We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by Lindsey Strickler.
Bible Reading:
Matthew 5:9
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
Word:
“The Good News of Jesus spread not through extravagant preachers, but through everyday people whose lives had been transformed by the power of Christ.” David Platt
It’s pretty humbling when you read about the different disciples that would take the Gospel into other areas of the world after the death and resurrection of Jesus. They were not all from glamorous places, they did not all hold the most glamorous jobs, they were not all the most eloquent people, they were not all the most educated, they definitely weren’t perfect- they were just willing.
Being a peacemaker is about how we love people through serving them, sure, but it’s also in how we speak. It’s also in our boldness (not “brashness,” but “boldness”). How will people know what’s different about us if we don’t tell them? How can we call people into peace, into shalom (Hebrew for peace), into wholeness (the literal translation of shalom), if we don’t share it with them?
Let’s get comfortable sharing about God in the small moments. Let’s be so intimately aware of him that we can see him in everything around us. Let’s be so aware of how our stories are impacted by him that we can share it with others.
I gotta shout out our chapter directors right now. Their willingness to use their fitness to share Jesus is amazing. They are men and women with full time jobs, who are parents, who are students, who are late in their careers, who are gym owners, who are plumbers, who are lawyers, who are from all walks of life. Yet they don’t let a lack of formal “ministry” or “Bible” training hold them back from loving people through what they do and what they say. It’s seriously so humbling to get to be on the inside and hear the stories of what God is doing through their “Yes’s.”
Prayer:
God, I want to share you. Help me see why I struggle or hold back when I have the opportunities to. This is a bold prayer, but please bring me an opportunity to try today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Skillwork:
If you don’t know the story of the disciples, maybe take some to look some of them up and learn their back stories.
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