Matthew 28: 18-20

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This is such an overwhelming instruction from Jesus. We are, as God's children, to go and make disciples of all nations. Whether we like it or not, it is what Jesus said.

I'm not sure anyone reading this can ever think they are up to the task. I, for one, feel very ashamed and useless, whenever this topic of evangelism is brought up. But...

I was reminded today that God did not give us the above instruction because he thinks we can do it. If anything, we'll make a mess of things and probably go around making enemies rather than disciples.

Only God can give us the power to share his word. And, more importantly, it is only God that can change someone's heart. All he is looking for in us is a genuine heart that is willing to be used by him.

Let us never limit God in our lives. He can and will do great miraculous things through us, despite of our weaknesses:)

Proverbs 25-27

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

This topic of "tomorrow"... that can be such a long discussion. Do I live for today or for tomorrow? Both?

This is something I was reminded of today as it pertains to my life. I think I've gotten accustomed to the attitude that there will always be tomorrow. Which makes me put off things that I know I should be doing today. Living each day to it's fullest in the context of where God placed me in my life. I need definitely need God's wisdom and discipline to do that.

Let's live this day to the fullest by praising God in all that we do:)

Proverbs 22-24

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.
Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death.

We were talking the other day about how hard it must be to discipline a child. In order to consistently discipline a child day after day takes so much patience and love from the parents. How much easier is it, when a child misbehaves, for the parents to just let it go? No one needs to teach a child how to misbehave. When a child is disciplined, the parents really do, little by little, saves him or her from a life of destruction.

I was thinking about our Heavenly Father's disciplining of us. As his beloved child, do I welcome his discipline? Do I see it as his love for me, rather than hate?

I realize that I am never fully aware of what I am doing. I may think I am wise, but God always proves me wrong. I may think I am not susceptible to certain sins, but this, too, God proves me wrong.

This is what makes me his child and him my Heavenly Father. He knows what is good for me. And as a child, I am unwise and always in need of instructions.

A child is disciplined so he or she can be directed in the right direction. Am I aware this day that without God's discipline, I am headed toward destruction? The question is am I willing this day to accept God discipline and direction for my life? Am I willing to repent of the wrong path I may have taken, and surrender to his love and mercy?

What is awesome about God is that he can use the mistakes I have made and use them for good. But for him to do that, I need to admit to him that I have made a mistake. And one of his "rod", I think, is that he withhold his blessing from me until I repent. And to not have God in my life is always a dreadful experience. I get depressed, fearful, look for comfort in other things, etc. My life really does become a life headed for destruction.

But I realize that I can never run away from God. His love will always catch up to me no matter how far I resist. His love truly endures forever:)

Matthew 12

But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

Proverbs 12-15

He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.

The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

We have full freedom in Christ Jesus by accepting him as our Lord and savior. Or more precisely, we CAN have full freedom. IF we allow him to discipline us and if we humbly heed his correction at every moment of our day.

I was reminded again how so many of us do not experience this freedom, because we despise discipline. The world tells us that freedom is being able to do whatever we want to when we want to. And that freedom is the ability to live according to our own desires. Many of us have lived with this mindset for so long, that we don't realize that we really don't have any freedom at all. We are enslaved by our sinful desires.

We can't help but to sin. This is a horrible example, but it reminds me of a documentary I saw about a Catholic priest who spent a life time molesting children. He would go to confession, but would go right back to his fleshly desires. And ruined many many lives because of it.

We all experience some sort of reoccurring sin in our lives. We can feel bad about it, say to God we want to change, but most of us don't change because we are not willing to be disciplined by God. It's so much easier to give into sin than to fearfully humbling ourselves before God every time we feel the desire to sin.

If we are truly born again, we have the power in Jesus to be released from our fleshly desires. But this is not a one time thing or a weekly confession we do at church. It is a continuous process. If we still find ourselves going in circles from reoccurring sin in our lives, it can only mean that we don't really want to be released.

Let's strive to live a victorious life in Jesus. Allow God to discipline us so we are changed from glory to glory to the likeness of Jesus. We who despise discipline truly despise ourselves. Why live in slavery when we can live in full freedom by the power and grace of God that loves us?

Matthew 9-10

Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

From yesterday's sermon and today's QT at work, and again from today's reading, God is telling me to be courageous and bold to be his witness. Like Paul preached the good news to high authorities in Rome with such boldness and confidence in the word of God, God wants us to be a faithful witness everywhere everyday.

Let us continue to pray for our loved ones who don't know Jesus Christ and share God's love to people we meet everyday. I know we both rather have a quiet personality, but we do know how much God wants everyone to come to know him. Let us pray that he will fill us with his spirit, so that we will be bold when we talk about Jesus to others. Let us be an instrument of God's blessing!