“Missed It By That Much”

How often have you “missed it by that much”?

If you didn’t hear the sermon Sunday, you probably already know where the phrase was made popular…”Get Smart”.  You would hear the character played by Don Adams say to the Chief or Agent 99.  It may have been used by making up the excuse of letting the villain get away by “that much”.

Yesterday, we looked at a small section of text in the first chapter that pertains to Joseph.  For one, he learns of Mary being pregnant and is planning on trying to “resolve the matter quietly”.  For two, he is given the chance to have a “re-do” and doesn’t follow through with this, but instead, he stays with Mary and, eventually, Jesus.  Here are some applications to choose from to use this week…

1. Look for More ~ It can be easy to go in to a restaurant and have “tunnel vision”.  By that, I am meaning that you come in, you are seated, you look over the menu, you order, you receive your food/beverage, you consume, you pay, and you leave.  Where can you fit sharing Jesus in there? What about with the waitperson?  You don’t have to be real “churchy” with them, you could silently pray for that person.  You could ask God to open up the opportunity. You could ask to know if you need to talk to that person or someone else in the restaurant.  You could ask the waitperson how their day is going or if you sense it is not going well, leave a good tip and note of encouragement.
2. Stop Procrastinating ~ I used to have a book by a series called “Sweet Pickles” that was titled “I’ll Do It Tomorrow”.  It was all about procrastination, which I became very good at as I grew up – the book didn’t help me!  Too often things are put to the back burner for another day.  Too often that day becomes like the same sides of a magnet approaching each other – they repel.  So, the next day becomes the next becomes the next, etc. and we may never get around to getting it done.  Is there someone you’ve been wanting to visit with about their salvation?  Are you waiting for a “just right” moment, of which will probably never come?  Don’t delay…do it today!
3. Aim Smarter, Pull the Trigger Slower ~ You are out hunting and you have hit the jackpot on the game that you are trying to aim for.  You cannot believe this shot, the closeness of the game you are aiming at.  You get out your weapon. You are trying to aim perfectly but your anxiousness is causing your weapon to bounce.  Slow down!  Take a second to calm yourself so you can aim smarter.  Carefully aim, hold back any anxiousness so that you can have a better shot at aiming. Someone is asking you about your church and you cannot believe it!  What do you say?  Are you bold or hesitant…calm your anxieties and “pull the trigger slowly”!

Don’t miss the opportunities by “that much”…pay attention! Measure twice, cut once. is a popular phrase in carpentry.  Don’t be one of the ones that may “miss it by that much”, rather look for more, stop procrastinating, and aim smarter.

Hoping this week is one where I don’t “miss it by that much” very often!

"Location, Location, Location!"

"Location, location, location" is a popular list of three things when it comes to real estate.  People want to live in certain places for certain reasons.  Just like everyone is different, so is everyone's choice of where to live and what makes that place work for them.

Some like the quiet, so they want to live in the country.  Some may like to live near certain businesses for convenience.  Some may want to live near people they already know, possibly family.  Some may want to live away from railroad tracks, schools, or busy streets.  Then there are those that are complete opposites of all these phrases or it doesn't matter where they live.

Wherever you live in a certain place the environment is shaped a certain way.  The number of families with young kids or older kids will affect a neighborhood.  Likewise a neighborhood primarily filled with retired or elderly will affect it also.  However, each neighborhood can be positively or negatively affected by you.  How do you respond?  What happens if you live in a neighborhood you hate...how do you take it upon yourself to make a difference?  Will you use where we live to make a positive difference?

That same challenge is given to us all the time when it comes to reflecting our faith to others.  We are spread out over hundreds of miles each day.  You are at a specific location at all times to be able to make a difference. You are at school, home, downtown, out of your town/community, in a meeting, at work, etc., with an opportunity to make a difference.

Location shouldn't be all that important when it comes to reflecting your faith. Even if you don't like where you are at you should use it to His advantage.  Maybe you don't think about it because life clouds your thinking with other things on your plate, try to change this pattern.  

When you think about "location" don't think about it in terms of "whether or not you like it", but think about it in terms that "I want to be used wherever I'm at".  Believe me, it is very enjoyable to wake up during a moment and realize something is going on around you that you had the opportunity to team up with God to experience.  So, keep in mind your "location, location, location" and allow wherever you're at to glorify God!

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Givin' a Shout Out

Watch any football or baseball game and you may see some individual player holding up a hand signal, probably a #1, while saying "hi" to someone. They are proud of what they have just been involved in, be it a touchdown run/catch or hitting a homerun, for example. They are giving a "shout out" to their friends/family.

Shout outs are a classic case of being so proud you want to tell others and to take advantage of the opportunities to be in the spotlight to say something to someone. Pride causes us to project with confidence. As a Christian, are you proud of your salvation and your Savior? If so, you will project that, if not you won't. You won't show pride when you're sleeping, it is a conscious action. Hence, if you are spiritually sleeping, you're not going to show your pride to others. You will simply show no emotion.

To be alive in Christ, we envision, we have confidence, and we focus. With all of those things you will naturally not be able to keep it in, you feel you must give a "shout out". Who all will you be giving a "shout out" to this week? Here are some applications to choose from to use...

1. Give a shout out, passively - Post something like "God is good, all the time...and all the time, God is good" or "Givin' a shout out because GIGATTAATTGIG" (which the letters are the first letters of that phrase) on your Facebook or MySpace page, send a text to a few friends, post it on your blog, write it on a piece of paper and put at your workplace, put it in a card, etc. and see what responses you get to start the ball rolling on a spiritual conversation. Or you can come up with your own phrase.
2. Give a shout out, actively - Tell someone a phrase like the one above or come up with your own. See what happens.
3. Memorial Day - Ask someone who they think about the most on Memorial Day, then share with them that the most important person in your life that has gone on before you, who fought the toughest war, was Jesus. See how God handles it.
4. Pray for Camera Spots - By this I mean to be praying for God to open doors for you to have the camera put on you so that you can put your figurative #1 finger up to show how important your faith is to you.
5. Live Out Your Shout Out - Your actions may be the loudest voice you have, regarding your faith. You may not always have to say anything. How you handle yourself throughout life is going to speak volumes. Where you put God on your priority list, over family, job, sports, recreation, etc. may show others how valuable your faith is to your life.

I will be excited to hear, if you care to share, how God surprises you by using you in unexpected, surprising ways as you sow seed this week. For those of you who live where I do, I may give you the opportunity to tell others how surprising your shout outs went this week!

It is such a wonderful experience to go about each day looking for ways for God to be using you to influence others' lives. These experiences come all the time, you just have to be "awake" to see them. Don't expect them to be something so vivid...look for them around each corner!

Givin' Shout Outs to My Peeps...

Living Wide Awake: Focus

When do you find yourself having the most difficult time to focus? Is it when you are approaching a deadline? Is it when your kids are screaming around the house? Is it when you take too much on? Is it when there is noise, in general, going on that is not pertaining to the task you are trying to accomplish? Is it when things just aren't going your way (i.e. in a slump, crises, etc.)?

Focusing is important to getting something accomplished. When you have an idea (aka dream) and are following through with the idea, you have to focus in order to be able to bring it to completion. So you dream, put your confidence in Him, and focus. Notice that these are all things you must do - you have to be active. Living wide awake means that you are active in doing different things.

As I've said, too often, Christians, "sleep" in between church assembly times. Other things are on such a priority list that being a Christian is something you do "on Sundays". But living wide awake means that you are an "awake" Christian every chance you get.

Yesterday, we looked at the concept of focus. Keeping focused on Him, as we dream, is vital to accomplishing our goal. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. Don't look down - Peter started walking on the water and looked down - Fright loses focus - This climbing phrase holds true when you are trying to accomplish anything of magnitude. Don't let your fears of getting higher, on the accomplishment scale, cause you to look down and see all that you've overcome and then get discouraged.
2. Keep focused on Him - That goes along with last week's word of confidence (in Him) - Everything you should be dreaming of doing is for His glory, not for anything to do with you.
3. Keep the Son close - Jesus' parents had an instance where they failed to keep their son, the Son, close to them, so when they left the feast, they didn't have Jesus with them. They were a days journey away before they realized that no one in their company of friends and family knew where he was. As you go through the day, don't forget to keep Him close to you and your daily events. Don't let Him so far away as to wonder where he is at in your life!
4. Keep Your Dreams Accountable - When you write down a dream, ask someone to hold you accountable for trying to do all that you can to make sure the dream is accomplished. This way, even if you slack a bit, you will have a friendly and humble reminder to keep working on it.
5. Rid the Noise - You may not have to cut something out completely, but you may need to turn off outside responsibilities once in a while to help make sure you are working on what you wrote down as your dream.
6. Praise God for the Accomplishments - As you go through life living wide awake you will notice that God is working. You may not see it right away because you aren't used to looking for Him in your every day. However, even if you look back and realize that God showed up in an unlikely place, give God the glory and tell Him "Thanks" for using you in that situation.
   

A friend of mine enjoys looking for God to show up in the media. From the time I learned of this interest, I started focusing in on shows to see when God shows up. Last Monday, on an episode of "How I Met Your Mother", God showed up (and not in an put-down-religion way). If you are not familiar with the show, here's a short synopsis. Three friends are sitting around a table, when another comes over, bragging he was just given a girls phone number. They discuss that there is a "three day rule" where you should not call her before three days. "Not the three day rule...that is stupid...who even came up with that?" are the comments that follow. The answer, Jesus. He was dead for three days before he waited to come out to reveal Himself. Hence, the reason to wait three days. There is much dialogue that goes on regarding this situation. I personally found the dialogue humorous. He wasn't poking fun at Jesus, but trying to prove his dating theory. Regardless, "Jesus" was spoken several times and the event that they were speaking of was a real event - the resurrection. I was impressed how God showed up. However, if you don't focus on looking for Him to show up in the media, you could have missed the greatness of this situation.

If you aren't focused your frazzled. If you are frightened you're going to lose focus. If you dream, you're going to look higher and when you get there, don't look down! You'll be amazed at how high God can take you when you team up and see what you can do together in your every day!

Focusing on Him in my every day...

Discovering a Surprise

In the school I went to the most, we had an indoor pool. It was an Olympic sized pool. This may not seem like much, but I lived in a town of about 3,000 people, and this was in 1982. Though I enjoyed being in a pool, I didn't really know how to swim. I was very scared and nervous when our PE class had swimming each quarter. However, through my time there, I not only became very comfortable with the water, I became a much more skilled swimmer. I would sometimes surprise myself with being able to make it to a different level or learn a different stroke. Life can often be a lot like my experiences of learning to swim...

One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do. ~ Henry Ford

Trying a new skill is not comfortable to most. You may feel like you are going to make a fool of yourself or afraid of hurting yourself. I've had lots of these types of learning situations - riding a bicycle, learning to snow ski, learning to do a forward flip, etc. All entailed many times of failure before you figure out the skill. Even after learning the skill, there are still moments of failing, but it doesn't stop one from going at it again. Also, once you learn the skills, it is very enjoyable to practice them, again and again.

The same goes with sharing Jesus. You are nervous because it is not something that you are accustomed to doing. You may also have a "one method" mindset that shackles your thinking from realizing you can share Jesus in any way that is natural to you. Regardless of what fear prevents you from sharing Him daily, may you be empowered to overcome that fear. Knowing that once you figure out what is natural to you, you will look forward to the next opportunity. Even if you "fail", you have learned the skill enough to know how enjoyable it is to keep trying!

So, say "Hi", ask "How's your day going?", tell someone, "I'm praying for you", ask "Are you afraid?", just listen, leave a good tip, pay someone a compliment, or any number of things that are natural to you that allows you to have an open door to share Jesus.

Looking forward to the next opportunity to use my skills...

Doing the Tough Jobs - With Enthusiasm

We all have those jobs we dread. Whether they are jobs that are around the house or at our workplace, we may hold off doing them until we absolutely have to or until someone else does them. Then there are the tough jobs, the ones that seem utterly impossible to accomplish. Sometimes we lump tough jobs in with dreaded jobs. However, they aren't always the case.

Think back to a group of men who were asked to feed all the people who came to the "revival". Jesus said that they were going to feed them. However, the disciples looked around and asked, "How?" Jesus took a boys small bit of food and made more food out of it than what you see at any restaurants buffet, at any given time. The feeding of 5,000 men (plus women and children) seemed impossible. Actually it was. But a miracle happened...which leads us to this week's quote...

When we accept tough jobs as a challenge and wade into them with joy and enthusiasm, miracles can happen. ~ Arland Gilbert

This may be hard to see sometimes because we are clouded by the toughness and overlooking the possibility. Maybe it is tough to get along with someone at work, your spouse, or other family member. Maybe it is tough to share the joy you have in your faith with others. No matter the situation, you look at it with this "we're-going-to-feed-all-these-people-how?" kind of attitude.

May you start looking at more tough jobs with envisioning the outcome instead of seeing it as it is before you tackle the issue. Remember, God makes miracles out of that which is mind-boggling.

Have a "joy and enthusiasm" filled week!

Anxious to see today's "miracle"...

Danger Ahead - Putting Them Behind

Do you think there is anyone in this world that could honestly say they are not afraid of anything? Common areas of fear are heights, public speaking, spiders, snakes, and drowning. What are you afraid of? I am a bit fearful of heights and any kind of death that involves suffering. However, as long as I'm afraid, the danger will always be there..

In this world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it. ~ George Bernard Shaw

The basic way of overcoming fear is to face your fears. So, as long as you do not do anything to conquer your fear, there will always be a danger looming in the midst. When it comes to being active in sharing our faith, we all have a certain amount of fears too. What fear(s) in this area do you have? The danger will always be there as long as you are afraid of it. Our challenge is to find ways that we are sharing Jesus and that comes so natural to us, that there is no longer any fear involved. When you do not have fear - you will go about it like crazy.

Think of it like riding a bike or swimming. Each ability had a sense of danger that came with it, but if/when you mastered it, you can be "crazy" with the talent. You may learn to do tricks on a bike (my best was riding without hands for several yards). You may learn how to do all kinds of specialty dives or hold your breath for long periods of time, with swimming (I never did anything more than a front flip).

Once you learn to look at opportunities in life as a chance to share instead of fear, you will go "crazy" with looking forward to each encounter. Don't be afraid, that involves danger, with sharing Jesus, there should not be any danger, just salvation!

Removing danger ~

Monday Mentionings: Words of Wisdom From the Workshop - Part II

If you've never been to the Tulsa Workshop or you haven't been in a long time, you really need to go. It is a great time to be in an "out of the ordinary" environment to get pumped about your faith. Whether you are one who is pumped through the vocalized word, singing, or seeing several young people devote themselves to go to another country to serve Him, it all happens at Tulsa!

Where are you at when you are reading this? Where you are at, that is where the church is located at during this particular moment in history. As you are reading this, the health of the church depends on how healthy your heart is. Each of these deal with today's points of applications to yesterday's lesson...

1. "The Church Has Left the Building" - Rick Atchley - As I said earlier, where you're at is where the church is at, right now. Each one of us holds on to a part of the net that we are casting in order to try to "catch" others. That net is spread wide, across our area. Did you cast your part of the net today, or did you keep hold of it? I hope to cast it more than once, depending on who God sends me to or sends to me today. Remember to cast your part of the net with each encounter you experience!
2. "Heart Matters" - Buddy Bell - Ever felt like you were being a very superficial Christian? Maybe it was because you were having a rough week or because you felt the world closing in on you. You would go through the motions, just to try to make it to the next day or week. Superficial Christianity is not true Christianity. We may be able to make it through one week alright, but being that way week after week will cause us to fall away from God and not toward Him. What is in your heart is what truly shows the how much you trust, rely, internalize, and love God. Simply thinking about how you will share Jesus today/this week will show what is in your heart. Do you trust in Him to give you the words to say? Do you rely on Him to direct a "fertile soil" heart to you? Do you internalize the joy that comes from sharing Him? Do you love Him enough to participate in the luxury of sharing your faith with someone else? Your actions show your heart...what will your heart "do" for Him today?

I am still being surprised by God...regularly! It is awesome to see how much God puts in my path on a regular basis. I am giddy each day as I can't wait to see what is going to happen that day. How about you? How does God show up in your life...who does He bring forth?

Continually Blessed ~

Monday Mentionings: Empty - Tomb - Luke 24:1-6a

How was your Easter? Even though our son couldn’t appreciate all the fun that kids enjoy on this holiday, it was still a memorable and enjoyable day for my family.

I can’t imagine if, at the time of Christ’s ascension, He knew what was happening or if he was wondering what was going on. Even though I know He was 100% man and God, was He God or man at this time? Was He experiencing something like what we experience when we’re awaken in the middle of our sleep? We’ll never know the answer during our earthly life. Regardless, the empty tomb exhibited power. Power that mesmerizes me. It “wows” me! It is simply unfathomable. Power that makes me preach and share about Him with an unquenchable fire. Do you share in any of those feelings? Regardless, what does the empty tomb do to you? As we look back to yesterday, here are some other applications that I hope you can use in your daily life…

1. We are wired to desire power. Kids try to get power over people – usually their parents. As we grow older, teenagers want power over their own lives, not wanting parents to have any more. Even as adults, we desire power – power over events in life – a job, family, environment, etc. The sad fact is, we can’t “have” power over anything like that. The same goes for the tomb not being able to have power over Christ. When we’re in a situation that is “out of our control”, may we stop, pray, thanking God that He is in control, and be willing to let Him take care of it according to His Will.
2. What would your life be like without Jesus? Jesus taught so many great things – how to look past another’s speck for the log in your eye, how to forgive, how to be examples to the world (salt and light), etc. The list could go on and on. For us to be without Jesus, we’d be lost. For the tomb to be without Jesus, we’ve won! You’ve won a pass to heaven. You’ve won the opportunity to share about Him. You’ve won direct access to God (through prayer). The real question is, how will you let others know about this victory you have? Ask someone how their Easter Sunday was…may that open a door for you to share your faith with them! Be bold!!
3. Christ came to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21). Sin came into the world in the very beginning and has infected all of us sometime in their life before adulthood. Say a prayer of thanks to Jesus going to the Cross, shedding His blood, and overcoming the conditions of death to be brought up out of that grave! Hallelujah, Christ arose!!! May you have a clear mind as you go to Him to praise Him for these things (among anything else).

I get very excited as I look forward to the opportunities God puts in front of me to go out on to the mission field and share about the victory that comes through the cross and then the resurrection!

Have an “enlarged territory” type week (I Chronicles 4:10) ~

E-mail Encouragement: Becoming a Prophet

Some may define it as a pessimist, where others, a realist. Either way, unfortunately, I tend to look at some things in such a way as to not get my balloon popped. I am thankful that my wife is an optimist and can keep me from being a rut when it comes to goal setting.

With that being said, this week’s quote hit home with me…

If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of becoming a prophet. ~ Isaac Bashevis Singer

Recently, I gave a group of people an article that starts off with the sentence “Fear kills vision!” When it comes to doing things for God, if we have fear about it, then we will stop looking for the possibilities it will bring if we do it. If there was someone you were wanting to share Jesus with, but you kept saying negative things about trying – you wouldn’t have the vision to see past your fears. It would also make you a pretty good prophet – because you would talk yourself out of trying.

Who will be in your path today that you can share Jesus with (in whatever way)? The answer for most is “I don’t know.” The response, then, is to pay attention to everyone you come in contact with – they may be the one you were meant to share with that day. But, if you say bad things about sharing with someone, then you will most likely, and unfortunately, become a prophet!

Especially in this case, don’t become a prophet by saying negative things about the opportunities God gives to share about Jesus! Instead, say positive things about those opportunities, and become a prophet that way!

May God richly bless the end of your week!!!

Looking forward to today’s open doors ~

Monday Mentiongings: Which 'Cross' Will You Choose? - Mark 8:34

The Cross is an important Christian icon. Of all the different events that Jesus experienced, there is probably no one, which has heard of Jesus, who doesn’t know of Jesus dying on the cross. Since the cross represents His death, pain, shame, and humility were also a part of that event. Jesus asks his followers to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. However, if you knew that pain, shame, and humility would come with “taking up your cross” would you still follow Him?

Yesterday, we talked about two types of crosses, one – crossing your fingers, two – the cross of Christ. You make the choice every day to choose one or the other. You can choose to give in to your self or you can deny self. Here are some applications to choose from to use from yesterday’s lesson…

1. Choices can be easy or difficult. When we make the choice to follow Jesus we are also making the choice to suffer through any discomforts that may come our way. For example, praying for our enemies, complimenting instead of complaining, patient instead of pouting, loving instead of leaving, etc. Some choices we make as we follow Christ may not be pleasant, the Hebrew writer reminds us that Jesus “scorned the shame of the cross” for the “joy” that was on the others side (Hebrews 12:2), we too have a much joyful “other side” to look forward to!
2. The Bible teaches that there is nothing that man can do by his own abilities, once he has sinned, to save himself. We cannot “work” our way to heaven (Ephesians 2:8-9), but it is only by the grace of God that we are allowed to go. God gives us the opportunity to obey what He commands to allow us to go to heaven, but even in those “actions” if they are not done with faith, they are in vain. As we make choices in life, do we choose the cross of human power – fingers crossed – or of God’s power (Christ’s cross)? If we try to do things on our own, fixing our job, our family, etc., and not giving it over to Him, we have missed the point. “With man this is impossible…” (Matthew 19:26a) reminds us that we can’t do anything on our own. The next time you are in a predicament, give it to God – He’s got the power to “fix” it, not us/man!
3. Just like in the movies, the good guy always wins. If you like to lose, then you should make the choice of the cross which is formed by fingers crossed. If you want victory, then you will make the choice to follow Him. You will be willing to take up your cross, daily, and follow him. The next time you are at a crossroads regarding which “cross” to follow, just think to yourself, “Is it the one of defeat or victory?” Maybe that will make the decision easier.

May God make it easy on you to make the right choice – the cross of Christ – by keeping selfish thoughts and temptations away from you!

Has God opened doors for you lately to share Jesus? If so, I would enjoy hearing about it…

Making the choice ~

E-mail Encouragement: Coming Alive

Each one of us has interests which excite us. This could range from hobbies to television shows. You "come alive" when you take part in a hobby, and anticipate that excitement when you know you will take part in that hobby in the future. Why is that? As we strive to use our every day life to serve God, in the specific realm of sharing the Good News message, which one of your interests could you use to benefit the Kingdom? As we looked at "Faith on the Move" on Sunday, this quote went along with that...

Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~ Howard Thurman

Being "alive" brings a positive energy. If each person used what interested them and found a way to share the Good News at each opportunity, I think the times we met together would take on a different look. Even if you weren't able to use your hobby each week, you would still have an anticipation for that next time. Make a list of your interests and/or hobbies - from favorite television shows to knitting. Then, see how you can use that to God's glory. If it is a TV show, maybe you can invite friends over to watch with you. Or, you can look for a moral principle to discuss with someone you know who has an interest in the same show. If it is going out to eat, you can invite someone to go with you that you haven't been out with before. There are endless possibilities, but the main thing is to be using that time to share Jesus - informally or formally.

What does the world need?...It needs you "coming alive" and going out to spread the Good News! So, what makes you "come alive"? Now that you've answered that, use those answers to His glory!

Making a list ~

Monday Mentionings: Faith on the Move - Genesis 12:1-13:18

Our assembly, yesterday, was a great boost to my week! There were lots of smiles being spread, which is always good. Assembly was followed by a great brown-bag lunch. The last thing we did together was singing Christmas carols and spreading joy to the folks at the nursing home! We had a great turnout and the singing reflected it!

Got a tug at your heart to do something, maybe specific, for God? It could be a variety of things and it could be in addition to something you are currently doing. James says, "faith with out action is dead" (James 2:26). Often times this verse is used to illustrate that we need to be doing things like reading our Bibles, praying, attending worship, etc., which are all great things we need to be doing. Though I didn't use this verse (or text) in yesterday's message, I emphasize that the action involved may sometimes be something as simple as picking up a phone to call a person who you know is going through a rough patch. It doesn't always have to be formal or to the extent that Abram/Abraham did. Here are some other applications to choose from to use from yesterday's message...

1. I cringe when I am in an uncomfortable place and I am a much more relaxed driver when I am in a city where I know where I'm going - it doesn't matter the size of the city. However, though the first time may be uncomfortable, the second is a little less, and by the third, there are practically no uncomfortable feelings left. I am sure, to an extent, the same works for you. As you feel God asking you to "leave" a particular situation to go to a place that is uncomfortable, know that it only takes a few times of exposure before you get comfortable. As you may be nervous about sharing Jesus, I encourage you to go ahead and do it (through an invitation, a kind word, informing you'll pray, an act of kindness, etc.) and it will become easier and easier. God tells us to "Go and share the gospel" it is up to you to decide if and how you are going to do it.
2. Promises inspire. Any coach that could promise a win if they played well would inspire their team to try as hard as they could. Positive motivation works wonders. I use it in subbing and it is amazing how well the kids respond. Read Genesis 12:1c-3 to see the eight different promises God makes to Abram. As you plan out your day, focus on what God has promised to you - in these and any other verses - at let it encourage you to look at your "schedule" a bit differently!
3. You may not know where the conversation/situation may go, but tell the next person you come in contact with, outside of our church, something you appreciate about them (if you know them) or tell them how much you appreciate what they do for you, or some other comment to surprise them that you complimented them. This is an example of getting your faith in action. Abram didn't know where he was going, just like you may not know where your conversation/situation may go, but "by faith" you share.
4. As you drive around your neighborhood this month, say prayers for particular people you know. Pray for their day, family, open doors, soft hearts, safe holiday travels/season, marriage, kids, your influence, etc. Your "land" is vast - use it to God's glory!!! Who knows what He'll reveal to you over time as you pray!

Abram is esteemed as a man of faith, but as we saw yesterday, there were times which he failed miserably. May you be encouraged to put your faith in action, even if you make mistakes.

May God bless you with many open doors and soft hearts to share Jesus!

On the Move ~