Daily Devotional for Friday September 28, 2007
God Will Give You Confirmation that You are Right Where You Need to Be
(Ezekiel 33:1-9)
God will give you confirmation, often in a strange way, that you are right where you need to be and doing exactly what you need to be doing! Last Monday evening the Lord gave me a strange but powerful confirmation that the work we are doing each day on the Liveprayer television program is accomplishing what we want in reaching unbelievers. The Tampa Bay community has a free weekly publication called "Creative Loafing' (formerly the Weekly Planet), that serves the arts and nightclub communities, while dealing with the news and social issues of our day from a liberal point of view. It also features restaurant reviews and the back pages are used to advertise adult businesses. Most major metropolitan areas have a similar type of a publication.
Each year, they give out awards they call "Loafies" in a Best of the Bay special edition (See: http://tampahappenings.creativeloafing.com/gbase/BestOf/BestOfAwards ). They rate everything from the best grouper sandwich to the best blues band to the best radio announcer to the best park. They also hand out "Loafies" to different people in the community. This year, they awarded me a "Loafie" for the "Best Jesus Freak Gone Over the Edge." Even though there was some light hearted humor in being named the winner, for me it was really an honor since it is validation that we have been successful in what we have been working to accomplish since the TV program started back in March of 2003. All I could ever ask is that people notice what we are doing and that they pay attention, since that means they are hearing the message!
As a follower of Christ, a servant of the most high Lord, all we have is His message. NOTHING ELSE! Despite the illusion so many high profile men and women of God are under, especially those who are on TV, they are not celebrities, they are not stars, and this is not Hollywood! We are nothing more than spokespeople for the Lord and despite how clever we may convince ourselves into thinking we are, we only have one message that matters, THE GOSPEL! All the rest is wood, hay, and stubble! If we are doing what we do for ANY other reason than to serve the Lord, if we have any other message but the Gospel, than we have totally failed God!
Listen, I see daily and have shared with you from the day we started the TV program how effective it is. We know that each and every day from the hundreds of emails we get and the phone calls we take on each program. I have tens of thousands of emails from viewers telling me how God impacted their life through the TV program. We have over 10,000 souls we know who will be in Heaven as a direct result of the Liveprayer TV program. So I don't need some cute award from an alternative newspaper to tell me what we are doing is impacting lives and souls for all eternity. What that award DOES is confirm that people who may or may not believe in God but for the most part have rejected the Truth of the Bible and faith in Christ, notice what we are doing and are paying attention, which means they are hearing the message!
My friend, that is all any of us can ask. All you can ask of your unsaved family members, neighbors, classmates, the people you work with, those you meet along your daily journey, is that they hear your message. God gave each person free will. We can't force anyone to believe. We can't force anyone to give their heart and life to Jesus. We can't force anyone to live their life according to the Bible. All we can do is share the message of Christ's love and the Truth of God's Word and than pray for that person. People are hearing the messages of the world loud and clear virtually every waking moment. Even Christians are hearing the messages of the world all throughout the day. Why do you think so many Believers fall into sin, go the way of the world despite having placed their faith in Jesus Christ? THEY ARE INFLUENCED BY THE MESSAGES THE WORLD IS SENDING THEM CONSTANTLY THROUGHOUT THE DAY!
That is why we have been commanded by God to share our faith with others, to share with them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is why I challenge you all the time to become more bold and not to let those opportunities we all get each day to tell someone about Jesus pass you by. We take for granted that people will hear the message from someone else. We take for granted that because the person is alive today they will be alive tomorrow. THE FACT IS GOD PUT YOU IN THEIR LIFE TO SHARE WITH THEM THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST'S LOVE AND THEY MAY NOT BE ALIVE TOMORROW SINCE TOMORROW IS PROMISED TO NONE OF US!!!!
Does that mean the person you share Christ with will fall on their knees and accept the Lord by faith on the spot? They might! You will never know until you give them that opportunity. But even if they don't, you have done your job. You have planted the seeds of everlasting life into their heart and mind. You have been obedient and faithful to do what God has commanded ALL of those who follow Him to do. In the end it is up to each person to make that choice for themselves. However, God has given those who know Him the responsibility of sharing with those they meet along their journey each day the words of everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ.
I love you and care about you so much. I am excited about this award because it means we are making penetration in the marketplace. We are boldly, visibly, and loudly making our case for Biblical Truth and Christ in the same marketplace that is feeding the masses a steady diet of the lies of satan literally 24/7. We stand out and are noticed because there are so few who are taking that public stand any longer. Many view us as extremists and intolerant since we live our lives so different from the way the world who rejects the Bible and Christ lives theirs. We refuse to give in to the sins this world embrace. We refuse to live down to the standards of this lost world but live up to the standards of the Bible. So we appear as a "peculiar people" to those outside of the faith.
The great news is that this visibility allows us to not only bring the message of hope in Christ to so many who don't go to church, don't read the Bible, don't believe in Jesus, but reach those who are hurting and lost and looking for answers and hope in their life. As a follower of Christ, God is calling YOU to be bold and visible as well in letting people know about Jesus. My friend, those who die without Jesus are going to go to hell! THAT IS A FACT! Knowing that fact, how can you not tell the ones you meet about the Lord? I will be praying for you today as God moves on your heart how critical it is that you not shy away from those opportunities to share your faith each day, but boldly embrace them! Remember, it is an order not an option, and it is not you they accept or reject, but Jesus!
God loves you and He knows we are frail flesh and blood. We all need to be encouraged from time to time. We all need to some confirmation so we know we are on the right path. God will give you that confirmation along your journey. Often, it will come in a strange form like a "Loafie," but it will be God saying "Well done, stay the course!"