sharing | considering the word

1 Cor. 2:12: But God has given us His Spirit. That’s why we don’t think the same way the people of this world think. That’s also why we can recognize the blessings that God has given us.

It can be so easy to look at people of this world and wonder why they do things the way the do. I was reading 1 Corinthians this morning and I found the reminder.

We cannot forget, brothers and sisters in Christ, when we see people acting in ways that we wouldn’t, that perhaps it’s because they haven’t found the freedom in Christ that God has so graciously and mercifully gifted to us. The commission that Jesus left is still the same: we are to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. We are also to love our neighbors as ourselves.

When we see the people who need to hear the gospel, instead of being angry with them for not knowing Jesus and behaving as though they know Him; we need to pray for them, and either share the gospel with them, or pray that someone else can come along and share it with them if we aren’t able.

The 2nd part of this Scripture says that because of God’s Spirit, we are able to recognize the blessings that God has given us. Recognizing the blessings, we can joyfully and lovingly go forth, sharing the good news of the gospel to this hurting and broken world around us. So many people need to hear about blessings that can be found somewhere.

Have you been blessed? Do people hear blessings coming from you? Are you sharing the good news? When you see people do you see what God sees, and is your heart breaking for them? Do you feel burdened to share a message of hope with them? Do you feel love?

Pray, brothers and sisters. We have a message of hope and freedom to share with the world. We have good news! We cannot and should not keep it to ourselves.

Think like Jesus,

jamie

Tomorrow is another new year. I’m not one for making resolutions, but certainly a new year does deserve some pause for thought.

Enter my neighbor’s chickens. Yes, chickens. Today, I saw that there were 5 of them under my bird feeder scratching and eating all the bird seed they could find. I was a little frustrated at first because this neighbor’s animals seem to be in our yard a lot, but the more I thought about the fact that they just wanted some food, the less frustrated I became.

And then I realized that they’re just like all of us. Ha! All of us want to be fed. We are all searching for sustenance. Not just physical sustenance, but spiritual, as well. When we can’t find it where we live, we go off to the neighbor’s in search. We scratch and dig and look until we find something.

As followers of Jesus Christ, the Lord has given us so much. This new year, we must keep in mind that there are people around us that are hungry. They are searching for what they have not yet found. Instead of being frustrated or annoyed when they come to us looking for answer or asking questions, we need to make sure we have a loving, generous heart that is ready and willing to share with them from our abundance.

Not everyone has what we have or knows what we know. They are hungry. We have the Bread of Life. We must be willing to share. We have no right to be frustrated or greedy with what we’ve been given. Salvation is for all who believe, not just the ones we believe are deserving.

Everyone’s ministry is going to look different. As we go into this new year, let’s remember that our time to share this Bread of Life is not over. We are still here to do the will of our Father. How will your sharing look? Will it be a blog? Will you minster to a co-worker, family member, friend, or student. Will you teach a class at church or preach from the pulpit. Maybe you will teach at the nursing home or lead a devotion for a small group. Perhaps your ministry will look different still. Could this even be your year for a mission trip? The main thing is that we are open to the Lord’s leading and that we are wiling to share.

Ready to share alongside you in 2018!

jamie