“He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ).” – John 1:41

When you tell someone about Jesus, you never know how they will respond. Maybe they will believe, maybe they won’t. You also don’t know what sort of impact that possible new believer may go on to have for God’s Kingdom. For all that Andrew did in his life of service to Jesus, the most impactful thing might have been the first thing he ever did. He told his brother Simon (Peter) that Jesus was the Messiah and introduced him to the Lord.

Peter grew into the spokesmen for the Apostles, the closest follower of Jesus, the leader of the early church, and an author of Scripture. God used Peter to start the church in Jerusalem and to clearly welcome non-Jews into the faith. Peter paved the way for Paul’s missionary work. Andrew’s one simple act of sharing Christ with a loved one has rippled across countless generations and impacted eternity in ways beyond our comprehension. Of course, Andrew had a dynamic ministry of his own and introduced the faith to many in the ancient world. But introducing Peter to the Lord? That changed the course of the world!

What might God do through someone you introduce to Jesus? You simply don’t know, but it’s wonderful to imagine! Always believe that your faithfulness in telling people about Jesus might be used by God to raise up the next great evangelist, theologian, missionary, or church planter. Or to raise up the person who will quietly share Jesus with that person. Consider every person you share your faith with to have the potential of leading many to Christ, transforming families for generations, and leading nations to the Lord. Pray that this will be true. Then share your hope in Christ and tell people how to #FollowJesus

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” – 2 Corinthians 9:8

All grace…all sufficiency…all things…all times…every good work. What’s the point Paul’s making? God will enable you to do more and more good works for Him as you yield yourself in obedience to do those works. As you pour yourself out for Him, He will refill you faster than you can pour. As you let go of your limited thinking about what you “can” do, God will provide grace to do far more through you than you imagine possible. To bless more. To reach more. To save more.

God will abundantly bless you as you joyfully and sacrificially obey and bless Him. That blessing will encourage, inspire, and empower you to be even more emphatically, outrageously, even “dangerously” obedient and generous with the time, talent, and treasure God has given you. There is a virtuous cycle of blessing, a pouring out of grace, that God delights in when you yield yourself to become a delighted means of grace for others.

All that to say, give generously to the work of God’s Kingdom. Give more generously of your time than our culture of “balance” and “self-care” recommends. Find ways to give more outrageously of your talent than our culture of “getting paid” encourages. Give more joyfully of your earthly treasures (whether they be large or small) than “prudence” would dictate. Then see what God does next. He will bless you! He will cause grace to abound toward you. What that may look like can’t be predicted. But that it will happen is promised. Trust that when you give more than “you should” – of time, talent, and treasure – God will makes fools of those wise voices of restraint and pour out amazing grace upon you. #FollowJesus

“Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them.” – Exodus 18:8

When Jethro came to visit his son-in-law, Moses caught him up on everything that had happened since they’d last been together. But Moses didn’t tell stories about himself. He told stories about God. What God did in Egypt. How God had helped them survive terrible dangers and overcome impossible obstacles. The word we use for a story like that is “testimony”. Moses shared testimonies about God’s goodness, faithfulness, and power with someone close to him who didn’t yet believe in God. This is a good example for all of us.

What’s your testimony? If Jesus has saved you from your sins then you definitely have a testimony, even if you don’t realize it. So, what stories are you eager to tell people about God? What obstacles has He helped you survive and overcome? How has God guided you out of terrible situations? How have you seen God working in your life and in the world? Take some time to carefully think about these questions. Then take a few minutes to practice saying one of these God stories out loud. Get your tongue and lips used to telling stories about God’s reality and power if they aren’t.

Now pray about who might benefit from hearing that testimony. Pray for them by name that they would be open to believing the truth about the God who loves them and would like to bless them as He has blessed you. Pray for the boldness to share your testimony with that person. Then share, just like Moses did. #FollowJesus

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Think about these words carefully…. If you are in Christ, meaning that He is your Lord and Savior Who lives in union with you, then you are a new creation. Entirely. When Jesus rescued you from your sins, He didn’t just perform some minor repairs or a modest renovation of your heart. He didn’t improve you or give you a makeover. He made you an entirely “new creation”. As in, the way creation was made to be – holy, walking with God, very good, flawless in His eyes.

In Christ, you have an entirely new nature. Your old nature that was enslaved to sin and eternally separated from the holiness of God has died. While sin certainly can tempt you, it cannot rule you (at least not without your permission). Though death will come to you, it cannot hold you. You will rise. While you will sin from time to time, your sin will not define you. You are NEW CREATION! You are a new person in Christ Jesus. You have died with Him and been raised with Him. You are already seated with Him in heaven and you will get to enjoy an eternity of learning more about God’s limitless grace and mercy.

Whatever you were before Jesus ruled your heart, that’s gone in the eyes of Jesus. Whatever mistakes you made, sins you committed, failures you experienced, those are gone. The old HAS passed away. The new HAS come. #FollowJesus

“And Moses said to them, ‘Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.’ But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.” – Exodus 16:19-20

With the benefit of hindsight (and greater knowledge of God), it’s easy to look back and mock the Israelites for being foolish. Over and over again, God gave clear instructions that they immediately disobeyed. Over and over again, they suffered the consequences for their stubborn refusal to just obey God. God said don’t store the manna overnight but they refused to listen and stored some, “just in case.” Of course, it rotted because you can’t store up God’s blessings for future use unless He says so. How foolish, we think to ourselves.

But are we different??? God has given us many clear instructions but most followers of Jesus choose to ignore at least some of them.

• Make disciples. Do you?
• Flee temptation. Will you?
• Love one another. Are you?
• Don’t gossip. Have you?
• Turn the other cheek. Do you?
• Strive for unity. Are you?
• Avoid sexual immorality. Have you?
• Value others above yourself? Do you?

You get the idea. Whenever you read about the foolishness of the ancients – whether Israelites in the desert or Pharisees in the Temple – ask yourself, “Am I different? Or am I the Israelite? Am I the Pharisee?” Rather than answer for yourself, let God’s Spirit answer for you. Then #FollowJesus