Tag: disciple

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?

If you have not taken my course on making disciples with ease, click here now!

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!

June Books – Packets of Wisdom!

I enjoy reading and I learn a lot from books. I believe that books are packets of wisdom. In the first week of every new month, I would post a list of the books I read in the previous month and the books I have bought or borrowed to read in the next month. I hope that I would be able to inspire you to read some of these books and share some good books that you have read with me. At the same time, I hope that this habit would inspire me to read more :).

Completed in June

Here are the books I completed in June. This means that I finished reading the book or listened to it on Audible. It does not mean that I started reading or listening to it in June. I may have started earlier.

  • Contagious Disciple Making by David and Paul Watson
  • The one thing by Garry Keller
  • The gospel comes with a house key by Rosaria Butterfield
  • The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

Currently Reading

These are books that I am currently reading or listening to on audible. Yes I read more than one book at a time.

  • Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L. Shelly
  • Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman
  • The Forty-Day Word Fast: A spiritual journey to eliminate toxic words from your life. by Tim Cameron.

Hope to start reading this Month

These are books that I have already purchased or borrowed and I look forward to reading.

  • The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster by Darren Hardy
  • Spent Matches: Igniting the Signal Fire for the Spiritually Dissatisfied. by Roy Moran.
  • The Kingdom Unleashed: How Jesus’ 1st Century Kingdom values are Transforming thousands of cultures and awakening His Church by Jerry Trousdale and Glenn Sunshine.

Have you read any of these books? Do you know some good books that you think I should read? Please suggest them in the comment section below. Thanks.

A man reaps what he sows!

What comes to mind when you think of sowing and reaping? Some people think of negative seeds and hope they don’t reap multiples of negative harvest. Some think of positive seeds and hope for hundred fold return and a few think in terms of real seeds and harvest.

The apostle Paul made this statement in his epistle to the Galatians!

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6:7-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As disciples of Jesus and BiVo Ministers we are reminded that many times we may not feel like reaching out in love to the people around us! You may be tempted to get tired of making sacrifices to connect with people at work. Let’s remember that seeds sown do not immediately turn into harvest. It takes time and nurture and the miracle working power of the Holy Spirit!

It takes discipline to be a fruitful disciple maker! Praise God we have a helper in the Holy Spirit. There are times when I have wondered if all that I’m doing is even making a difference. Then I sense the Holy Spirit saying, “it’s hard to see yourself grow. Have faith in God! Those seeds of love are blessing the people and they are changing you too”!

Sowing to please the flesh is yielding to the desires to do things that make you look good, feel good and get the glory! The aim of the flesh is self glory and preservation. These things don’t look bad to the natural person but to the disciple of Jesus they are destructive!

Sowing to please the spirit is doing things in obedience to the Holy Spirit. It’s is doing things that bring glory to Jesus! Things that showcase the love of God, the holiness and joy of the kingdom!

Let’s keep sowing to please the Spirit. Let’s meet the needs of the people around us and share the good news of the kingdom of God. If you are not currently making disciples then take the BiVo Minister Course today.

That they all may be one?

Jesus prayed a lot while he was in His body on earth. We don’t have a lot of His prayers recorded. So you can imagine how precious the few we have would be. Jesus prayed that all His disciples would be united.

““I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (‭‭John‬ ‭17:20-21‬ ‭NKJV)‬‬

As we in Canada celebrate the unity of the country, I think about the unity of the body of Christ and unity in general.

Unity is the by-product of unconditional love. It is what happens when God’s Kingdom comes on a community! Any time we move toward unity, it means that we are choosing to love. Although naturally our love is polluted with pride and selfish tendencies.

Unity starts from the individual. If I unite with Christ and allow Christ to live through me, then I am able to love those who are different from me and pray for those who hurt me.

Unity is not uniformity! When United we see each other’s differences and we celebrate them and use them to make the bond stronger!

As a disciple of Jesus, I must always pray and allow Jesus to use me to unite His body. This includes the multitudes who are yet to be added to the body! And continue to love and pray for those who choose not believe at this time. Jesus is available for all to enjoy!

Cannot be my disciple?

Yes you read it right! Following Jesus is not for everyone that say that they like His teachings! Not everyone that applies is accepted! To follow Jesus, there is a condition. Do you know what the condition for acceptance is?

The condition for acceptance by Jesus has many names but they all point to the same thing! Here are a few names:

  • Repent
  • Believe
  • Call on the Lord
  • Confess the Lord Jesus

All these terms mean that a disciple chooses willingly to abandon his or her life of self rulership to receive the supernatural and righteous life of Jesus. Which means that the disciple lives a life of unconditional love powered by the Holy Spirit and activated through simple obedience to Jesus! To be saved is to agree that you need a new life and that you accept the life and rulership of God through Jesus Christ.

Here is how Jesus puts it:

So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. (Luke 14:33)

Forsake ALL: what does that mean for you daily? For me it means going out of my way to express the love of Jesus to people around me by meeting their needs and sharing the good news of the kingdom! It’s unconditional love no matter how you spin it. This love is expressed differently in each disciple but it must always lead to an invitation for them to receive this life as well!

Many times theses days it’s just being a true friend to people around me, come rain come shine!

Please let me know how forsaking all that you have looks for you daily! Use the comments section below!

You wicked and lazy servant?

Have you ever wondered why the servant with one talent in the parable of the talents was called wicked and lazy? I get lazy or foolish but wicked? (Matthew 25:14-30).

These days I sense the Lord saying to me that a wicked servant is not really a servant! A wicked servant is one who is not interested in the progress of his master. I sense from this that anyone who is not interested is sharing the good news of God’s kingdom with others is not in the kingdom!

If the servant with one talent had given the money to the bankers he would have been a lazy servant! There are many lazy servants in the kingdom of God!

This particular servant was an outsider! He did not see himself as part of the kingdom. The same applies to anyone who is not interested in the salvation of others! Anyone who doesn’t wish that everyone would be saved is not saved themselves!

Please check your heart. Are you a wicked servant? Maybe you are not saved. Then repent of your sins and receive the salvation purchased by the blood of Jesus and Jesus Christ will receive you!

Are you a lazy servant? You are doing very little to share the gospel of the kingdom of God! Wake up now and begin to invest! There is nothing on earth that is better than leading a lost soul to the savior! NOTHING!

All that is Mine is Yours

How rich are you? Are you rich because you have a positive net worth? A lot of money in the bank? Does God see you as rich? Does that even matter? What do these words from Luke 15:31 mean?

I’m always happy when I read the parable of the lost son in Luke 15. There are 3 thing that make me happy but today I will only explain one. I will list the other 2.

I am happy because I sense the heart of God the Father! He loves us all and wants to have a relationship with us.

I am happy because I have been lost but now I am home. I have a very joyful and intimate relationship with God

The third thing that makes me happy is that I have access to all the resources of God our heavenly Farther! I am rich! Very rich and in fact I can never be poor! (Luke 15:31).

My brother, my sister it is impossible for you to be poor! You are from the family of the owner of the universe! He owns everything including the people! We lack only because we are still trying to have our own riches instead of joining with God and accessing all His resources! What we should be doing is meeting needs with our skills and making disciples of the people whose needs we meet.

So stop trying to get rich or pursuing wealth! You are only moving money from one of your accounts to the other. If you operate from the truth, the money you need will always be available (Luke 15:31?).

What I have noticed in this scripture is that if your chase wealth, importance, approval from people or even God by acting right, you only get some of the resources! And like the elder brother you will always feel as if you don’t have enough. Luke (15:29).

God has committed all His resources to one major project! What Project? Finding His lost Children. That is what would make our Heavenly Father rejoice! That is what Jesus our elder brother came to do! To seek and save the lost.

Today as you go about your daily activities, remember to use them to help in this project of finding the lost children of God!

If any good parent discovers that their child is gone. That he or she left home without warning! They would commit all their resources to find that child.

All our Heavenly Father’s resources are ours as long as we are committed to the project of making disciples! Seeking and finding the lost children of the Father. So we are rich! We are not looking for money! We are looking for people!

If you want a jump start on your journey to seek and save the lost! You can start with the Free BiVo Minister Course!

Talk to me: How rich are you? What are your thoughts?