Category: BiVo Ministry

Do you have Everlasting Life?

This week I will share in a few paragraphs every day on the immense benefits of being in the kingdom of God! I will attempt to answer these questions. What are the benefits of being a disciple of Jesus? Why am I so grateful that I am accepted as a disciple of Jesus? Why is it that I and millions of other disciples are willing to leave everything that the world offers to follow Jesus? Why are we willing to go through pain and sacrifice of comfort and sometimes our lives just to share this good news with other? I will ask if you have these benefits to remind you to say I have [the benefit]!

The first one is everlasting life, eternal life! Or divine life!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

You receive forgiveness for sins committed and you also receive the life of God that enables you to stop sinning. That is what everlasting life means!

God the righteous Judge, has made a way for us not to pay for the sins we committed and has made a way for us to have a new life! His righteous type of life. Jesus pays for our sins.

This would not sound like good news to a person who thinks that he is not that bad. But for those who know that a righteous Judge cannot overlook sin, then it’s the best news you can ever get.

If you have sinned then you are doomed unless you accept the finished work of Jesus! I’m so glad I have been forgiven! I have everlasting life! I’m no more a condemned criminal under God’s righteous judgement! The righteous Judge has made a way for me to go free and to live with His righteous life so that I can live like Him!

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans‬ ‭5:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Hallelujah!

How is your ministry?

Every disciple of Jesus is a minister and has a ministry! You and I would have to give a report about our ministry to the Lord (Rom 14:12). The parable of the talents in Matt 25:14-30 also shows us that there is no idle person in the kingdom. So my dear friend, how is your ministry?

Are disciples being made? Are disciples being baptized, are they being thought to obey the commands of Jesus? Are they living victoriously? Are you shining as light and attracting people to Jesus?

You are called to be a disciple maker! As a disciple you are a BiVo Minister!

How is your ministry?

One thing you lack!

What is that one thing that would change your life if it can be changed right now? Or who is that one person that you know can make a big difference in your life? What is the one thing they would do or change?

I cannot count how many times I have gotten just one more thought or idea that totally changes the result of a project I am working on.

If you need a combination of 6 letters as a password to your bank account or any other account, and you have 5 of the letters right, but just one letter is wrong you will not have access.

This rich young ruler got everything else right except one. Yet he was unable to enjoy the kingdom of God!

“Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” Mark‬ ‭10:21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

As long as money, fame, reputation, academic achievements and other goals on earth have a higher value in your heart than, preaching around with Jesus, you still lack that one thing.

If you are not willing to let go of everything to serve Jesus in whatever capacity He chooses then you lack the same thing this your ruler lacked!

If you do not think that the most glorious position to be on earth is to be doing whatever Jesus Christ would have you do to fulfill the great commission, then you lack that one thing.

Heaven will not be heaven to those who do not see that nothing on earth is worth holding on to when compared with living in obedience to the Holy Spirit.

We are sent to make disciples for Jesus! Every disciple must be willing to give up every thing to invest in saving the lost and being in constant communion and obedience to Jesus!

It is not a task for you and I to do. The Holy Spirit will work through us.

What you and I must do is this! Make sure that we repent and get back on track whenever we value anything more than simple obedience to Jesus!

The young rich man walked away because he undervalued Jesus and overvalued his stuff. His stuff which can become of no value to him if he becomes very sick or dies in the next hour!

Oh Lord may I never underestimate the value of following you to love the lost!

Give me a drink

Would you think that this statement would lead to the transformation of a whole village? Isn’t it interesting to know that the life changing encounter of someone may be tied to a simple question? Or request?

“A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
‭‭John‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Jesus did not start every conversation with a scripture. We don’t have to preach to everyone we meet. In fact, we can learn from Jesus that we can begin a relationship by receiving help from someone!

We must however be ready to share the good news with anyone that is ready!

How then do you know when to share or not? Here is how! You live for Jesus fully and with great joy and gratitude! You talk about Him like you would talk about a loved one. Then you give more details to those who show interest.

This is how you find out those who are ready to learn more! If you mention Jesus in your conversation and the person you are sharing with remains engaged, you can then ask if they would like to know more. If they say yes, then tell them some more. If however the person tries to change the topic or looks uncomfortable, let it go and continue to build the connection! They can be loved whether they believe in Jesus or not.

They may become interested tomorrow, next week or in a few years.

I remember a man we met on one of our outreaches in Kuje! We started the discussion by talking about business and it led to praying with him. I also remember a neighbor who had two big dogs in our neighborhood in Kingston. We started our conversation with discussion about the dogs and we transitioned into faith discussions. She did not become a disciple of Jesus at the time but some good seeds were sown.

There are many people out there all around our cities who have been prepared by the Holy Spirit. I pray that you and I would find someone today whom we can ask a question and it would lead to their encounter with Jesus! We find them by looking out for them!

“And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.”
‭‭John‬ ‭4:39‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Laborers Wanted!

If you say you love Jesus, and you love the people around you, then you should also be willing to do whatever it takes to get as many people as possible into the Kingdom of God by obeying the commandments of Jesus! This is what I hear the Holy Spirit saying to me and His church!

There are many people out there who are waiting for you and I to introduce them to Jesus and the Kingdom of God! They are not hostile, they are not angry. They are hungry for God and they are crying out for God! You and I are the body of Jesus! He can only touch them through us.

Let us pray like never before! Let’s reach out to people around us. Just ask if you can pray with them! Ask as many as you can until you find the one. Then teach them to obey Jesus! Baptize them in the name of Jesus! This is what I hear the Holy Spirit saying to me!

“Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭9:37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

God knows your heart!

What’s on your heart? What is your most important pursuit? What breaks your heart? What makes you most excited? These are the things that God changes when a person is saved by God!

“God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.” Acts‬ ‭15:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Do you find your heart being transformed? Or are you still pursuing the things of the world with a spiritual language? I find that it is possible to simply change our outward behavior and language and not have a heart transformation!

If all you long for and strive for are things on earth! If the people that you admire and look up to are those who have stuff on display! If the things you quarrel about and are angry about are all natural things! If you are not burdened that people are lost all around you! You may not be a disciple of Jesus! Or you have lost your love as a disciple.

It is possible that you find yourself struggling with the new heart that God has given you! I have found myself in this position time after time! I find myself not willing to spend that extra hour in prayer for others. I don’t want to go on without certain comfort of life that I know I can easily get by spending a few months in pursing some business idea or by keeping the money we have! In fact, I have made elaborate plans about some ideas only to find out that the good idea is a distraction to me.

When I am distracted like this, it is because I have looked away from the Lord and allowed the cares of this world to grab my attention.

Although this has happened from time to time, I also know that my greatest desire is to see Jesus glorified and our Heavenly Father magnified every where! I repent and receive grace to get back on track.

What does it mean for Jesus to be glorified?

It means that you are satisfied with Jesus! You are committed to His vision of making disciples of all nations! You are excited by the progress of this mandate! You are fully invested in making disciples. You are prepared to lay down your life if necessary so that one more or many more of these children of God may come home! No sacrifice is too much for you to make as a person to minister to people around you as you obey the Holy Spirit! It means that you have no life of your own but you live the full life of Jesus with unspeakable joy and peace that is beyond understanding!

God knows your heart and my heart! He knows what excites you! If you need to repent, do it now and enjoy the new heart from Jesus! Do you know that when God becomes everything to you, many things that trouble other people would not trouble you?

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Pray Always! Don’t Give Up!

When I here someone say “Don’t give up” I immediately know that it is possible to give up! When Jesus told the parable in Luke 18:1-8 what was His purpose?

Here is what it says:

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I believe Jesus wanted them to know that:

  • When praying you would be tempted to give up especially when you don’t get an answer immediately! Don’t give up!
  • Some prayers don’t have definite answers. They are prayers of consecration. You may find yourself losing focus! Don’t give up!
  • You may get just a part of the answer and you may be tempted to stop! Don’t stop.
  • Our adversary the devil will work hard to try to discourage you from praying! Pray anyway!
  • You may not just be in a mood for prayers. Pray all the more and tell God about how you are feeling! Don’t give up!

God uses prayers and communion with Him to build and strengthen our faith in Him! If you know the God that you are talking to, you won’t give up! Rather you will listen for further instructions. This is how intimacy with God is developed!

Oh Lord I receive grace never to give up praying for your church to bring you greater glory!

Let’s keep praying that more disciples of Jesus will become regular disciple makers! Don’t give up! Also keep talking to God about everything and in all situations!

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Prayer! How often?

We know that God answers prayers. We also know that not all our prayers have been answered. We prayed that the pandemic would stop but it did not! However we have prayed for other things over the years and we got amazing results! So how do we know what to pray for or not?

My answer is taken from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ!

“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We are to pray always about all things and in all situations! Sometimes we ask for directions and other time we ask for help and still other times we stand on what God told us earlier!

If every request we made to God was answered the way we asked it:

  • The earth would be a big mess because we are always asking for conflicting things anyway! Believe it or not, some people want what you don’t want. Someone most likely is praying for what you are praying against.
  • We would be right to call ourselves God because it would mean that we know the best solution to every situation and how each solution would affect the future.
  • We would come up with a theory that there is no God because no intelligent being would give in to every request from another intelligent being!

So we must pray always about all things and in all situations. That means we should involve God in the totality of our lives. Nothing should be off limits with God! Then we should be willing to believe God when God tells us that it is done!

When talking to God about those who don’t know Him we should ask for direction! Ask for grace to forgive and repent of our failure to care enough! Then stand in faith on God’s Word that he places on our hearts! We must also stand against the lies of the devil by speaking the words of God concerning the person and the situations! Prayer is communion!

Heaven on earth?

Sometimes we can get carried away dreaming about heaven and the afterlife that we forget the purpose that God has for us on earth! Does God have a purpose for earth and the people that live on earth?

Yes! There is a purpose for the earth and a purpose for everyone and everything on earth! That is why Jesus instructed His disciples and that means you and I (BiVo Ministers) to pray like this:

“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew‬ ‭6:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

God has a will for the earth! God wants the earth to be filled with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17)! If all the people in a place or community love one another unconditionally, the place would be like heaven! There would be peace, honesty, mutual respect, integrity, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, joy and many other good things!

We are the body of Christ on earth! We are the ones through whom that prayer will be answered! It is through you that Jesus wants to bring joy to the people who do not know Him! This is not a choice we have to make! It’s a mandate we have to fulfill as disciples of Jesus!

Everyday there is someone around you who can benefit from unconditional love! They don’t have to earn it! They just get prayers, kindness, forgiveness, a word of encouragement, a dinner invitation, a listening ear, a gospel presentation, a gift, a loving word of correction etc. Not because we want more members in church meetings, not because we were told to do so but because we are the body of Christ and we are the expression of Heaven on earth!

Let’s not wait for another person to make things better! Allow Jesus to move in you today to bring heaven to someone! You will soon notice that heaven on earth starts from within you! It’s not possible to love unconditionally for a while and not be at peace! By peace I mean inner peace!

It is still the will of God that we multiply (make disciples) and fill the earth! Let’s do it by His power!

As always, thanks for reading! Let’s take action! Join the conversation! Leave a comment! Become a disciple maker! Spread the love of Jesus everywhere!