The Jesus Model

“… Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” – Mark 1:14-15

When we look at Jesus’s life and ministry we see the greatest evangelist that ever was or ever will be.  He was the light of the world. He was the one who in every moment of His life for thirty-three years filled every word He spoke with grace and truth. We would do well to imitate Him in everything we do, including going out amongst the lost. 

His passion is for us to be in the world as He was in the world; to imitate Him and to love and to serve non-Christians. His desire is that we be like Him and that we commit ourselves to develop intimate relationships with non-Christians. Jesus intended for His disciples to make disciples. Or in other words to multiply His life in the life of others. That’s what happened in the early church. (Acts 6.7 ESV) says, “…the Word of God continued to increase and number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem….” 

But how do we go about going out amongst the lost? We can learn from what Jesus did. We can learn first from how Jesus related to people. Jesus connected with people on a personal basis. He was loving, caring, and treated people with dignity. He built strong relationships with people, yet, He never watered down the truth. Jesus was passionate; He made a conscious effort to enter into and participate in people’s lives. He regularly dined in people’s homes and attended wedding feasts; He met people from all walks of society. When He was criticized for eating in the company of tax collectors and sinners, Jesus pointed out, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” (Mark 2:17). Clearly, Jesus associated with the spiritually lost in order to save them. He cared for the lost. He never tired of bringing the Gospel to people. 

Jesus directed the conversation toward spiritual things. It is good for us to interact with those we meet, but simply being friendly and talking to people will not save them. The gospel is God’s power to save: “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16). If we are to have success in reaching the lost, we must eventually turn our conversations with them toward spiritual things.  

We can learn a whole lot about going out amongst the lost from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You and I, of course, are not the only people in the world that Jesus loves and cares for. He came to save all people. The Bible says that “He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.” (1 John 2:2) Jesus had so much to give and He gave it all for us. It is our job to go out amongst the lost and give it to them. 

Discussion questions:

  1. What does going out amongst the lost mean to you?  
  2. What can we do this week to imitate Jesus model for evangelism? 

Getting Out Of The Holy Huddle

“For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” –Romans 10:13-15.

If we are not careful, Christianity can be practiced in the midst of our “holy huddles.” For those of you who don’t know, the term holy huddle is defined as, “the tendency for Christians to surround themselves with other believers.”  Oftentimes Christians perpetuate this self-imposed insulation by purposely segregating themselves into holy huddles with other believers in the church and outside of the church. As a result, believers have few if any deep friendships with unbelievers.

Without even realizing it, we can fill our days with tons of Christian activity, but never once step out to engage with someone who isn’t in the family of God. We have the best of intentions. We meet for small group here, a prayer meeting there, and next thing we know our calendar is filled with holy huddles. We need to remember that Jesus “…came to seek and save those who are lost.” (Luke 19:10) and He calls us to do the same.  

Before you think otherwise, community with other believers is critically important and necessary for the believer who wants to grow spiritually. Meeting with other believers is a great way to be encouraged, refreshed, and challenged. Hebrews 10:24-25 is just one of many verses on the importance of meeting with other believers: “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” But it is not the end-all for your Christian experience. We were saved to save. Forgiven to forgive. Loved to love. We are the light of the world. The living breathing testimony that God is real and His love is powerful. Everything that we have been given was always meant to be given away. God has placed you amongst people who don’t know Him yet. God’s plan to save them is us. 

In Romans 10:13-15, Paul tells us the way someone far from God draws close to Him, is if someone close to God goes far to reach them. The people in our life may never hear about Jesus if we don’t have the boldness to leave our comfort zone to tell them.

But do you have what it takes to reach the lost? The answer is yes. Jesus has already given believers everything they need to not only share the Good News but also to be effective witnesses of His power, authority, mercy, and love. What’s more, as His disciples, He’s given us instructions on how to go about this even in the face of adversity. So what can you do to intentionally love the lost people in your life? What friendships can you pour into, what groups can you spend time with, what habits can you set up, so that you are regularly seeking out and loving on the lost?  Find some time to escape the holy huddle to talk to the people in your life who don’t know Him yet.  

Discussion Questions:

  1. Who do I spend most of my time with?
  2. How often do I make an effort to make relationships with people who don’t know God?

Going The Extra Mile

” If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.” –  Matthew 5:41

In Biblical times, a Roman soldier, under imperial Roman law could demand or command that a Jewish man or boy carry his load or burden for up to one mile. The Jews naturally resented being treated and humiliated in this way, so they carried the soldier’s burden for one mile and not a step further. The Roman soldier, would then look for another Jew to further carry his burden and so on. The Jews longed for the coming of the Messiah, who they thought would set things right with the Romans. But when Jesus did appear, He said one mile is not enough, carry it two miles.  

I can only imagine what the Jewish people were thinking when they heard that. They expected a true political hero, a champion of champions, and not one who would ask them to carry their burdens for further distances.  

We don’t carry Roman backpacks anymore. But, as Christians, we are asked to go the extra mile. It is easy to do the very least that we are asked to do, but what God wants us to do is to go above and beyond what we are expected to do.  This principle applies to every area of our lives today—in our relationships, at home, at school, at our jobs, etc. The ESV version of Matthew 5:41 says, “And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” The idea applies to anybody and anybody means everybody.

The extra mile is caring about the work as if you were working for God: “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” (Colossians 3:23).  

Because “extra-mile service” gives you an opportunity to impact the lives of others. A person with an extra-mile attitude is someone who cares more than others think is necessary, risks more than others think is safe, believes more than others think is possible, and gives more than what others think is practical.

By carrying the pack an extra mile, it not only showed the soldier the love of God but opened up an opportunity to tell him about Jesus. There’s no telling how many soldiers became Christians during that second mile. How many more people become Christians if we would just go “the extra mile” for them?

Jesus gives us the bottom line: “What reward do you deserve if you only love the loveable? Don’t even the tax collectors do that? How are you any different from others if you limit your kindness only to your friends? Don’t even the ungodly do that? Since you are children of a perfect Father in heaven, become perfect like him.” (Matthew 5:46–48 (TPT) So always do more than is expected.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What Bible stories come to mind on going the extra mile? 
  2. What does it mean for you to go the extra mile?  
  3. What can we do this week to help carry someone’s burdens? 

Missionaries: Heroes Of Evangelism

 The job of carrying the gospel to remote tribes hidden in strange and dangerous places often requires a courage and daring equal to that displayed by the explorer in search of a new river or the soldier in the performance of his duties.” – A.W. Tozer

Every day we read or hear about heroes in our country. They are soldiers, police officers, and firemen who are in the service of their country. Many are ordinary people from all walks of life who have done incredible acts when someone is in danger or needs help. They deserve our respect and gratitude.  

Missionaries share the same characteristics. Their heroic acts are not one single incident – they are lifetime commitments. They are fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, neighbors, and friends who have made a lifetime commitment to serving God in countries all over the world, some of them dangerous places for Christians. They take care of orphaned children, they provide medical care to indigenous people who have never seen a doctor, they distribute food to refugees, they help victims of natural calamities rebuild their lives, they construct wells to provide water in arid areas, all the while sharing the good news of the gospel. 

One example is Brother Andrew. Brother Andrew is both adventurer and risk-taker. He’s best known, in fact, for courageously putting his life on the line to smuggle Bibles behind the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War which earned him the nickname “God’s smuggler.” He is known for praying “Lord, make seeing eyes blind: Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see.” And they never did.

If you asked what we can do as Christians to support our missionaries, the number one answer would be to pray. It is very important to pray for missionaries, pastors, and others in Christian service. They are on the frontlines of the Great Commission, facing near-constant spiritual attacks. Missionaries are real people with real doubts, fears, challenges, and struggles. They face spiritual battles, cultural and language barriers, and physical exhaustion. They need our prayers to face each day with wisdom, grace, and strength from on high.

It is ok to pray for missionaries using generalities because there are certainly things you can pray for them as a group (like Colossians 1:9-14 or Philippians 1:9-11). But you could also pray more particularly for one missionary a day and rotate them as you pray for them. Pray for protection over them. Pray that the hearts they come into contact with would be open and willing to hear and receive the life-changing truth of the gospel. 

See your campus pastor for a list of missionaries you can pray for.  You may even consider dropping them a note of encouragement occasionally. 

Discussion Questions:

  1. Pray for a missionary this week. 

God Can Do The Impossible

“Can you direct the movement of the stars—binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion? Can you direct the constellations through the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?” – Job 38:31-33.

There’s a curious trait that we all possess, and it has a habit of showing up in interesting ways.  In general, we prefer to place our trust in what we can observe.  We want our eyes to be convinced of something before our hearts are willing to trust in its reliability.  In many respects, this trait makes a lot of sense. But not all.  

God is honored when we trust Him for what we cannot yet see.  He is glorified when we take Him at His word.  Anyone can walk by sight, but not everyone is willing to walk by faith, and God has promised us many things some that seem impossible because impossibilities are the platforms upon which God does His best work. “Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”  (Matthew 19:26). God wants us to trust Him to do the impossible.   

Have you ever hesitated to offer up a prayer, thinking it’s an impossible request? Does an overwhelming challenge leave you confused and frustrated? Maybe you’re not receiving the answer to a long-standing prayer and wonder if you should just give up. When you are in that situation remember Luke 1:37 (ESV) “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Nothing means just that: not one thing. Nothing is too big for God, too hard for God, too much for God. And if nothing is impossible, that means anything and everything must be possible with God. He can remove any obstacle, overcome any challenge, mow down any opposition. He can do anything. Anything.

So no matter what situation is in front of us, we can boldly come before Him and place it at His feet.  Whatever we think is impossible, God says He has no limits or boundaries. His power makes all things possible. Isaiah  43:2 says, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”

You can trust God. Pray, knowing that God can make all things possible.  If it is in His will to do so, nothing can stop Him. 

Discussion questions:

  1. How often do you reflect on how big and how great our God is? 
  2. Read Psalms 97:1-6: What does that say about God?
  3. How should the fact that God can do the impossible change how we view extraordinary prayer?

The Power Of Extraordinary Prayer

“And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.” – 1 John 5:14-15.  

One of the most life-giving aspects of daily time alone with God is prayer. There are many ideas out there about what prayer should be. Prayer is the pathway for us to walk every day into a deeper relationship with God. 

The Bible has a lot to say about prayer. “Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises…Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him… Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” (James 5:13; 1 Chronicles 16:11; Ephesians 6:18)

That there is power in prayer is undeniable. More than just communication or communion with God, it is a union with Him. Through prayer we pour our lives, our longings, into God and receive His character, mind, and authority in return. 

God loves to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things. No matter what weakness you think you have, God wants to bring heaven down to earth through your faithful, extraordinary prayers. Extraordinary Prayer is when ordinary men and women pray for an extraordinary length of time, for many consecutive days, and in extraordinary numbers. The not-so-secret secret for it to be extraordinary would be to pray without ceasing. When we are in constant conversation with God all day long, those are the times when it feels extraordinary.  

The evidence from history is clear. Time and time again, when Christians unite as one body with one purpose, God moves. The Book of Ezra contains an example of extraordinary prayer. Ezra was preparing to lead a group of the exiles back from Babylon to Jerusalem. The king had even offered troops for protection on the perilous journey. But Ezra had refused the troops, pointing out that God Himself would protect them. As the people gathered, Ezra began to realize how dangerous the trip would be and that they should not merely presume upon God’s protection. So he called the people to humble themselves and pray and fast over the journey. God heard their prayers and gave them safe passage to their destination.

Have you ever made a decision to pray like that? Not merely pray that God bless us or even God protect us–but a life-changing commitment to pray until God is in charge of every aspect of our lives. 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does extraordinary prayer mean to you? 
  2. How can we change our prayer life from ordinary to extraordinary this week? 

Extraordinary Prayer

“As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. 24 When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them” – Acts 4:23-24.

When you study movements of God around the world, there is one consistent thread: Prayer. Whether it is people from Lynn Haven, Los Angeles, or Lithuanians rising early in the morning to pray. They want to see God touch their nation. They want to see all of their family members, friends, coworkers, and neighbors follow Christ. They want to see God do something miraculous. And they believe the key to all that is prayer. 

That shouldn’t surprise anybody. Prayer is a common subject in Scripture. We see this call to pray throughout the Scriptures. Here are just a few examples from the first few chapters of the Book of Acts: Acts 1:14 says, “They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.” Acts 2:42 says, “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.” Acts 3:1 says, “Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service.”

The early church in the Book of Acts set in motion a great movement of God that swept the Roman Empire, leading to millions coming to Christ in a relatively short period of time. If we want to see the results they saw in the Book of Acts, we have to do what they did in the Book of Acts. Pray extraordinary prayers.  Extraordinary prayer is experienced when you pray beyond your normal practice of prayer. If you ordinarily pray five minutes a day or an hour a day, anything beyond your ordinary becomes extraordinary. It’s all about multiplying extraordinary prayer.

Because the more we pray, the more we sense our need to pray. And the more we sense our need to pray the more we will pray. It is a matter of taking “ordinary prayer to “extraordinary” levels. 

Extraordinary prayer will lead you to believe God will do something extraordinary through our life, our church, and even through us, together, as we take the Gospel to our community, state, and nation. Trusting God in these challenging days for a movement of God takes an extraordinary commitment from us to pray like it really matters, believing God is able to do what no one else can.

A great movement of God begins with the extraordinary prayer of God’s people.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What obstacles and distractions does a persons prayer life face? Which ones seem to affect you the most? 
  2. Why should we pray extraordinarily? 
  3. Where can we practice extraordinary prayer at home/church? 

A Root In Dry Ground

“My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.” – – Isaiah 53:2. 

According to Isaiah 53:2, the prophesied One would not appear to be anything great using imagery of “a tender green shoot” and “a root in dry ground.” Isaiah uses the metaphor “a root in dry ground” to emphasize the unfavorable conditions in which the Messiah would appear.  

But this “root in dry ground” not only survives but takes root and grows everywhere, even in the unlikeliest of places. The thrill of this truth is that nothing is beyond His reach. No situation is beyond His power to change. Think of the driest place imaginable–maybe some part of the world or in your town. Or what about the hardest, coldest heart, the shattered marriage. The Root of which Isaiah spoke will produce a shoot and thrive there.

What about neighborhoods, cities, and nations. Is it possible that “a tender green shoot” could survive and grow there? The answer is yes. We see movements of God in every city and nation, even in the unlikeliest of places. We should not be discouraged when we view our neighborhoods, cities, and our nation. We must simply recommit ourselves to planting the Root where we can. Plant Him in our neighborhoods. Plant Him in our cities and in our nation and in the world. He will survive and grow. He will change hearts and lives whenever and wherever He is planted. 

But it starts with each one of us. Colossians 2: 6-7 says, “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” In this passage, Paul is reminding the Colossian church of their foundation, their root system. When we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts and as the Lord of our lives, the root process begins. We start to grow our roots into Christ, our firm foundation. 

Reading, studying, and meditating on God’s Word is so important. The more you meditate on God’s Word, the stronger your roots will become in Jesus. Meditating on God’s Word will also increase your faith.

As you study, decide on ways to apply what you are learning. You can memorize verses that you find most helpful and stay focused on them throughout your day. Sharing what you are working on with someone else helps establish it for you even further. Maybe you know someone who would be blessed to hear about what you are learning because it would help them become rooted in God as well. 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does it mean to be rooted to God? 
  2. How can we use the Bible this week to become more rooted? 

A Christian’s Owners Manual

” The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.” – Psalm 119:160 (NASB).

Every new vehicle has one. It’s found in the glove compartment of the car. It’s an owner’s manual. If you thumb through it, you’ll see everything you need to know about how to care for your vehicle: what warning signals mean, and how to use the new, hi-tech “infotainment” touch screens. It has the answers to most questions about your vehicle. However, most owners’ manuals are never used as often as they should. Most people don’t make a habit of reading owner’s manuals before they need them. In fact, the most popular time to read the owner’s manual of a car is when there’s a flat tire or a weird light pops up on the dashboard, or some other problem.

Human beings are more complicated than any car. So God, our designer, and manufacturer gave us an owner’s manual. It’s called the Bible, the Word of God. Inside this manual is all we need to know to live life to the fullest. Yet, for most people, this owner’s manual is not read until we have a problem.  By the time we looked in the Bible for answers, something in our lives needed repair. Some days it was a broken relationship; other days it was a bitter attitude or bad decision we made. Focusing on the Bible means we stop using the Bible as a reference book and start using it as a manual on how to navigate this thing called life. In other words, reading and focusing on the Bible is the means of preparing us for life, rather than rescuing us from the storms of life.  

Since the Bible is our manufacturer’s owner’s manual, doesn’t it make sense that we should study it more often and thoroughly than we do? Regardless of what season of life you are in, there is still so much to learn about God. Reading the Bible reminds us that our knowledge of God is insufficient and can always be improved. Reading the Bible completely forces us to reflect upon all aspects of God’s character and allows us to know Him in new ways.  The Lord will meet you in surprising ways as you place yourself in His word.

The writer to the Hebrews says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Hebrews 4:12). So it was then; so it is now. Through the Bible, God speaks, and therefore through the Bible, every generation is confronted with the very word of God. The Bible remains as alive as ever to the needs of the human condition.  

With the Bible at our fingertips, we have a story of God’s faithfulness right in front of us to show us one example after another of who God is. The Bible is the greatest tool we have. We want every believer to have a renewed confidence in understanding the Bible and a hunger to know it more.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does it mean to meditate on scripture? How do you practically meditate? 
  2. Simply reading and meditating on God’s Word is not enough.  Agree or disagree and why?

Obeying God’s Word

“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.…Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.” – John 14:21, 23-24 (NIV).  

When you were a child, you may have sung a little chorus called “The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock.” That song is taken from a parable in the gospel of Matthew, where Jesus explained the importance of building our lives on a firm foundation: 

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (Matthew 7:24–27)

The lesson is quite simple. The wise person is obedient to the Word of the Lord. They choose to build their life on hearing and doing the will of God. When trials and temptations come, they are secure because their foundation is solid. The foolish person, on the other hand, hears the Word of the Lord but does not act on it. They too will face trouble at times and, having no foundation, they will collapse. 

Obedience is literally foundational to the Christian life. No obedience, no foundation. Unless we are living in obedience to what God says, we have nothing to build our lives on or rely on when storms come. Obedience is a positive, active response to listening to the Word of God. “Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” (Luke 11:28)

We often think of obedience too narrowly—as the way we avoid getting into trouble based on our experiences with rules and rewards. As adults, we often think we can make our own decisions. But a mature response to God involves conforming our thoughts and ways to His desires.  

In simple terms, obedience means hearing the word of God and acting on it. It implies aligning our will to God’s will; doing what God has asked us to do. It is when we completely surrender to His authority and base our decisions and our actions on His Word. Deuteronomy 29:9 says, “Therefore, obey the terms of this covenant so that you will prosper in everything you do.”

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does obeying God affect our capacity to know God and to experience His love for us?
  2. Does your life give evidence that you love God? In what ways?