Before my week gets away from me I thought I should post one more time.
My morning devotion challenged me to think about the "Big Day" we will hold on Sunday, November 4th. This will be an all out effort to grow the Grove and break our growth barrier. But we can't do it without you! Read Dr. Charles Stanley's devotional from Crosswalk.com and then hang in there for a couple of additional comments.
Walking Through God's Open Door
2 Corinthians 5:20-21
Man's redemption has always been of supreme importance to God. Consider what this required: divine justice needed to be satisfied--that is, sin's penalty had to be paid. In addition, forgiveness had to be provided for everyone guilty of sinning against the Lord. The solution was costly: to redeem mankind, the Father sacrificed His one and only Son to die in our place. All who believe in the saving work of Jesus Christ have received incalculable blessing. They've been reconciled to the Lord, made part of His family, and given life eternal. God has charged believers to spread the good news of salvation around the globe and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). When He opens doors of service for us, we can walk through them confidently. We have His indwelling Spirit to strengthen, guide, and equip us. We will be able to carry out our assignment because of His amazing divine power (Romans 8:11; Ephesians 3:16). So why should we ever be reluctant to do as God asks? Many times our perspective is shortsighted: perhaps we cannot see how to add one more task to our schedule, or we allow insecurity about criticism, failure, or finances to drive our decisions. None of these things prove an obstacle to the Lord, however. He can open up windows of time, stretch our paycheck, and give us victories in ways we couldn't imagine in our human thinking. God is waiting for His children to accept the high calling of serving Him as ambassadors for Jesus Christ. What answer will you give Him?"
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So why should we ever be reluctant to do as God asks? There's a lot of reasons people have shared with me as to why they don't invite others to join them at The Grove; fear of rejection, not knowing enough to answer all of people's questions. But it would seem to me that if we held a sense of urgency over the fact that family, friends, co-workers are separated from God and we're not - why wouldn't we want them to experience the same blessings we do? Dr. Stanley reminds us that none of these are obstacles for the Lord.So please start picturing in your mind the faces and names of those you want to invite to our Big Day - start to ask God for the courage and opportunity to invite them, and then DO IT!
In His Grip,
Jeff
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1 comment:
a couple weeks ago, i had a really hard- revelation, i guess. one of my friends from work, who i sometimes see outside of work also, told me she was going to convert to catholicism. we never talked about God or church before and i didn't even know she had any "affiliation" with any church at all. I NEVER TALKED ABOUT GOD WITH HER IN THE ENTIRE YEAR THAT I HAVE KNOWN HER. i didn't have a lot of time to talk to her- and even if i did, i don't know what i would say. i was pretty much completely disappointed with myself. in the past couple years God has been doing amazing things in my life, and i don't even bother to talk about it! IT IS SO URGENT that we invite people to church and talk to them about the LIVING SAVIOR!! look at how he has turned your life around! don't you want to let everyone know and help them have the same JOY AND PEACE that you have through HIM?
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