Yes, we must go to Him to be filled up, but the purpose is so we will be fully equipped to go out into all the earth and proclaim the Good News of the gospel as Jesus instructs in Mark 16:15 "And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone." God calls all Christians to be disciples. Our purpose is to share our Light with the dark world. “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house." Matthew 5:14-15 What is a disciple? Here is an excerpt from an article I read that was a good explanation. "A disciple is completely devoted to a teacher. The relationship goes beyond a student or an apprentice.They don’t simply master a trade or a subject, they learn to emulate their teacher’s life. As Christians, we become disciples, striving to live according to the teachings of Jesus. Part of being a disciple of Jesus is making disciples." jesusfilm.org When we follow Christ's example, He will make disciples out of us and we will in turn be able to make disciples of those God has brought onto our path. We must pass our torch on to others or the light in America will continually grow dimmer. We can't just inspire for an hour or two a week we must challenge, encourage and prepare others to keep their own torch burning and to pass it on. If the thought of being a disciple scares you, pray for God to give you courage and to equip you to better understanding His Word. "This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 "The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." James 1:4-5 So, I encourage you to ask God to help you find the answers to the hard questions, to dig in and be assured you will not come up empty-handed. I'll also share some links further on below, that have helped me in find answers or directing me to what scriptures I should study. Remember, you will be asked questions that you don't know the answers to, but its okay. Simply say, "that's a great question, let me do some studying and I'll get back to you." This is even better because it gives you the opportunity to meet with them again to discuss God's Word. God has provided us with all we need to accomplish the tasks He calls us to. 2 Peter 1:3 tells us "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." One very important thing to remember, Jesus took time to build relationships and earn the trust of those He was discipling. So, before we share Christ with someone, take the necessary time to earn their trust and make sure they know you genuinely care about them. Have fun and study together! Below are the resources I mentioned earlier, that have assisted me in finding answers to some tough questions that others have asked me or that I, myself had. It's always a good idea to look up the scriptures in their full context, that someone quotes in an article, to make sure it is accurately quoted, and hasn't been taken out of context. (Romans 12:2) http://www.icr.org/ https://answersingenesis.org/ https://www.gotquestions.org/search.html

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