© Jeffrey L. Nape
When you are expecting important house guests, you repair what is broken and replace what is worn. You clean and you scrub until everything is spic and span. Hmmm! By the looks of the house of the Lord (at our church), God is expecting important house guests! What is broken is being mended. What is worn is being replaced. And our church is cleaner then ever. Well, if God is expecting house guests, we had better not disappoint Him! It's time to be inviting some!
When you invite certain people to your house, you run yourself ragged trying to make everything just right. Are you worried about making everything just right before you invite anyone to God's house? You may put off inviting people for many reasons. You have more Bible verses to learn, more sins to overcome, a course in public speaking to take, or more programs to start.
We have been and are continuing to grow spiritually. And people are also pulling together to get the work done. But if you are waiting for our church to become perfect, for everyone to fully cooperate as "team players", or for you to know everything, you will never witness to others. Do not underestimate God by thinking we cannot reach out to others unless we are perfect and are professional evangelizers.
The twelve disciples were not perfect. They did not fully comprehend the scope of Jesus' love, or His mission on this earth. They focused on an earthly kingdom, when they should have been focusing on God's spiritual kingdom. And look at Jesus' final hours before the cross. (Mt 26) He was betrayed by one of His "best" friends (Judas), He received no support from the disciples (they fell asleep while He prayed in the garden), and they did not really appreciate who He was until He was gone. They even denied that they knew Him!
Although Jesus received little cooperation during His final hours, He still managed to accomplish His great mission. (1 Jn 3:8) And even as imperfect as the disciples were, they still managed to serve the Lord and bear fruit. Look at what Jesus accomplished and what the disciples accomplished with Jesus' help, under less than perfect circumstances. Now look at what you can accomplish with Jesus' help, regardless of your circumstances!
© 1994 Jeffrey L. Nape. All Rights Reserved.
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