February 19th

Get some good shoes.

Making disciples is an adventure. There may be some hills and valleys, but it is a journey. The first word in the commission that Jesus gave to His disciples was “Go” so you better get some good shoes because you were called to get moving. We are not called to sit in our room waiting on room service. There is a whole world out there waiting to be rescued and you have the answer for them. You can’t tell them from your couch though. You have to be out there interacting with them.

Matthew 28:19-20 “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.”

Don’t worry, you are not stepping out in faith all alone, in that same commission He promises to be with you always, to the end. So what are you waiting for? Really, what are you waiting for? What is keeping you from making disciples today? Now, whatever that answer was, lay it on the altar. Whatever your obstacle has been, turn it over to Him. He has not asked you to do the impossible, and He has not asked you to do it alone.

What can you do today? Who can you reach today? Who can you show Christ’s love to today? There is someone in your day today that needs the answers that you have for them. Unless you are in bed sick right now, you have someone you can go reach today. I’m not saying go stand on the street corner with a sign or a megaphone. But maybe you need to take a walk and pray that the Lord will put someone in your path that needs Him. Maybe you need to reach out to a neighbor. All we need to do is be willing to be used and the Lord will use us. He is looking for willing vessels. Yes, that means you, get over it and get on with it.

There are SO many blessings we miss out on because we have our day planned out and we don’t even ask the Lord for His input. -Maybe if we slowed down a minute and realized that life isn’t about OUR plans?? What if we realized His plans are more important and that our first objective of the day is to do His will and ask Him what that is? Life is simple really. (Or it should be) We should be able to wake up and say, “I have only one thing to do today, follow Him.” That is the detail that matters, all the other stuff we have to do can and should revolve around that one detail: follow Him. At work, home, wherever, in the forefront of our mind should be that objective. Everything we encounter should be seen in light of that, even that flat tire, or the unplanned detour.

What blessing are we missing out on because we plan without consulting Him, or we get busy without noticing those around us that are dying for answers? What peace are we missing out on because we are about our own business?

Isaiah 48:17-18 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;

Isaiah 30:1 “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;

What if we completely change the way we think about our day, our job, our life?

What if we ask the Lord each day: “Lord what is on YOUR heart today?”

What if we make His plans for the day our top priority, instead of asking Him to bless our plans?

Jesus, I need my mind transformed. Help me to put you and your plans first in my life. Everyday. Help me to think about everything differently, the way you do. Help me to remember to consult you about plans instead of just deciding on my own. Show me how to live for you in all areas of my life. Thank you for your perfect love and perfect plan.