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The Anointing Part 2

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners… . “
(Isaiah 61:1 NIV)  

In part 1 of this dose we looked at the importance of proclaiming the good news. Today I’d like to look at the other essential component within this verse. The verse states that the Lord had anointed Isaiah to preach, to go, to proclaim and to release. But what was the driving force behind carrying out those actions? The Spirit of the Lord! If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit and have Him living in you to carry out the commission of the Lord upon your life (Eph 1:13; 2 Cor 1:22). All of us have unique callings upon our lives, but we all have the same commission to proclaim the good news. In Matthew 28, Jesus commands His disciples to go and make disciples, promising to be with them always. Too many Christians believe this to be a great suggestion and not a great command  (don’t worry, if you are sitting in the seat of conviction right now I am there beside you!). So I would encourage you today to take a few moments to take stock of your relationships. Do you have any unbelieving friends that you are sharing Christ with? If not, do you need to be intentional about seeking some out? Broken hearts will not be bound up and captives will not experience freedom until they experience Jesus. And through the power of the Holy Spirit in you, you have the boldness to preach that good news. So go preach it, friend! And the Lord is with you as you do.

Be blessed,

Noree

 

 

Photo Credit: https://www.freeimages.com/photo/olil-1568642

Now Go

Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.”
Luke 10:3 (NLT)

go-on-1438770-1279x852 In this verse, Jesus gives a clear and simple command – “Now go.” You may be familiar with the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always even to the end of the age (NLT).” It’s time we take this command seriously and obey. Although these verses are often used to reference foreign missions, we must not forget that every day we live on a mission field that is ready for harvest – NOW. Today, pray that God would open our eyes to the needs of those around us. Ask Him to create an urgency within us to see our family, friends, and neighbors receive God’s free gift of salvation.

Prayerfully,

Madison

 

photo credit: http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/w072-50252

Go Therefore, Missionary

For many years now, I’ve kept some form of an online blog as a place to let my journals overflow into the hands of my friends and family (and the occasional stranger). It’s been a strange experience to see the places those once-private thoughts have landed, but I believe that the Lord gives each of us stories of grace, redemption, hope, and imperfection that are longing to be told to display His glory. Since being back in Thailand over the past few months, I’ve found that my blog has stayed silent while I’ve hashed out my thoughts through my social media accounts. Despite many of my posts turning into mini-blogs, I’ve felt the stories crying out to be told fully, and so this week I’d like to invite you into the uncut versions of my social media feed, in hopes that the words of the Lord find you and lift up your weary or discouraged hearts.

 

Go Therefore, Missionary

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)

WednesdayPeople are quick to attach the label “missionary” to me these days, and I’m not quite comfortable with it. The truth is, despite being a believer in a foreign country, which I guess helps me meet the requirements for “missionary,” I’m not really doing anything seriously different from what I did at home.

In America, “missionary” would hardly be on the list of words to describe my life, but now that I live in another country, it’s all too common to be described that way. If we’re going to call me a missionary, then can we please call you missionaries too? We may be separated by miles and oceans, but those miles and oceans do not make me any more or less of a missionary than you are.

The power of God is just as present in your life, in your church, in your small groups and in your faith as it is here. The presence of God is just as accessible – whether you are in small-town USA, the African bush, or a district of Bangkok.

There’s a huge misconception in that you have to get on a plane to be a missionary. You have to leave the country to be “on mission.” Here’s the truth: You don’t have to pack everything you own in a backpack and leave the country for life in a hut. You don’t have to leave America to serve Jesus and serve others. For a lot of you, you don’t even have to leave your own home to find a “mission field” to call your own.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned about my faith in the past couple of years running around the world with Jesus is this: you just have to be willing to say yes. The “where” is not the answer. The “Who” is.

It looks different for all of us, but most of the time I’ve found that “saying yes” looks like have conversations. It looks like saying yes to the awkward small talk that leads to building relationships. Saying yes to being the only one and risking looking silly. Saying yes to the possibility of failing miserably. Saying yes to rearranging your schedules and priorities, or to that Bible study you’re not sure about.

You don’t have to wait until you’re overseas or in a different city to live missionally. You don’t have to wait until a special event to invite a friend to church. You don’t have to wait until a scheduled service project to meet the needs of your community. You don’t have to wait until the clothes don’t fit anymore to donate them.

Maybe I’m speaking for myself, or maybe I’m speaking for more of us – but where does Scripture say “Wait until disaster strikes and then go into all nations,” or “Go make disciples of all nations that aren’t the nation you live in?” We must be going every time our feet hit the floor. Every interaction you have with another person, you are “going therefore.”

Go therefore to Target and make disciples. Go therefore to that delicious pizza place and make disciples. Go therefore to biology class and make disciples. Go therefore to the gym and make disciples. Go!

Chelsey