Having been made in the image of God, our hearts have been set by Him on eternity. Rooted in each heart is a God-given desire to impact the world around us. But in the midst of endless distractions, countless opportunities to live out our purpose can go unnoticed each and every day. Stick around this week as we look at how we live our day-to-day lives in a way that points others to the cross.

Equipping the Called

Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. 

Acts 4:13, NASB

My comfort zone. I like it there. A lot. It’s … comfortable.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Somewhere along the way, I have learned that these “works” Paul referred to doesn’t usually happen in our comfort zones. Believe me, I’ve tried.

With our eternal mind-set comes God-sized, God-inspired dreams and before time began, God knew the plan He had in store for each of us. Sadly, our desires for reaching the world around us for the gospel are all too often overshadowed by big doses of insecurity and self-doubt. Believing the lies whispered to us by the enemy that we aren’t gifted enough, driven enough, smart enough, or influential enough, we sit paralyzed with that doubt and are rendered ineffective. To be totally honest, none of us are enough, but God is and His power is perfected in our weakness.

Like John and Peter, we may not be formally trained in anything. Or maybe we do have formal training … in something completely unrelated to the calling God has placed on our lives. Fortunately for you and me, God is in the business of equipping those He has called!

Peter and John certainly didn’t have a resume that screamed “world changers,” but they led thousands to salvation in Christ. Not because of who they were or any skills the possessed. In fact, they were recognized as being uneducated and untrained. Ouch! That has to hurt.

However, filled with unmistakable confidence and boldness by the Holy Spirit, they preached the gospel message of salvation and repentance, and their critics—the Sadducess—were able to clearly see they had been with Jesus.

Despite our gifts and talents, we are able to do little, if anything, in the way of eternal significance in our own strength. Like John and Peter, reliance upon the strength of the Lord is the key to any work that the Lord calls us to do. In order to receive that strength, we, too, must be with Jesus. Worship, prayer, and reading Scripture are essential to meeting with Him and being filled with the strength, confidence, and ability to do His work.

Confident in Him,

Traci