Day 31

So I decided to continue on the topic of mistering to people and thought of a good section that applies to being a minister as well as what God went through for us. I sat in church today and listened to a missionary talk about a girl who was possessed in Africa and she split her forehead open on the ground because the demons were causing her to beat herself up. The pastor and the missionary prayed for 3 hours and held the girl down but to no avail. Then, the pastor went and grabbed some oil and poured it on the girl as they prayed and immediately the demons left and the girl was saved. Her Hindu brother walked in and saw what was happening and he immediately asked to be saved by Christ and he was later baptized in water. Is it not amazing what the power of the word can do?

John 1:1-13 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God -- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God" What a powerful message to open up the book of John. The section does continue but I want to focus on the first 13 verses and I might address the rest of the verses possibly tomorrow. It is hard to fathom, but it says that the Word was in the beginning with God, and He was with God, and the Word was God, so in a sense, the Word has been around forever. We see that the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness does not understand and this is just a reference to how some people can deny God but they see those who are Christians and simply do not "get it." Jesus was in the very world that He watched be created but He was still crucified by those who did not understand how he could be the Son of the Creator. But! He made a way for those who believe because they received him. Now in this verse we see how even though we have earthly parents, that is just a label and we are supposed to respect that authority, however, in the big picture we are simply ONLY "children born of God." We are his sons and daughters for eternity and it is time to accept that role as Christians.

How does this apply to ministry and my life, you ask? It is rather simple, I see it as it is my job to take the role of John. I am supposed to testify concerning the light so that all people may believe. The only way people can see and understand the light is if Christians step out and begin to show how the light moves and how it can be visible to some and hard for others to see because they live in so much darkness. It is time to embrace the world with the love of God and show them the light. Do not let people stand in your way, imagine if Jesus or the disciples let people get in their way every time they tried to accomplish something. They would have never been able to get stuff done. If we have the Word, we are able to do anything in the name of Lord for His glory. Think of the reference to light in this way, imagine an earth that was covered in darkness (the absence of light) and place one tiny little light bulb in any spot of the world, how many people are able to see the light? 1? 10? 20? 500? Now think of the same scenario but with a whole bunch of little lights placed strategically around the world in order to light up the whole earth so that people can see. As Christians we might not be just one light, but I can guarantee that we are not doing enough to light the whole world, myself included. But I am ready to become part of that group of lights and start spreading THE WORD. Are you ready? Can you feel it? Where do you stand among the lights? Are you going to hide where only you feel the warmth of it or are you going to answer the call? The choice is yours.

I am going to welcome you to leave comments, do not be shy. Talk amongst yourselves, you never know which of your friends might be reading this. Give me your thoughts. If you have a prayer request leave it and i will pray for you and will even pray with you if you would like. Do not hold back, jump into what God has for you and challenge yourself. It is all or nothing...

Hope you all enjoyed your Sunday and are looking forward to Thanksgiving.

Joseph Robinson.