Tag Archives: witnessing

June 16, 2025 · 5:30 AM

You Are Called

Almost everyone knows the story of 1 Kings 18. Elijah was the prophet of God in a nation who had turned from Him. He called all of them to Mount Carmel to challenge Baal, the god Israelites were serving. The challenge was to have the prophets of Baal create a sacrifice and to call down fire from Heaven to consume it. He would do the same thing but call out to God. The one true God would answer by fire, and no one would be able to dispute it. In verse 21 he asked a question every generation must answer. He asked, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him!” (NLT) He then rebuilt the altar and proceeded to pray. It was then that God sent fire to consume the altar, and the people turned to God.

Like Elijah, we can’t avoid confrontation when it comes to our faith. He didn’t soften his message that people need to repent. He asked a question that demands an answer and pulls people from a life of compromise. Ephesians 4:15 says, “We will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” The truth of God’s Word is what sets people free from a life of compromise. We must learn to speak truth in love to our generation so that the fires of revival will burn. It is the responsibility of each of us to stand up for truth and to call people to serve God. If each of us stays silent, how will they ever know that God loves them and sent His Son to die for them.


In Mark 16:15 Jesus gave the Great Commission to all of us. He said, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” You are God’s plan to reach this world. You are called to live as a leader in your faith. There is no more time for wavering. If God is God, then serve Him wholeheartedly. You are empowered by the Holy Spirit in you to be a witness wherever you go. You cannot tolerate what God has called you to tear down. We must not only pray for revival but begin to prepare for it in our own lives. We must choose holiness over hype, truth over trends and faith over fear. You are called and equipped to stand up in this generation so that they will know the truth. You are called to leave the idols of comfort behind and lift up a standard that will create spiritual transformation.

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March 6, 2025 · 5:30 AM

A Change Of Heart

My pastor said something that really resonated with me. He said, “In the history of the world, church has never been done better than it is today, yet never have we had such little impact on our culture.” It has me thinking, “Are we focused on the right things corporately and individually?” What are we concerned with? Is the music too loud? Is there too much fog in the sanctuary? Is it too cold? Are we concerned more with our entertainment than reaching the lost? Are we too focused on our comfort and not enough on the lost? Do we spend our time talking about God rather than to Him? I don’t know, but I know that if our ability to impact the culture around us is going to improve, it has to start with us as individuals.

After Jonah preached to the city of Nineveh, he went outside of the city, sat down and waited to see what would happen. Even though he had obeyed God, in his heart, he still wished that God would destroy the city. To expose his heart, God caused a plant to grow up and provide him with shade. The next day, the Lord sent a worm to eat the plant. Jonah was mad enough to want to die over it. God responded in Jonah 4:10-11, “This plant grew up in one night and disappeared the next; you didn’t do anything for it and you didn’t make it grow—yet you feel sorry for it! How much more, then, should I have pity on Nineveh, that great city. After all, it has more than 120,000 innocent children in it, as well as many animals!” (GNT)

God is concerned with people and their salvation. Scripture says that it’s His kindness that draws us to repentance (Romans 2:4). We need to pray what Bob Pierce prayed, “God, break our heart for the things that break yours.” Jonah was more concerned for his comfort than 120,000 people dying. That’s a recipe for not having an impact on culture. God was able to move then, and He’s able to move now despite our heart. It’s much better though when our heart is aligned with His. I wonder if the story of Jonah ends abruptly right there so we don’t miss that point. As Jonah pointed out in verse 2, God is loving and merciful, always patient and kind, ready to change His mind and not punish people. Shouldn’t we be the same way?

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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April 29, 2024 · 5:30 AM

An All In Boldness

When you think of Peter in the Bible, what comes to mind? Many immediately think of the guy who put his foot in his mouth way too often. We remember him denying Jesus three times on the same night he told Him that he would die for Him. We remember how he famously declared that Jesus was the Messiah in Matthew 16. It would be a few verses later that Jesus would turn to him and say, “Get behind me, Satan!” We remember Peter as a mess, but also as someone we can identify with. What we often forget about him is the man he became after Pentecost and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 2, we find a completely different man. We find someone standing on a balcony in Jerusalem preaching to thousands about Jesus. A few days earlier, he was hiding in that same city afraid to be associated with Jesus for fear of what others might do to him. The difference came with his decision to go all in after Jesus told him to feed His sheep. Peter waited and prayed in the Upper Room for 10 days not letting go until he received what was promised to him from God. On that day, Peter received boldness from the Holy Spirit to publicly live out his faith and to share it. That boldness raised the dead, took lame men by the hand pulling them to their feet and testified in front of the very group that killed Jesus.

That same boldness was in Stephen In Acts 6-7. He was full of grace and power because of what the Holy Spirit was doing in him according to the Bible. He was seized for preaching and brought before the high priest. Stephen didn’t back down and walked them through God redemptive plan. They refused to listen and began stoning him, making him the first martyr of the Church. A young man named Saul watched this display of boldness as he held the coats of the men throwing stones. He would later be changed by God, go all in with his life and write most of the New Testament. We never know the ripple effect of our boldness through the Holy Spirit. We must take hold of that boldness and connect people to God.

In the early 1900’s King George V was going to give an important speech that would be broadcast around the world. Just before the broadcast began, the main cable in the New York radio station snapped. Millions were waiting to hear this message, and the station staff began to panic. Suddenly a junior mechanic saw what needed to be done. He immediately grabbed both ends of the cable and held them together, allowing the royal message to be communicated. His body convulsed as the electricity flowed through him, yet he didn’t loosen his grip. We must be like this young man. We must choose to be all in, use the boldness of the Holy Spirit and communicate the Royal message of the Gospel to a world that needs to hear it.

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February 15, 2024 · 5:30 AM

Participating In The Process

Recently I was talking with my friend outside while the kids were playing. They decided they wanted to play basketball. They were taking turns shooting, but every time the youngest tried to shoot, she could barely get the ball over her heard. I lowered the goal to see if that would help, but it didn’t. She just wasn’t able to get the ball high enough to go through the hoop. The next time it was her turn, I picked her up and held her over the goal so she could easily make it. After realizing she couldn’t do it on her own, and that she could with help, she began to ask us to lift her up each time it was her shot. I couldn’t help but think that it was great picture of how God helps us accomplish the things He’s called us to.

When the disciples came to Jesus to tell Him the 5,000 people were hungry, He told them to give the people something to eat. Just like that little girl looking up at that basketball goal, they realized it was impossible for them. Jesus blessed the fish and loaves, but had the disciples distribute it and pick up the leftovers. They were still able to participate in the miracle with His help. He was always working to give them confidence to do the work of the ministry with His help and not on their own strength. When He sent out the 70 in Luke 10, He told them, “You won’t need to take anything with you—trust in God alone. And don’t get distracted from my purpose by anyone you might meet along the way” (TPT). He was reminding them that they get to participate in the miraculous with God and they wouldn’t need anything of their own to make it happen.

Before He sent them off, He also said, “The harvest is huge and ripe. But there are not enough harvesters to bring it all in. As you go, plead with the Owner of the Harvest to drive out into his harvest fields many more workers.” God is still looking for people who will participate in the work that needs to be done, but to do it in His strength and with His help. He calls us to things that are greater than ourselves so that we can rely on His strength and know that it’s not in our own abilities. We can keep trying to do things on our own, over and over again, but they will fall short. When we learn to ask Him for help, and present ourselves as available to participate, He comes in with His strength, lifts us up and allows us to complete the goal. Remember it’s in our weaknesses and inabilities that His strength is made perfect. When we do our part, He does His.

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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September 25, 2023 · 5:21 AM

Heaven’s Ambassador

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and knowing a lady who is an ambassador from another country. She’s not like the ambassadors and diplomats they portray in movies. She doesn’t drive around in a car with her country’s flags flying from the hood. What she does is the work of an ambassador. She works as a liaison between her country and the United States. Her goal, like all ambassadors, is to build relationships, to communicate important information and to promote programs that benefit both countries. She has fascinating stories of the work her office does and honestly inspires people to want to visit her country when she talks about it. Her work is never done it seems. She is always traveling and educating and promoting.

In John 20, we read the story of the women who went to the tomb of Jesus and found the stone had been moved. When they told the disciples, Peter and John raced to it to find it empty as well. That night, as they were talking about it, Jesus appeared to them. He showed them His scars and wounds. They rejoiced because it was really Him. Then in verse 21 He said to them, “Peace to you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you [as My representatives]” (AMP). He then instructed them to do the work of an ambassador. However, His call wasn’t just to them in this moment. It goes out to you and I as well.

2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us; we [as Christ’s representatives] plead with you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God.” Wherever you go, you are His representative to promote His Kingdom here on earth. You should be communicating His love for others, giving your testimony, telling stories of what God has done for you and inspiring others to want to go to Heaven. You don’t have to fly the Christian flag from the hood of your car announcing it everywhere you go that you’re an ambassador, but you should be living in such a way that’s different from the customs of this world. As you go about your day today, look for opportunities to be His representative so you can make a difference in the lives of others and build a bridge between them and God.

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April 11, 2023 · 5:38 AM

Go Home

Have you ever been in a missions service where a missionary shared the work they were doing? What about a service where they taught in the Great Commission? Chances are that you felt a strong tug on your heart to “go into all the world.” You May have even prayed, “Lord, here am I, send me…just don’t send me to that part of the world.” We feel that strong tug because the Great Commission was to all of us. We are all called to go into all the world. We usually don’t consider our job, our neighborhood or our city as being included in “all the world,” but it is. Not everyone is called to be a missionary in a foreign country. However, we are all called to make disciples wherever we go.

In John 4, we read where Jesus took a strange detour through Samaria. The disciples were probably a bit confused because Jews and Samaritans hated each other. While they went to search for food, Jesus sat by a well. When a woman came to the well, Jesus spoke to her and asked for water. During their discussion, He explained He had living eater. He also told her all about herself and that He was the Messiah. She ran back into her town and told everyone about Him. They all came out because of her testimony of her encounter with Him. He stayed for a couple of days. They then said that they no longer believed because of her word. Now they had experienced Him themselves. One woman led an entire city to the Lord. She didn’t have to go into all the world. She just had to go home.

In Luke 8, we read where Jesus delivered the demoniac from Gaderene. He was filled with so many demons, they called themselves “Legion”. They asked to be cast into the pigs and they were. The man was delivered and wanted to follow Jesus. In verse 39 Jesus said, “‘Return home and tell [about] all the great things God has done for you.’ So the man went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him” (AMP). Just like these two people, most of us are called to go home and make disciples. There are people all around you today who need you to answer that call to go and make disciples. There are people who need to hear your testimony and see your life lived for Christ. You may be the only Jesus they meet today. Help set them free by the power of Jesus and win your town to Him one person at a time.

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March 14, 2023 · 5:33 AM

God’s Ambassador

I was researching the difference between a diplomat and an ambassador. It shows that a diplomat is an occupation, while ambassador is a title of the highest ranking diplomat. Ambassadors represent their home country and have full authority to represent their government. I only know one ambassador personally. She travels the world building and strengthening ties between different countries and hers. Everywhere she goes, she’s on a mission to connect people with her cause. I’ve watched her tell stories, share videos and answer questions all in trying to get as many people as she can to visit her country and rescue their citizens who are scattered abroad.

Even if you haven’t read the book of Jonah, you know a little about his story. God called him to be an ambassador of Heaven to a city called Nineveh. However, Jonah didn’t want to be an ambassador. He didn’t like the people where God was trying to send him, so he went in the opposite direction. God caused a great storm to envelop the ship he was on until he confessed that he was running from God. They tossed him overboard and he was swallowed by a great fish that God had prepared for him. While in the darkness, he agreed to be the ambassador God called him to be. The fish spit him out and he started out for Nineveh. When he told the people God’s message for them, they repented and were spared from the wrath of God.

2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us; we [as Christ’s representatives] plead with you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God” (AMP). You and I are on a mission from Heaven just like Jonah. When you accepted Jesus, you became His ambassador to this world to share His love with them. Your goal is to connect as many people as you can to God so they can be reconciled to Him and receive their salvation. Like my ambassador friend, you must use any means necessary. Share your testimony, show videos of people who may be able to explain the message better than you and answer questions. You speak for Heaven and carry the authority of the Son of God because He lives within you. Don’t take your mission lightly. You have been commissioned and sent. Go and make disciples wherever you go as God’s ambassador.

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December 14, 2022 · 5:47 AM

Perfectly Seasoned

Two of my favorite activities are cooking and eating. If I’m not eating, I’m thinking about what I’m eating next. When I’m cooking, I do my best to make sure the food is well seasoned so that it is enjoyed by everyone who eats it. I’ve had my fair share of food that wasn’t seasoned well. Have you ever been served a steak with no seasoning or salt on it? Plain meat is not very good on its own. I’ve also had food that was too salty. It’s difficult to eat. It takes knowing your audience and the food you’re serving to know how much seasoning to put. It also takes a lot of practice. I’ve over and under salted before myself. As the person serving the food, it’s worrisome to see when people aren’t enjoying what I’m serving.

In John 8, Jesus was teaching in the Temple when a group of men brought a woman to Him. “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” (NLT) They thought they had the right amount of seasoning in their words because they were quoting God’s Word, but Jesus showed them it was too salty. Jesus replied “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” The men standing there tasted the right amount of seasoning (grace), and they knew it. One by one, they put down their salt shakers and walked away. Jesus then offered that same seasoning of grace to the woman and she walked away changed.

Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your conversation be gracious and attractive (seasoned with salt) so that you will have the right response for everyone.” You and I can be Biblically right and over seasoned like the men who brought the woman to Jesus. If we’re not careful, we can leave the truth out and be unseasoned as well. In either case, our conversation isn’t attractive or gracious to the one who needs it to be. Finding the balance between grace and truth is hard, but necessary as believers. How we season the spiritual food we present to others can make an eternal difference. Before over, or under salting your conversation, seek guidance from the Holy Spirit. He always knows the right amount of salt we need to season our conversations with.

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October 5, 2022 · 5:53 AM

Expressing God’s Love

One of the best books at helping me understand myself and others is “The Five Love Languages “ by Dr. Gary Chapman. We all need love, but there’s a difference in how each of us give it and receive it. What speaks love to me I may not be the same thing that speaks love to you. Some of us need to hear words of affirmation to know we are loved. Some of us need to get gifts to know someone is thinking about us. Some must have quality time with the other person to have their love tank filled, while others feel loved when someone does acts of service for them. Finally, some people need a physical touch like holding hands or an embrace to feel loved. Knowing these five things helps us in our interactions and in ministering to people.

Since I was in my earliest Sunday School class, I have heard the story of Jesus and the little children. The disciples didn’t want Jesus to be bothered by these little, snot nosed rug rats. Jesus noticed they were being held back and told them to let the children go to Him. I knew He blessed them, and I’ve seen drawings of them all around Him with Him patting them on the head, but there was something I had never noticed in that story until recently. Mark 10:16 says, “Then he embraced each child, and laying his hands on them, he lovingly blessed each one” (TPT). I had never noticed that He embraced each child.

When winning the lost, you and I can’t pick and choose who gets to see Jesus. We aren’t His gatekeepers. We must also embrace them. Each person you meet is broken and in need of love. Some need words of encouragement, some may need a meal or a cup of coffee. Others may need you to sit down and listen to their story while others may need you to mow their yard. Some may need you to simply embrace them because they feel unlovable. We must remember that God is love and people’s greatest need is to know that love. As the hands and feet of Jesus, we must express that love in a way that they will receive it. Outreach is simply reaching out with God’s love in a way that someone will feel it and receive it. Look for ways to express His love today.

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October 3, 2022 · 5:59 AM

Becoming God’s Partner

When my wife and I go somewhere with a group, I become a social butterfly and she looks for a place to hide. If we need to keep a low profile, she’ll jokingly say, “Don’t get any Social Security numbers.” I like to know about people. I like hearing their story, and do my best to look for avenues for us to connect. Hen you connect with people, they begin to pull down their invisible wall one brick at a time. Once their wall is down, you can really get to know the person and find out what’s really going on inside them or what they’re going through. It’s then that I can give them solutions that they’ll listen to and implement. If I never connect, I never get that opportunity.

The apostle Paul, who wrote the most books in the New Testament was a learned, well traveled person. He too looked for ways to connect with people. Everywhere he went, people gravitated to him and he had the opportunity to share the message of Christ. He attracted large crowds and was not afraid to get up and speak. He understood the importance of relational equity. People won’t listen to the hard things you have to say unless you’ve built some equity into the relationship. He was able to build it with the early churches. Because of that, he could correct in love and point them to a better way of living. He was also able to use that to share the Gospel with many different nationalities and people groups.

In 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, Paul wrote, “I became “weak” to the weak to win the weak. I have adapted to the culture of every place I’ve gone so that I could more easily win people to Christ. I’ve done all this so that I would become God’s partner for the sake of the gospel” (TPT). Paul became all things to all people so that He could partner with God. I know the thought of meeting and talking to large groups of people terrifies many of you. However, God can partner with you using your personality and skill set if you’ll be open to it. You don’t have to be a social butterfly for God to do great things through you. Wherever you go, whomever you meet, look for opportunities to connect so that God can do something in someone’s life. God does some of His greatest work in people’s lives in one on one situations. In nearly every case, He looks to partner with someone like you.

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