Do you yearn for God's Word?  Do you crave His knowledge and wisdom?  Do you look forward to the things God reveals to you personally?  The word "measure" means "attitude" in this text.  If you anticipate God's instruction, if you get excited about His Word, if you thirst for righteousness, then it will be given to you.  God wants us to be hearers of His Word but also doers.  James 1:22-25 says, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."  We are blessed by knowledge and wisdom, when we hunger for it.  To reiterate what James said- if we hear the Word of God but don't do what it says, we are hearing it, but not receiving it.  I encourage you to be doers, not just hearers.  To connect this text with Mark 4: if all you are is a hearer and don't obey what you hear and let Jesus change you with His Word, then a hearer you may always be.  If you do what you hear and let Jesus transform you by His Word, then you will grow into deeper understanding of who He is and what the Word says about Him.  You will not only be given knowledge but also blessing. 
Are you only hearing what the Word says, or are you doing what it says too? Are you letting it change your heart or are you trying to live life under your control? Are you hungry for God's Word and His instruction?  I challenge you to answer these questions- then respond as the Holy Spirit prompts. 


~Leanne~

 "And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying,   "He is out of his mind." Have you ever been told you are "out of your mind" for the sake of the gospel?  Maybe God asked you to do something, and others thought you were crazy.  Now it's one thing for your coworkers and acquaintances to think you're nuts... but what about when it comes to your own family or your best friend?  There are things I've done in my life, because I felt the Lord ask me to do so, that people thought I was "out of my mind" and I believe there are some who don't want to call me a friend anymore because they don't want to be associated with someone that on fire for Jesus!  Everyone is in a different place in their relationship with Jesus, but I believe that from the very start Jesus asks us to do bold things.  Let's look at the disciples for instance.   Looking back in Matthew 4, Jesus called Simon and Andrew first.  They were fishermen who probably had a steady, secure, family-owned business.  Jesus said, "Follow me."  They couldn't take their business with them, but rather, they had to quit what they knew to be familiar, comfortable and secure to follow Jesus.  James and John left their father, it says in verse 22, immediately.  What does "immediately" mean?  They probably didn't have much of a goodbye.  They probably couldn't say, "Dad, I'll only be gone a couple months..."  Maybe their father said, "James, John, you guys are out of your minds!"  
    Answering Jesus' call on your life, is the first step of boldness, because it requires obedience, and stepping away from life as you know it.   As you continue your walk with Jesus, I believe He will continue to call you to things that are not ordinary, maybe weird to the worlds' eye, maybe even crazy to your family.  God wants to do extraordinary things through ordinary people, and that requires obedience, no matter what people think of you, or what people say about you. 
    A few examples I have of times when Joey and I were thought of as a little "out of our minds" is when we felt Jesus tell us to get off birth control, when our plan was not to have children until we were financially prepared, and after we'd spent some time travelling.  We obeyed God, and a year later we conceived.     About a year ago now, the Lord pressed on our hearts to get rid of our tv.  At the time, we didn't understand, especially since it was a new 50" plasma.  But we got rid of it, and now we understand that the tv for us, was an idol in our lives.      Although many believers would understand, I still got some smack from coworkers and friends when I quit drinking all together.  People questioned why, as if I could get my addiction under control on my own.  When Jesus asked me to quit completely, (and after a few times falling back) I quit.  I have been sober just over 3 years.     Even now, as we still don't feel peace about being on birth control, there are people, including family, who might think we're out of our minds for being willing to put our family number in the hands of God, especially living on one income.  But until I have peace from God about using birth control of a sort, I will trust that He will provide the money, our needs, and my sanity for as many kids as He provides until then.    
    If you don't receive any opposition from anybody, I would question whether you are more concerned about what people will say, or more concerned about doing the will of God.  God wants us to be light in this world, and sometimes that does mean doing things that people think are crazy.  But to God be all the glory.  There is always a purpose for the will of God, whether we understand it or not.   If we follow Jesus, seek Him and obey all that He asks, we probably won't be popular with the world- but that's good- because we are called to not conform with the world.  We are called to be different. 

Matthew 5:10-12~
    "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."


~Leanne~

The Pharisees, throughout the gospels, are always following Jesus around, ready to call Him out on what they thought was against the Law (or their religion).  Just in this chapter alone, the Pharisees challenged Jesus on His authority four times.  When Jesus healed someone, they called Him a blasphemer; when Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners, they questioned his behavior;  they criticized Him when He and His disciples didn't fast; and when His disciples grabbed heads of grain on the Sabbath, they judged Him.  These eyes, that were on Jesus- the skeptical, judging, unbelieving, gossip-starting, chaos stirrers- are watching everything you do too.  Some of them may not be sure about this "Jesus" that you worship, and want to see evidence of Him in your life specifically.  But most, are the ones ready to pounce on your mistakes, gratifying their doubts about Jesus and call out things that you do that oppose the world, mostly to humiliate you.  The great thing is Jesus never made a mistake, and He corrected the Pharisees' thoughts regarding the Law.  The reality is though, we do make mistakes, and the skeptics will notice.  However, we can also correct the thinking of the unrighteous, explaining that following Jesus doesn't mean we don't make mistakes, and we can explain the hope in Christ when we do.  Jesus asks us to be salt and light in this world, reflecting Him in all that we do-because the world will notice, so that when people see our good deeds, they might praise our God.  But what happens when they see us in our most ungodly times?  May they see Christ reflected in us by the way we handle our shortcomings.  May we own up to our sin, confess it, ask for forgiveness from the witness of it, repent and get closer to Jesus.  May we rest in His grace, and may the Pharisaical eyes see that.  Remember, it's the chief priests, the Pharisees and the scribes that sought out Jesus' death.  Jesus could correct them, show them love, be the best example- but their hearts were still hardened toward Him.  The same will be true for us.  There are some people whose hearts are hard, and will reject Jesus for the rest of their God-given life.  It's unfortunate, but there is nothing we can do about it, except pray that the Holy Spirit would one day soften their hearts toward Him.
     Whose eyes are on you? May you not give them reason to mock your Father, or call you out in your sinfulness. Instead, may they see the fruit of your devotion and transformation of your heart and give reason to glorify your Father in heaven.


~Leanne~

  Thanksgiving.  It comes around every year.  In the last couple days I have seen Facebook posts saying how people are preparing for today, who they're spending time with, what they're thankful for, and what deal they are going crazy over tomorrow (Black Friday for all you non-Americans, is a day of really good sales online, and in stores that people line up for hours to buy, often times before the store even opens).  Holidays are wonderful, you get to spend time with family and eat delicious food.  (Who doesn't like a good turkey?!)  But the reason for the holiday is not so we can eat turkeys or get an insane deals tomorrow, but it's a day to spend with people you love, and to reflect on things you are thankful for. 
    This year has been a crazy one: with two young children; with my husband preparing for ministry- learning Greek and starting to lead our church's youth group in September; going down to one car for the family, which during the day, my husband has for work; being stretched financially and spiritually, it has been a busy, sometimes-stressful season.   But I tell you, I am truly thankful that I have a husband who works hard so that we have been able to pay all of our bills and have extra for things that come up, two healthy kids, my husbands good job, an amazing church that we have grown in so much, awesome friends who love us as we love them,  family who comes to visit when they can- but most of all?  a God who loves me unconditionally.  It's to Him that I'm thankful for all these things.  My husband wouldn't have the energy to work so hard without God's strength or to learn Greek and lead a youth group without God's gifts of wisdom and energy, God has provided through Joey's job an income that allows us to pay for our bills and more,  He alone has allowed us to be healthy,  God directed us to Cornerstone Church where He has cultivated a rapid growth in us both,  He has blessed us with amazing people in our lives who act like our closest family at times, He allows our family to be able to visit and most of all, by His magnificent grace, He loves me and forgives me. 
    Now if you don't believe in God, all that thankfulness to Him may have made you sick.  But then I just want to ask you, who are thankful to?  It's not by your own power that you are alive, or by your own ability that you are healthy and are loved.  When we say thank you for something, isn't it usually to someone? 

    What are you thankful for?  And who are you thankful to?  I'd love to hear some of the things you are thankful for in the comments below!

Have a great Thanksgiving to all my American family and friends- and to all my family and friends outside the USA, have a happy Thursday!

~Leanne~

       While reading this chapter, something struck me as something important to share.  Notice, that when we hear about Jesus' temptation, it wasn't until after He was baptized and at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.  Now we know that Jesus was man, so we know then, that He faced temptation His entire life, just like the rest of us.  However, we don't hear about Jesus' life before this time, except for His birth in Matthew and Luke's gospel.  Regardless, I think this is something we need to consider in our own lives.  We constantly see people around us who do not confess Jesus as Lord, and they seem to go day by day sinning, with no remorse.  This is true- because they do not have the Holy Spirit's conviction in them to point out the sin.  Of course there is a line of morality that is pretty much the same for the believing and non-believing alike.  But as far as sin?  An unbeliever is not familiar with what that is, at least- not the complexity and eternal consequence for it.   If you are a believer, remember back to when you were first confessing Jesus as your Lord. Do you remember a lot of opposition and temptation?  Even now, as you are led by God into obedience, do you find that you face the spirit of darkness luring you into a direction other than what God has asked of you?  This is my experience. It seems that when God asks me to do something, obey in a specific area, etc., that Satan will try to counter God and attack me from the other side.  Look at the story of Adam and Eve.  Remember it?  God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, lest they die- yet Satan said, "Did God really say...?"  Instead he twisted God's words and told Eve that if she ate from it she would be like God.  
The reason I am writing about this specifically is part to encourage and part to exhort you.  If you are a believer, you belong to Jesus.  Satan doesn't like that so much.  So when you decide to confess Jesus as Lord, do something radical for Him, change your sinful ways to become more godly, obey God in something He has asked you, enter into ministry etc., Satan will attack you then.  He does not want you to confess Jesus as Lord, do anything radical or bold for Jesus' sake, become more godly, obey God or go into ministry!  So, it seems to be that at those definitive moments, temptation and obstacles will be at their maximum levels.  We have a perfect example of our awesome Savior who conquered temptation at it's highest, when He was probably the most vulnerable we see Him in Scripture.  We learned in Matthew 4, that Jesus was 40 days without food after He fasted.  You guessed it: one of the ways Jesus was tempted, according to Matthew and Luke, was that Satan challenged Him to turn the rocks into bread to eat.  We need to learn from this that Satan knows us to a point.  He knows our weaknesses, he knows when we are vulnerable- and it's at those times that the attack will be stronger.  But it's also at those times, that we can call out to our God who is mightier than any attack of the devil to rescue us and deliver us from temptation.   
So what is God calling you to?  What is He asking you to repent from?  How is He asking you to obey?  How is Satan tempting you?  How is He enticing you away from what God has commanded you?  Does it seem the temptation is harder to resist?  How are you going to respond?  
I don't exhort you to obey Jesus and resist the devil because it's easy.  It's not.  Temptation wouldn't be temptation if it wasn't hard.  But Jesus does give us a way out- call out to Him.  Jesus is our example, you can face temptation and walk away from it sinless.  It is possible.  I speak from experience of letting temptation lure me to sin, and also from holding fast to Jesus and running away from the temptation.  
Please email me if you need prayer in this, it can be difficult if you are facing it alone and no one knows how the devil is tempting you.  If not with me, share with someone close to you who will pray with you and encourage you.

What's your next step?

~Leanne~

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. "

        This text was the last words that were recorded of Jesus on earth before He ascended into heaven.  His last words.  If you knew you were going to die, or move far away from family and not see or talk to them for years- maybe your entire lifetime, what would you want to say to them?  Something important, right?  Maybe something valuable, something intimate or something you've wanted to say for years and haven't?  These were Jesus' last words... and they were of great importance, hence the title for this section: "The Great Commission".  Read the text again.  What does making disciples mean?  I believe it means building up others in prayer, teaching them according to God's Word, coming along side of them in encouragment, exhortation and mentoring to deepen their roots in Jesus so that they are able to go and make disciples themselves  .  I have made mistakes in my past- leading others to Christ, and then letting them figure it out on their own.  I tell you the truth that most of them are not rooted in the Word or in a good relationship with Jesus.  As one who makes disciples, we need to stay along side of the new believer to help them connect with the right people, ministries, small groups, church, and most importantly connect with Jesus.  We can be there to teach, answer questions pray etc.  God gave me an illustration that I am excited to share with you today.  

        When you want a tree, you need to plant one.  Some people may plant a seed, a sapling or buy a tree a few years old and plant that.  For my illustration, we are going to look at planting a sapling.  No one plants a sapling wanting it to die, right?  You want it to grow into a strong, mature, beautiful tree.  In order to do that, there are a few things you can do.  The thing I want to focus on is: supporting it.  When a sapling gets to a certain height, you can place a stick or a small piece of lumber next to the tree with a string tied to the trunk of the sapling.  As the tree grows, it's support comes mainly from the lumber, since it's own trunk is too small to hold it straight in strong winds or a storm.  The lumber would stay in place, until the tree has deepened it's roots well in the soil that it may grow straight and stand it's own when the winds get strong.  

        The same is true with discipleship.  The one discipling acts like the piece of lumber.  It is stronger than the young, immature sapling.  It partners with the new believer until they are strong enough and rooted deep enough in their relationship with the Lord and His Word that when a storm hits (life's circumstances), they won't be uprooted, be knocked over or destroyed.  Although the storm may blow 'em left and right, their roots are deep enough, that after the storm passes, they are still rooted in the same patch of soil, and they are standing straight.   One who disciples should continue to do so until that new believer is able to withstand a storm, has begun to produce fruit, and when that person seems to become more independent in their walk with Christ.  Then that person may be able to disciple others.  

        It may seem like a lot of responsibility on one person, but that is our call as believers.  Without discipleship, people come to faith by hearing the gospel, but the seed is scattered on the path, along rocky ground, or among thorns.  We want to plant the seed purposefully, and that requires cultivating the soil and supporting the growth from the seed until it's healthy.  

         Matthew 13:3-8~ "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched.  And since they had no root, they withered away.  Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.  Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."  Jesus explains the parable in Matthew 13: 19-23~ "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.  This is what was sown along the path.  As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has not root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.  As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but cares of the world and deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.  As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it.  He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty and in another thirty."  

        Only Jesus can change lives.  But He does give us the command to make disciples.  I want to make sure I am doing my absolute best in planting good seed on good soil that becomes fruitful.  If you are not currently discipling someone, ask God to reveal who He would like you to come along side of. This discipling relationship isn't daunting, it's rewarding.  It's amazing to watch someone young and immature in their faith, grow into a strong believer.  And since you are the support until they are healthy enough to stand on their own, you get to watch it all firsthand! The great news is:  Jesus said, "I will be with you always, to the end of the age."  You are not discipling on your own, for Jesus is the Great Support of you and them!

~Leanne~

Judas was paid thirty pieces of silver when he chose to lead the chief priests, Pharisees and a mob to Jesus in order that they seize Him  Thirty pieces of silver.  What deeply disturbs and saddens my heart is the fact that Judas felt guilty/conviction about his betrayal and wanted to take it back, but it was too late.  All of sudden, when he was thinking clearly, and maybe his heart was in the right place, he wanted to take back his actions- all of a sudden, thirty pieces of silver meant nothing.  It bothered Judas so much that he hung himself.  

        This is an illustration of our choice to follow or reject Jesus.  Judas had a choice, and so do we.  Judas chose in a moment to reject Jesus, for thirty pieces of silver.  What do you reject Jesus for?  An ungodly relationship? Popularity?  Fame and fortune?  The freedom to sin without conviction?  What I want us to learn here is this:  When Judas realized his mistake, it was too late.  There will come a day when "every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord."  Even if you reject Jesus now, you will bow down to Him as your King when He returns.  If you reject Him now, you will know- like Judas did- that you made a mistake.  But the problem is, Jesus is returning to gather His children together and bring them to heaven with Him.  The ones that rejected Him, will be cast into hell.  At the time He reveals Himself to the world, you can't try to get out of your punishment.  You can't say, "I believe, I believe- now that I see You, and You have proven yourself, I believe!  Jesus has shown us who He is in His word- the Bible.  Jesus didn't stoop to the Pharisees and chief priests when He was on the cross and could have saved Himself as they mocked.  Yes, OF COURSE He could have.  But He was not going to be manipulated by man to please them, when His purpose was to fulfill the Father's plan and please Him.  Jesus doesn't need to show you signs and wonders to prove Himself to you.  You need to take responsibility and know the Jesus you are rejecting by learning about Him in the Word, especially the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).  

        What have you or do you reject Jesus for?  For Judas it was thirty pieces of silver.  Thirty pieces of silver that meant nothing to him once he realized his mistake in betraying Jesus.  Whatever you reject Jesus for, will mean nothing when you realize that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is the King.  I hope for your eternal sake, that you will realize this before it's too late, before you die or Jesus returns. 

~Leanne~

"My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."  

        I am humbled by this statement Jesus made in His intimacy with God.  Jesus knew His destiny, His purpose.  Jesus came to the earth to bear the sins of the world on the cross.  His purpose was to give freedom through his sacrifice.  Instead of us paying the price for our sin, Jesus received the "cup" from God on the cross so that we would just have to let Jesus have full dominion in our lives instead.  The cup is referring to God's wrath.  All the wrath that would have been poured out on mankind for sin, poured out on Jesus on the cross.  Jesus was perfect.  I am a sinner.  And all my punishment was shown to Jesus.  If you are familiar with the Old Testament, you see the wrath of God displayed to many people who sinned against Him.  Yet, God said, 'That is enough.  Jesus is going to die and pay the price'.  I haven't gone into too much detail about this because the point I want to make in this article is this:  Jesus knew what was coming.  He knew the extent of his persecution.  He knew the magnitude of the pain He was going to bear.  He knew the depth of God's wrath that was coming.  Of course He wasn't fond of the idea- He was human!  What person could say, "Oh yes, God, please- bring it on! I can't wait!" No one.  Yet Jesus knew that the love of the Father was perfect.  And although Jesus didn't want to undergo what was coming {if it be possible, let this cup pass from me...} He also said, "Not as I will, but as you will."  Friends, this is crucial for us!  None of us is going to experience persecution and suffering as Jesus did, yet He was willing to submit to the Father's will.  Jesus could have gotten out of it.  He could have done the signs and wonders that the chief priests wanted Him to earlier in Matthew to prove who He was.  Jesus could have called out to the angels, and they would have come and demolished every single one of the people crucifying Him.  Heck, He could have just thought it and it would have been done- He doesn't need angels.  He could have proved Himself, but that's not His character.  Just like He doesn't need to prove Himself to you and me, He didn't do it to them either.  He is who He says He is, and that needs to be enough.  He knew what was coming, and yet He allowed God's will to be done.  As I said, none of us will ever go through what He did, yet some of us are so quick to run from God's plan because FOR SOME REASON we don't completely trust it!  What would have happened if Jesus didn't submit to God's plan, and fled?  I want you to honestly work that out in your mind.   Whose will are you living under?  Yours?  God's?  If God is perfect and you are not, what makes you think your plan is better than His?  Of course if we were in Jesus' predicament, not knowing the reason for his crucifixion, it would have been devastating, and more than likely you would have questioned God and fled.  But look at the purpose and plan God had!  We have freedom because of this event!  What puny thing compared to this are you struggling with submitting to God's rule and plan instead of yours?  I don't mean to offend you, but WHATEVER you are going through, it IS puny in comparison to Jesus going through what He did.  God's will is always perfect, therefore making it a much better choice for you to surrender to.  Put aside your plan, and let God do what He does best, in directing you, blessing you, and bringing you closer to Him.  Yes, sometimes we need to experience pain in order to receive His full blessing, and I don't always understand why, but I do know- from experience- that EVERY time I have went through suffering, I have been closer to God, grown more in Him and seen Him more clearly because of it.  
        I challenge you to spend some quiet time, right now, with your Father.  What do you need to surrender to Him?  Where are you still trying to hold the reigns?  Are you okay with His will- whatever that looks like? Be honest with Him, and do the best for yourself.  Surrender it all.

~Leanne~

    "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.  Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'  And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

       "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.   For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothed me, sick and  in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they will also answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?'  Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

        I wanted you to read this text again, as it really strikes deep in my heart and I hope it does yours as well.  This is our call as true believers in Christ- to reflect the love of Jesus by providing the needs of others.  Obviously you should provide first for your own household, but you should make room to provide for the needs of people that God places in your path.  In Leviticus 23:22 it says this: "And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and the sojourner: I am the LORD your God."   Today we can put this into practice by not using up our entire paychecks, but putting some aside to provide for needs that the Lord shows to you.  I know, life is hard, and money doesn't seem to stretch as far as it should- but then think about the people who have less than you do!  Think of how far their money goes.  We are always comparing ourselves and trying to level with the people who are one financial bracket above us instead of realizing how much we do have, and providing for those less fortunate.  This is a very selfless thing to do, so if you have any pride or bad attitude about this, I would encourage you to pray for selflessness.  If your belongings or money mean so much to you that you are not willing to give up some of your extra, or even sacrifice some of your own wants, for the hungry, thirsty, naked- then you might just be a goat that Jesus will separate from His righteous children.  It also could be that you need to pray and ask God to change this part of your heart that is unwilling to sacrifice or give.  In all honesty, I used to be a very selfish person- still can be at times- but God has really pruned me in this area specifically.  I think the turning point for me was my trip to Haiti.  Seeing the joy people has out there with nothing, and seeing how discontent I was with so much.  My heart was chasing after the things of this world that look pleasing to the eye, but they are very displeasing to the heart.  Now I can honestly say that I have sacrificed in a small way things or money when I've seen a need.  And to be even more honest, the giving does a lot more in me than it does to the person who receives it.  

    I'm not saying you need to take a trip to a country like Haiti to prune this part of you out, but that's the way God started His work in me.  Jesus does not want us to hold back when we face a need of somebody we know, especially in our own church family.  But also what a great witness to a nonbeliever when we give up what the world tells us to hold on to so tightly!  Maybe you don't have extra money and aren't comfortable with sacrifice, but what about the umpteen totes of clothes that you have that you hope to one day wear?  Or the umpteen boxes of baby clothes that were given to you that you may never use again?  Maybe you don't have any extra money because you own the latest iphone, have direct tv, own 3 vehicles, a motorcycle, a boat, etc., etc., etc..  I challenge you to ask Jesus, what can I give?  What can I sacrifice in order that I'm able to give?  Who can I provide for?  Our salvation is not based on how many people we provide for, or how much money we give, but the result of a saved heart should be that of love, giving and sacrifice for others.  Do you want to be on Jesus' left or right when He separates the people?  Do you want to be a goat or a sheep?

~Leanne~

 If you knew when Christ would return would that change the way you live?  I often hear from seekers that they aren't "ready" to become Christian, and it pertains with the things that would change in their life if they did.  The sad thing that most of them don't realize is that becoming a Christian isn't a bad thing with no fun attached, it is in fact a life of abundant blessing!  Of course, there is sinful fun that gets pruned out of you, but only because God wants to deliver us from the consequences of the sin.  He knows that in sin, there is pain, mistakes and death.  When a seeker says they aren't ready and will choose to follow God when they're time is right, they aren't considering that it shouldn't be by their watch, but that of the world and it's end.  We don't know the day or hour in which Jesus will return, but I wouldn't want to sit before Him and say, "Jesus, I just wasn't ready yet!  I wanted to indulge in sin a bit longer..."  Of course, following Jesus is a choice, and a choice that should be made in all seriousness and all awareness of the cost of following Him.  

        How about for the believer?  Of course you don't have too worry about making the decision to follow Jesus before He returns, because you've already made the choice.  But how are you living your decision out?  We should, in my opinion, be living out each day as if it's our last: loving people to the best of our ability, taking every opportunity to share the gospel, and also being Jesus' hands and feet in every way we can.  The opportunities for us to obey and serve isn't to secure our salvation, as we know that it is not by our works that we are saved, but by the grace of God.  However, if we don't take the opportunity to reflect Jesus, then who might miss out on hearing or seeing the gospel lived out if we choose to overlook an opportunity or choose to walk away from a situation in which we can serve, love and share the gospel?  Of course God doesn't need us to bring someone to Himself, but He does use us so that we can share in what He is doing, and be blessed also.  Jesus might return in the next hour, and by not taking opportunity placed in our path, we would miss His calling to share the Good News.  

        Since we don't know the day or hour, and unbelievers still exist, we need to act as if we know Jesus is coming soon, to get our hearts in expectation, preparation and obedience to share with the unbelieving in this world before that hour does come and they are without hope.

~Leanne~