Isaiah 54:5

King James Version (KJV)

⁵ For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

Arm yourself! Start your day with this! From Steven Furtick-

The 12 Audacious Faith Confessions- Pray these over yourself. 

1-I am fully forgiven and free from all shame and condemnation (Romans 8:1-2, Ephesians 1:7-8, 1 John 1:9)
2-I act in audacious faith to change the world in my generation (Joshua 10:12-14, John 14:12)
3-I have no fear or anxiety; I trust in the Lord with all of my heart (Proverbs 3:5
-6, Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Peter 5:7)
4-I am able to fulfill the calling God has placed on my life (Exodus 3:9-12, Psalm 57:2, Colossians 1:24-29)
5-I am fully resourced to do everything God has called me to do (Dueteronomy 8:18, Luke 6:38, Philippians 4:13)
6-I have no insecurity, because I see myself the way God sees me (Genesis 1:26-27, Psalm 139:13-16, Ephesians 5:25-27)
7-I am a faithful spouse and a godly parent-our family is blessed (Deuteronomy 6:6-9, Ephesians 5:22-25, Colossians 3:18-19, 1 Peter 3:1-7)
8-I am completely whole-physically, mentally and emotionally (Psalm 103:1-5, Matthew 8:16-17, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Peter 2:24)
9-I am increasing in influence and favor the kingdom of God (Genesis 45:4-8, 1 Samuel 2:26, Acts 2:37-47)
10-I am enabled to walk in the sacrificial love of Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, 1 John 3:16; 4:9-12)
11-I have the wisdom of the Lord concerning every decision I make (2 Chronicles 1:7-12, Proverbs 2:6, Ecclesiastes 2:26, James 1:5)
12-I am protected from all harm and evil in Jesus’ name (Genesis 50:20, Psalm 3:1-3, 2 Thessalonians 3:2-3)

Today's Bible verse on Online Bible. "I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do unto me?" Psalm 118:5-6.  This verse is amazingly refreshing for today.  I WILL NOT FEAR MAN.  Because? God's on my side. What hope is in that statement and surety, and FAITH.  Thank you Jesus

YOUR REAL HEART
Did you know that God is worried about the shape of your heart? He cares what it looks like. He cares how it’s doing. He cares how it is taking care of your entire body and mind. And no, I’m not talking about the physical, beating heart that is in your chest. Yes, of course that heart is important during your short stay in this body on earth. But what I’m talking about is your REAL heart. What REALLY keeps you alive and well. How’s it doing? Does it just go with the flow of everything that enters it? What is it lead by? Is it in the right place? Is there goodness in there? Forgiveness? Sympathy? What’s it look like? Is it black? Or is it a deep healthy red? Examine your heart today, give it a checkup just the same as you would your humanly heart. What shape is it in? Ask yourself: Where IS my heart? What takes up the most room in it? Is it bitter? Maybe……sour? Negative? Hateful? Resentful? Does it look for the bad in others and then POUNCE? Or is it full of love, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, empathy, sympathy, and joy? Does your heart give to others? Does it just look out for itself, or does it look out for those in need? Is there a spot in there for Jesus? A little bit of room, when it’s convenient? Or does He occupy all of it? God cares about the shape of your heart. That matters to him, very much so. God wants to bring you and your heart into His Light. He loves you more than you can possibly understand. The compassion and pride for you as His Child is indescribable and transcends all understanding. Our minds cannot fathom just how much He cares for us. He is not a God that hates you or is waiting for you to mess up! He doesn’t want to throw you into a burning pit for eternity. No, my friends, not at all. HE LOVES YOU. And He cares about the shape of your heart. Let Jesus in there today and give him some room to work. Seek Him. Allow God to mold and shape your heart into something beautiful. Examine your heart today and let God change your life forever. HABD & GIG! -Matt McMillen

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9 {Facebook post from Alarm Security}

God Believes In You 
So often in life, the people that don't believe in you, the ones that have nothing but bad things to say about you and what you do, those people are simply seeing themselves through you. It's not that they think you can't do it, it's that they think they can't do it. They think low of themselves, so they want you to think the same about yourself. Simply said, those who try to discourage you in life, are only trying to impose their own limitations upon you. Don't believe these types. They don't like that you can do something that they won't even take a chance on trying, so they want to knock the wind out of your sail. Here is the thing: Their opinion of you will never define you, but it will always define them. No matter who it is, it could be a "friend", a teacher, a coach, co-worker, or even a family member; never allow anyone to convince you that your goals in life are out of reach. God defines what you can do, not people. And if you feel in your heart that God is leading you in a certain direction, go that way, no matter what. You will always sell yourself short when you listen to those who don't believe in you. You don't have to be rude to them, or go off; you can stay respectful, you can even welcome wisdom and support, but when it's all said and done, God's promise will always remain in you and there is nothing that anyone can say or do to stop it. It's gonna happen, cause God says so. Because His Plan for your life is bigger than anyone else's. So when people doubt you, they are really doubting themselves. It has nothing to do with you, it has everything to do with them. So don't worry about it or get upset. People's opinions change daily, God's has been the same since before time. He believes in you and that's enough. Don't let judgmental know-it-alls upset you, much less define you. They will always be around. Ignore their opinion. Having an opinion is not breaking the law. Personally, I know I'd rather have God on my team, than anyone else. Don't get me wrong, I love people, but God is still God. He is big enough to make the sun set, and have the earth float in space, yet small enough to care about how my day went. Human relationships do matter, more than anything else, while here on earth; God uses relationships to help us find our purpose. But when God calls us home and I'm standing in front of Jesus, I want Him to say, "Good job, Matthew. You took what I gave you and you were faithful with it." You see, God knows what lies inside you, in your heart. The good and the bad. Your deepest desires, your goals, your intentions, your work ethic, how you think of others, and even what you think of Him. And He knows your purpose for being alive, even when others don't. After you get into agreement with God as to what this purpose is, everyone is not always gonna encourage you or be on board, some will even try to stop you or knock you off your path. But that is OK because any time God is about to take you to a higher level in your life, you will face even greater opposition. There will be new battles to fight, new obstacles to overcome, and people that will speak poorly of you. And sure, it can be easy to let the negative voices and tough days get to you, but don't. The sun is always behind a cloud. Just because that cloud is there, doesn't mean the sun will never shine again. It remains, no matter what. And yes, It's tempting to just listen to everybody's opinion and take it to heart, but don't. Right beyond today's challenges lie tomorrow's victories. Your brand-new, God-given, highest level of success and True Purpose is just on the other side of your obstacles. You gotta keep pushing. You gotta put Christ #1. You gotta allow the friction you face to polish you into who God is trying to turn you into, The Real You. Listen, you are never really defeated when you have God on your side. God would not have allowed any trouble to come your way unless He had a greater purpose for it. And He wouldn't of allowed certain people into your life if He didn't want them there. There is a reason, trust God. So today, my friends, know that in the middle of every strong adversity there is an even stronger supernatural strength. There is a deep down peace that surpasses all understanding, a joy in your heart, and an unending love through Jesus Christ. Start to trust Him today 100%, don't worry about others opinions, and know that God always gives us exactly what we need to help us become who He created us to be. HABD & GIG! -Matt McMillen {Facebook post from Alarm Security}

A new beginning. This is what millions of people will be searching for today. A fresh new start, another chance, they want to get rid of the old and start with the new. They want to stop being a victim and turn into a victor. They wanna get over the hill of their past mistakes. Today, more than any other day of the year, the world is filled with self-inspired hope and enthusiasm. January 1st, 2013, is the start of a new beginning for many many MANY people. The hang-ups and failures of everyone, hang in the balance of our hearts, starting today. Whatever it is that you are gonna begin today, whatever you plan to start or stop; I want to pray for you, bless you, and encourage you. YOU CAN DO IT. You are not defined by your past, you have simply been prepared by it. Each past failure has strengthened you for this very day. God was still working on you, using your struggles for something much greater than you can understand. Your character was being developed. Your vision for a better you was being enlarged. Your faith skills were being honed. And maybe you've had unfair things happen to you, things you couldn't control, you've allowed bitterness to set in. Maybe you think that these things have set you back from becoming who you thought you should be. Or maybe you've made some very poor choices and you've brought trouble on yourself, and it's hard to forgive, not just others, but yourself. I'm here to tell you, YOUR PAST DOES NOT DEFINE YOU. YOUR PAST PREPARES YOU FOR A BETTER FUTURE. God had a reason for it. He used it, maybe He is still using it, but YOU are not a victim or a failure. You are a beloved child of God. He still has a great purpose for your life, and it starts today. Maybe you struggle with forgiving. You've held onto a grudge for so long, it's embedded in your heart like a nasty tick, and it's just sucking the life out of you. Forgive AND forget, so that you can be who God longs for you to be this year. Maybe you want to get healthy in 2013, the first thing you have to do is begin. And then tomorrow, begin. The next day, begin. If you simply begin each day, you will always be on the journey of your life-long quest for good health. Get up earlier if that's what it takes. You are never gonna "find" time, you gotta make time. Dedicate yourself to better health by realizing that there is no end to this journey until you are in heaven. There is no race to win. It's good to have a goal of where you want to get to, but there is never a final destination. The road to good health never ends, it's not a race, there is no finish line - it is a lifelong journey. So give yourself a break, and simply begin each day. Results will come, don't worry about that, just begin and begin. If you want to be healthier, begin, daily. And don't let a bad day turn into a bad week, a bad week turn into a bad month, and so on. Forgive yourself and begin again. Because until God is done with His work though your human body, your temple, your health will matter. What about addictions? Ridding yourself of addictions is a huge new year's resolution. And if you struggle with an addiction, first, you gotta forgive yourself. God does, and so should you. If you are harder on yourself than God is, you are gonna be stuck. Your value in God's eyes is not defined by your addiction. His mercy and grace are bigger than anything you are suffering with. GOD LOVES YOU, NO MATTER WHAT. You are worth a new beginning today. God STILL has an awesome plan for your life. I don't care who has said what about you, or if you believed it, YOU ARE LOVED AND CHERISHED BY YOUR CREATOR. Your addiction is not you. It does not define you. And most of all, you must remember this: Always be at battle with your vice. Never agree that it is just part of you, or who you are - because IT'S NOT. Jesus Christ can break the chains of death, so He sure as heck can break your chains of addiction as well. It sounds cliche', but today really is the first day of the rest of your life. You are still alive, so God still has a plan for you, no matter what you've done. Your changed life, begins 1-1-2013. So if you don't wanna slip, don't go to slippery places. God will continually speak to your heart, leading you in the right direction. You will feel it and you will know it. Whatever you are fighting with today, stop fighting the battle yourself, let God fight it. You will win, through Him. 2012 may have been a struggle, but in 2013, You WILL overcome. My friends, your past challenges have helped you get to where you are today. Allow God to use them for His glory and your new life. He wouldn't of allowed adversity to come into your life if He didn't already have a plan of good to come from it. Nothing you have faced has been an accident, all things work together for your good. And it may not always seem like it, it may take longer than you want, but if you trust God, and ask Him for help, ask Him to show you how to become who He wants you to be, He will. He will use your past adversities for your future advantages. So today, my friends, whatever new dream you are about to chase, know that YOU CAN DO IT, through Christ. Start making Him #1 in your life. Allow Him to change your heart, your words, and your actions. And if you fall, get back up. If you fall again, get back up. You can ALWAYS get back up by simply reaching out for the hand of Jesus Christ. He is always there. He will never leave you. So right now, I pray that all of you have a new found joy in your life, a new feeling of cleanliness, happiness, wholeness, a brand-new sense of motivation. I know that the feeling of accomplishment is gonna take root in your hearts, each and every day, because today, you are beginning a life resurrected. In ALL THINGS you are gonna be more than a conqueror. You are gonna do great and wonderful things in 2013, through Jesus Christ. God bless all of you, your families, loved ones, and new endeavors of self-betterment for this brand new year. Have a blessed year & God is Good! -Matt  {Facebook post from Alarm Security}

The people that create the most conflict in your life are the ones that create the most opportunities for you, they just don't know it. {Facebook post from Alarm Security}

Faith matters. There is no limit to what you can do in your life when you learn the basics of faith. And faith is not something that you try occasionally, it's not something that you pull out of your back pocket during emergencies to try to fix something. Faith is a way of life. Faith is not just a life-preserver used when you are drowning, it is your unsinkable battleship. Faith is not just simply having a positive attitude, having a positive attitude is a side-effect of having faith. And most of all, you can't have faith in God without the most important ingredient: Jesus. Many people will talk about faith, but they leave out who it revolves around. Jesus Christ himself. He is the reason we have faith. Hebrews 12:2 says, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." Faith has to do with a living person, Jesus Christ. He is alive and well, He rose from the dead, and He sits at the right hand of God. He is your ticket to not just your True Purpose here on earth, but your ticket to hitch a ride to heaven. And simply put, our finite minds cannot fathom His power. We can try, but none of us can even begin to describe how great He is. He can make a planet hang in the universe, He can walk on water, He can tell the dead to live, and He can make the blind see. Ocean waves listen to His commands, and stars billions of light years away, shine because He says so. He is the opposite of hate and all things bad. He is The Creator of everyone and everything; and the very author of the word "love". He is our Father, and He is peace. And up until a couple years ago, I kept this to myself. My faith was simply "my own business". And I definitely didn't care about someone else's faith. Their faith was their business and they didn't need to hear from me. I was wrong; wrong because Christ lives in me and must speak through me. And another huge mistake I made was thinking that because I still messed up all the time, that I didn't have the right to talk about Jesus Christ or my faith. That too was wrong. We are all messing up, all the time. It's when you don't think you are doing anything wrong, that's when you are wrong. Christ will cover your sin, but you gotta admit that it is sin. And most of all, you simply cannot base the actions of your faith on somebody else's opinion of it. Don't worry about what other people say or what they will think; simply keep following God's plan for your life and let them think and say whatever they want. They have no heaven or hell to throw you into, and they can't bless you like God can. As far as people are concerned, you are never gonna be able to satisfy everyone. Silence, prayer, and time with God will not only clear your heart and mind, but it will get you centered again; it will get you refocused on what really matters: God's Will for your life through Jesus. People will always judge. People will always speak against you based on what they think. Don't worry about that. Forgive them, and move on. You have work to do and if you get stuck on worrying about somebody else's opinion of your faith, you will never get anywhere. Your faith is yours. God knows the exact shape of it, people don't, even when they are convinced that they do. And you must continue to hone your faith through Jesus Christ, daily. SEEK HIS WILL, NOT YOURS. You do this by trying to produce "good fruit." You must also have something to show for your faith. You can't just sit there, idle. What good is that? The bible says, "Faith without works is dead." (See James 2:17). Now, don't get this confused with God's grace and mercy for your life, or your salvation through Christ, that's free; but faith requires action. Because that action will change your heart, and help others to change theirs, into what God wants it to truly be. The Real You comes forth when you exorcize your faith daily. After all, what good is the love of Christ and The Good News if you simply keep it to yourself. YOU GOTTA DO SOMETHING. ANYTHING. ON A REGULAR BASIS, to bring glory and attention to Jesus Christ. Even if that means you get embarrassed. What's so bad about being embarrassed anyway, as long as it benefits Christ. Listen, once you have received Jesus in your heart, your next step is telling others about Him. Don't keep it to yourself. Get uncomfortable for Christ. The bible says, "What good is salt if it no longer tastes like salt?" (See Matthew 5:13). Friends, we are the salt of the earth. It's our job to be Christ's ambassadors and get the word out for Him; to let others know that we are all being prepared for something so much greater that we can even comprehend. HEAVEN IS REAL. And no matter how smart or intelligent someone thinks they are, they have NO CLUE as to just how great heaven will be. The bible says, "Eyes have not seen and ears have not heard, neither has it even entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love him." ( 1Cor 2:9). And the best news is, all of this comes freely through believing in Jesus Christ; believing that He died for your sins so that you can walk up to God, completely clean, and 100% acceptable. That's faith. So today, my friends, go to church! Not for people, but for God. Don't just find time for God, make time. You can show your faith and dedication to your Creator by simply getting dressed and walking through church doors. Fellowship matters, praise matters, seeking His will for your life matters. These are all acts of faith. Don't sit still. Begin your life of faith today, with simple acts of dedication. When you do this, when you make your faith your lifestyle, you will not just change your day, you will change your life forever. HABD & GIG! -Matt {Facebook post from Alarm Security}

"This is not fair. God, why is this happening to me?" You may be facing a challenge right now that's got you all stressed out. You may feel like a person has you painted into a corner, or an unfair situation has sapped the life out of you. You've been working hard, praying, doing your very best, but you still have no control over an unfair situation that's happening right now. In times like these, it's so easy to revert back to your old habits, or think that you can somehow change it yourself. You simply have NO control over it, but you keep trying to handle it "your way". My friends, you have two choices when it comes to being treated unfairly with no way to change it yourself: 1. You can blame your situation on somebody else. It's their fault because you believe that you've done nothing wrong, and because of them all of your faith and hard work are in vain. They control the outcome of all your prayers, and they are the keeper of all your blessings. WRONG. When you choose this choice, it will turn your bad situation inward and then eventually outward. Like a cup of coffee being filled up, the cup can only hold so much; the more you take, the higher it gets and then eventually overflows and YOU get burned, not them. The second choice you have in an unfair situation is: Give it to God. Trust Him. Don't over-think and don't overreact. It is not the end of the world. Life is not over. God is still in complete control. You must begin to give these situations to God. He has placed people in your life for a reason, and you can't always figure that reason out. There will be times in your life that you must realize that you can't fix it, only God can. So in times like these you must accept the challenges He gives you with all your heart. These challenges are FOR you. There is nothing that He will put in your life that you can't handle. God's challenges are helping you grow into the person He wants you to be. The Real You is formed through adversity. The daily tests you face are allowed by God to help you become who He longs for you to be. And you may be fighting against a person or a situation right now, it's not fair; it seems like the harder you work, the worse your situation gets. Maybe you feel like doing good just doesn't pay off, that your prayers are being ignored. Friends, God has not forgotten you. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. His promises remain. So just because you don't see anything happening, does not mean that He is not hard at work. Right now, He IS hard at work, using your circumstances FOR YOU. HE IS GOD. HE CAN DO ANYTHING. Just because it looks grim, today, does not mean that tomorrow won't hold your victory! This is not the end of your story. Your book will never be finished until you are standing face to face with Jesus Christ and God Himself. So, relax. Have a sense of peace. Know in your heart that God's promises for your life still stand firm, and there is nothing that nobody can do about it, no matter how hard they try. Have an attitude of thankfulness. Why? Because right now, God is preparing you for something so much greater. If you could only see HIS PLANS, you would smile wide! Right now, through your faithfulness in adversity, His level of blessings are being raised higher and higher AND HIGHER. HE SEES YOU. And the very things that you pray so hard for Him to change, for Him to take away or fix; those are the very things that He is using to get you closer to Him, and become who you were made to be. You can pray, "God, fix this person! This is not fair! They are draining all of my energy and they care for nobody but themselves!" or "God, PLEASE change this situation I'm facing, I don't know how much more I can take!" Friends, this is when you must give it to God. When you have no control, He takes control. When you've done all you can, He does what you can't. He takes care of it. That's how you keep your joy, because you KNOW He's got it. If you ask him to change a situation, He might not be changing it because He's never seen you on your knees so much. He wants you to pray, so He might not change what you want, right now, because He's never seen you pray so hard. God is developing your character and helping you grow. Your challenges are helping you hone your faith. He is forcing you to rely on Him and only Him. He created you, so He wants you to have Him in your life. He is trying to show you that you have no control over any situation or person; that you only have control over how you react. He wants you to react by giving it to Him; by knowing that nothing can happen if He didn't have something better to come from it. If you think you can handle it on your own, He will step back and say, "Ok, go ahead. You obviously don't need my help." But if you allow your situation to bring you to your knees, God will use all of your adversities for your advantage. If you will forgive others, rather than try to control them, God sees that. He's gonna bless you for it. If you will pray about your unfair situation, rather than worry so hard about it, God sees that. He's gonna bless you for it. If you will show love to the unloveable, God sees that. He's gonna bless you for it. So when you face an unfair circumstance, have an attitude of hope and joy. Don't woller. Pray. Pray, "God, I know that you are in complete control of my life. And no matter how much I'm tempted to be angry, negative, or disappointed, I refuse to believe that I'm a victim. I refuse to blame. I refuse to hold grudges. I refuse to become bitter. And I refuse to allow anyone or anything to take away the joy that you give. Although I can't see it right now, I know that you are using all of this mess for your ultimate glory and my eventual benefit. I will thank you and praise you for all you are and all you are doing in my life." So today, my friends, if you are facing a situation that is unfair, know that this too shall pass. And yes, it is good to be happy and comfortable, those days will come all throughout your life; but True Growth comes from challenges. God knows what you can handle, He knows your strength, and most of all, He knows who you really are. He knew you before He created time. He is trying to get you to where you should be in your life. He WILL test you hard. He WILL challenge you daily. And He will use the very things that you hold near and dear to get you closer to Him, to help yo find your True Purpose. So remember to pray, trust, and keep your joy - especially through life's toughest challenges. After all, your loving Heavenly Father would not allow anything to happen in your life if He did not have a greater purpose for it. HABD & GIG! -Matt {Facebook Post from Alarm Security that spoke to me}

Love is not an emotion. Love is not a feeling. Those are all conditions. Love is unconditional. Love is a choice. Love is a decision. _Mimi Atkins

Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life. ~JK Rowling

To be free you act against your fear, and you say I'm free!!!

Fear is the door to depression, pride, anger...once you start fearing you open the door to sin.  - Timbrownministries on youtube

Francis Chan is simply Spirit-filled. Keep up with his website/books. http://www.francischan.org/#/books

God is the ultimate surgeon. He heals and restores what the world destroys. MimiAtkins

Have you ever wondered, as a Christian, if you may be 'MISSING IT'?  I mean, you know you prayed the prayer of salvation before, you read your Bible once in a while, you try to do what's right, you pray  alone when you can, and you try to go to church every Sunday, but somewhere deep down inside you honestly feel like you may NOT be doing what Jesus wants. To be honest with you, I've been in that same predicament for the majority of my Christian life.   It has just been recently that I have realized what Jesus has actually asked me, along with every other Christian in the world, to be doing, and it all starts with knowing what He said.  

I still vividly remember lying in bed with my beautiful wife on our honeymoon in Jamaica and thinking to myself, "Ryan, how well do you know what Jesus actually said."  That question forever changed my life.  From that moment on, after weeping in bed with my wife, I made a commitment to get to know Jesus better, and strive to live my life the way that He had told me to.  I remember sitting on the balcony overlooking the vast ocean and going through the book of Luke and writing down everything Jesus said , and then writing in my notebook what that would look like in my life if I actually tried to live that out.  As I started to strive to live my life according to what Jesus said, my life began to change.  I started to see chains of sin being broken, walls of insecurities and uncertainties coming down, a boldness that I had never felt before rising within me, and God moving in miraculous ways that I had never seen before.  I couldn't believe how much freedom I felt in striving to live the way that Jesus had commanded me to. There was now a new found knowledge and love for my Savior that had never been present before, simply because I had made the decision to finally read the 'Red Letters' for myself and strive to live a life reflective of complete obedience to His words.

As I continued to look into what Jesus said, I found myself clinging especially to the words that He had spoken in the most crucial and important times of His life.  For instance, the words that would change my life forever, are the last words that Jesus spoke to His disciples before He ascended into Heaven and was gone.  I mean think about it, if you had a few more moments left on this earth to verbalize your heart to your closest friends, wouldn't you want your last words to be the most important and heartfelt statements you had ever made?  That is exactly what I found Jesus communicating to his disciples in Matthew 28 as he gave them a command that would forever alter history as we know it.  He told the disciples in the last verses recorded in the book of Matthew to GO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND MAKE DISCIPLES, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND TEACH THOSE DISCIPLES TO OBEY EVERYTHING HE COMMANDED, AND THEN HE REASSURED THEM THAT HE WOULD BE WITH THEM UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD. To be honest with you though,  I truly feel like that statement by Christ, is one of the most overlooked statements Jesus ever made, because of the fact that the vast majority of believers in the world don't know how to MAKE DISCIPLES.  

I mean ask yourself right now:  How many people have you shared the gospel with and seen baptized?; How many discples have you ever made and do you know how to do that?; and how well do you even know what Jesus commanded?  Answering these questions truly was the launching pad of my revived Christian life.  I had to be honest with myself and admit to a few convicting things: 1. I couldn't recall how many people I had actually led to Christ myself and seen baptized 2. I didn't know of any disciples that I had ever actually made because I didn't even know to do that, and 3. I didn't really know what Jesus ever commanded in the Bible.  In order to answer these questions, I knew I had to RISE above many things in my life in order to fulfill the calling that Christ had called me, and all of us to do, which was to MAKE DISCIPLES.

After nearly 10 months or so of my own deliberate testing of how to spread the gospel to the unsaved world, I found that "NOT BEING ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL" WAS THE FIRST CHAIN THAT WAS KEEPING ME FROM ACCOMPLISHING THE FIRST COMMAND THAT CHRIST MADE IN HIS STATEMENT IN MATTHEW WHICH WAS TO LITERALLY 'GO’.  I had known for quite some time that the "gospel" itself was perfectly packaged for us in the words of Jesus Christ when He spoke to Nicodemus in John 3:16.  In that story, Nicodemus, who was a very 'religious' guy who had strived to follow the law perfectly, asked Jesus how to go to Heaven, and Jesus responded to him with one of the most loving and radical statements of all time.  Jesus told Nicodemus that "God loved the world so much, that He gave His one and only Son (Jesus), so that everyone who believes in Him by confessing and turning from their sin and fully committing their lives to living for Christ forever, would not die and go to Hell, but would have eternal life in Heaven.  I mean, think of how radical of a statement that was for Jesus to say to this young man.  He basically told Nicodemus that if he didn't believe in Him , that he would die and go to a burning place called Hell forever. But I truly think that the most radical part of that verse is the actual meaning of the word 'believe' that Jesus used.  The word 'believe' found in that verse, is the Greek word 'pisteau' which literally has no proper translation to the English language.  The word 'pisteau' is actually an ongoing present tense action verb that literally corresponds to a full out life commitment and willingness to die which should result in a radical and lasting change in behavior.

When we fully grasp the meaning of that word 'believe' and then we look at how it affected the life of Nicodemus when he heard Jesus use it, you find that Nicodemus definitely got it.  I mean, just read through the rest of the book of John to see how it changed Nicodemus' life.  A few chapters later you will find Nicodemus with a new found boldness that causes him to stand up for Christ and speak on His behalf in the midst of a group tyrants who were ready to crucify Jesus.  Then later, you see Nicodemus show up again as well when you see him taking Jesus' body off of the cross after Jesus died.  If those two actions by Nicodemus don't reveal to us the severity and powerfulness of the word 'believe' that Jesus used to show us how to go to heaven, then I don't know what else would.  John 3:16, when fully understood, is the most powerful and life changing statement that Jesus ever made and it honestly has the power to change the life of all of those who hear it.  

Starting about 10 months ago, in order to test the power and effectiveness of sharing John 3:16 with others, I decided to print off cards with John 3:16 on the back and hand them out to random people I came across.   Before handing them out though, I would first ask the person if I could ask them a question.  After asking hundreds and maybe even thousands of people if I could 'ask them a question', I found that 100% of the time they responded with 'yes', which always seemed to 'break the ice' per say. After they would give me the approval of being able to ask them a question, I would simply ask:"Do you know what John 3:16 says?" Surprisingly, nearly 90% of the time, I found that they had never heard of it before!  If they had heard of it before, they didn't know what it said, and if they did try to quote it, they only got the first half right, and if they did get the whole thing out, it was stated in such a way that it sounded like some form of King James confused version that no one could even grasp because of all the 'eths' required in quoting it (ex. loveth, believeth, perisheth).  Once they made it clear that they didn't know the verse very well, I would ask them if they knew who said it.  After they would admit that they didn't know that either, I would simply tell them a short background of the verse and state that a young man had just asked Jesus how to go to Heaven, and then I would go on and tell them what Jesus said in a way that they understood.  For instance "Jesus told the young man that wanted to go to Heaven that God loved the world so much, that He gave His one and only Son (Jesus), so that everyone who believes in Him by confessing and turning from their sin and fully committing their lives to living for Christ forever, would not die and go to Hell, but would have eternal life in Heaven."  

After reading the verse to them, I would ask them if they knew what it meant to 'believe' in Jesus.  Nearly 99% of the time I received a response that was nowhere close to the actual meaning of the word in the Greek.  I would then explain the meaning of the word and let them know that Jesus wants them to turn from their sin and have a close relationship with Him and strive to know Him, obey Him, and remain close to Him forever.  After telling them the meaning of 'believe', I would ask them straight forward if they 'believed' in Jesus.  Over 90% of the time I received a response from them with newly opened eyes claiming that 'yes I believe'.  It was at that point that I would hand them 3 cards and tell them to ck out the website and consider coming to church and also sharing a card with someone else.  This entire conversation may take a few minutes and you may never see the person again, or it could spark a relationship that changes that person’s life, and your relationship with that person could become strong enough to last a lifetime, which I have seen happen on many occasions already.   The question is, are you willing to be BOLD ENOUGH to share the gospel with someone else.  Are you willing to not NOT BE ASHAMED OF CHRIST?  

Although I've found a simple way to accomplish the first part of the command given by Christ in Matthew 28 to go and share the gospel, the next question is how do we get them baptized?  Obviously the best way for this to take place is to suggest to them to get involved in a local church body.  After doing that you can then encourage them to be baptized, or if you want to get really radical, just find the nearest swimming pool:-)  Either way, if a true relationship is sparked, then strive to get their contact information, and stay in touch with that person in terms of texting, calling, emailing, and communicating with them on a regular basis until you are able to start the next step in the process and the most overlooked part of Christ’s command which is to make them a disciple.

I don’t understand how I could go through nearly 20 years of my Christian life and not know how to ‘make a disciple’ but that’s where I have found myself even up to recently.  But it all changed when I read Jesus’ final command a little closer in Matthew 28:20. In that verse Jesus gave us a direct formula for how to make a disciple.   He simply told us to “teach them to obey everything He commanded.”    I don’t know about you, but that sounds like Jesus wants us to know what He commanded, strive to obey what He said, and in turn teach others to do the same!  That sounds radically simple to me.  All we need now is a list of His commands and a willingness to sacrifice our time to teach others how to obey those commands?   

In order to be able to apply this simple tactic to my own life in terms of making disciples by teaching others to obey what Jesus commanded, I first decided to make a categorized list of every command that Jesus gave to us in Scripture.  All I did was simply look up every commandthat Jesus gave, summarized each one with a short phrase which displayed the main point of that particular command, categorized each command based on topic, and then ordered the topics by frequency in terms of how many times Jesus gave that particular command.   The results of this process were eye  opening, heart challenging, and life changing  to say the least.  After going through nearly 90 commands of Christ, I quickly found out that Jesus was a lot different than I initially thought.  The things that He commanded the most were things that I had never heard a lotabout during my Christian life, and the things that I had heard many times about Jesus before were nowhere to be found in His commands!  It was after seeing theradical nature of the commands of Christ, that I started to truly fall in love with Him like never before. 

Here are the topical command categories of Christ ordered by frequency:

§  Repent, Obey, & Remain Faithful Until the End (34 times)

§  Love Others (13 times)

§  Humble Yourself & Don’t be Prideful (10 times)

§  Sacrifice your Money & Possessions to the Poor (8 times)

§  Don’t Commit Sexual Sins (7 times)

§  Pray (5 times)

§  Tell Others About Jesus (5 times)

§  Don’t Talk Badly and Be Careful What You Say (3 times)

§  Watch out for Pastors and Teachers who Don’t Teach the truth (3)

In order for us to look deeper into these categories, and therefore fully grasp the commands that Christ gave, here is the complete and compiled this of Christ’s commands with short one sentence summaries and scripture references.

REPENT, OBEY, & REMAIN FAITHFUL

1.     Strive for perfection and righteousness, and to be separate from the world (Matthew 5:43-48)

2.     Be hardcore and dedicated to repentance and turning from sin (Revelation 3:19)

3.     Hypocrisy must not exist and don't live a fake life filled with secret sins but instead confess and turn from them (Luke 12:1-2)

4.     Love and obey Jesus just like you did when you first believed and turn away from sin (Revelation 2:4-5)

5.     Be faithful even if it means dying for Jesus (Revelation 2:10)

6.     Hold on tightly to your faith until Jesus returns or you die (Revelation 2:25)

7.     Stay strong and stand for Christ until the very end of time (Mark 13:13)

8.     Seek after what God wants and Obey Him (Matthew 16:24)

9.     We must be born again and look like a completely new person in order to go to Heaven (John 3:5-6)

10.   Do not sin anymore (John 8:11; 5:14; Luke 13:3,5)

11.   Hold strong to Jesus' teachings and then you will be Set Free (John 8:31-32)

12.   If we love Jesus, we will obey Him (John 14:15)

13.   If we obey Jesus,  He will love us (John 14:23-24)

14.   If we obey Jesus, He will love us, and Reveal Himself to us (John 14:21)

15.   Remain committed to Jesus and keep listening to Him (John 15:5)

16.   If you obey the commands of Jesus you will remain in His love (John 15:10)

17.   Don't let concerns for family interfere with Gods commands and His will for your life (Luke 14:26)

18.   Understand that the cost will be great and we must be willing to lose everything for Jesus (Luke 14:28-33)

19.   Hear God's Word and obey it (Luke 11:25)

20.   Don't turn away from the words of Christ (Revelation 3:20)

21.   Learn from previous lessons and obey (Revelation 3:2-3)

22.   Focus on cleaning up the inside of your life and it will show on the outside (Matthew 23:25-26)

23.   Watch for certain sins to be exposed by Jesus, and then fix them (Mark 13:37)

24.   Always be ready for Jesus to return (Luke 12:35-40)

25.   Stand strong and remain faithful and it will save your soul (Luke 21:19)

26.   Be born again by turning from sin and believing in Jesus in order to go to heaven & not go to hell (John 3:16; Luke 3:3)

27.   Believe in Jesus by committing our lives to Him, striving to remain faithful, and being willing to die for Him (John 12:36)

28.   Wake up & perform perfect works and strive to do right in everything (Revelation 2:26)

29.   Listen to and read Jesus' words and obey them (Luke 6:46-49)

30.   Put into practice what we read (Luke 8:21)

31.   Closely listen to the words of Christ by intently reading what He said (Luke 10:39-42; John 6:63)

32.   Only a few people will be saved, so enter through the narrow way (Matthew 7:13-14)

33.   Many will try to go to heaven but only a few actually will (Luke 13:23-24)

34.   Watch out and be alert...don't he drunk and waste time on useless things because Jesus could return at any moment (Luke 21:24-26)                            

LOVE OTHERS

1.     Treat others the way you would want to be treated (Matthew 7:12)

2.     Love God with everything you have and love others in that same way  (Matthew 22:2-30)

3.     Do good to others by helping them in any way possible even if they hate us and treat us badly,  love our enemies, & pray for those who persecute us and hate us. (Matthew 5:38-42)

4.     Don't hold in anger towards others regardless of the situation (Matthew 5:21-25)

5.     Check ourselves before confronting another person about sin (Luke 6:39-42)

6.     Don't judge other people but instead check yourself first (Matthew 7:1-5)

7.     Show mercy to others (Matthew 12:33-37)

8.     If you know that another Christian sinned then confront them; if they don't change then take 2-3 other people; if they still refuse to change then take them before everyone; then cast him out as an unbeliever (Matthew 18:15-17)

9.     Love each other (John 13:34-35)

10.   Love each other just like Jesus loved us and died for us (John 15:12-14)

11.   Love each other (John 15:17)

12.   If a brother does you wrong, then confront him about it.  If he says sorry and changes, then forgive him everytime he truly repents and says sorry. (Luke 17:3-4)

13.   Don't neglect mercy, justice, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23)

BE HUMBLE & DON’T BE PRIDEFUL

1.     Listen & be humble (Mark 4:24-25)

2.      Don't burden others with things that you are not willing to do yourself, and don't try to 'show off' your good works in a prideful manner (Matthew 23:2-5)

3.     Don't do acts of charity in a prideful way but rather give to the poor in secret in the sight of God (Matthew 6:1-4)

4.     Don't fast in a public and showy manner but instead in a very humble way knowing that God sees you (Matthew 6:16-18)

5.     Don't get caught up in being loved and noticed by others because of your position (Luke 11:43)

6.     We must serve others like a humble servant (Matthew 20:26-28)

7.     We must refer to ourselves as brothers and we are all under Christ (Matthew 23:8-10)

8.      Don't be concerned about being 'first'...be humble and put others ahead of you (Luke 14:8-11)

9.      Don't throw parties and dinners expecting to be repaid and don't just invite friends...invite those who are crippled, lame, and blind. (Luke 14:12-14)

10.   Wash other people's feet to show humility (John 13:14)

SACRIFICE MONEY & POSSESSIONS

1.     Don't be surprised when selfish desires begin to fade away, & you start loving Jesus more than anything (Matthew 16:25)

2.     Be willing to sacrifice and go through pain or else you cannot be a disciple of Christ (Matthew 16:26)

3.     We must forsake everything to follow Christ (Luke 14:27)

4.     Be willing to do scary, uncomfortable, and challenging things and don't be all wrapped up in this life here on earth. (Matthew 16:24-25)

5.     If you hate your life here on earth, you will gain eternal life (John 12:25)

6.     Sell your Possessions and give to the poor so that you will have treasures in Heaven (Luke 12:33-34)

7.     Sell your possessions and give your money to the poor and then follow Jesus (Luke 18:20-22)

8.     Don't worry and stress over money, food, and clothing bc Jesus will take care of you (Matthew 6:31-34)

PRAY

1.     Strive to learn from Jesus by praying and trying to hear His voice and it is then that rest and peace will come (Matthew 11:29; Luke 11:28)

2.     Listen to the Lord and find out how to handle what has been given (Luke 8:18)

3.     Go in your closet and pray and don't just babble on and on trying to sound cool...just be real and pray the way Jesus taught us to...God knows what we need (Matthew 6:5-8)

4.     Pray that you won't fall into temptation (Luke 22:40)

5.     Ask God for what you want and He will give it to you (Matthew 7:7)

TELL OTHERS ABOUT CHRIST

1.     Don't waste time on people who are completely unresponsive and hateful towards the gospel message  (Matthew 7:6)

2.     Don't worry about saying the right thing when trying to defend yourself, but instead trust that the Holy Spirit will speak through you (Luke 12:11-12)

3.      Shine so others can see the good things you are doing for the Lord (Matthew 5:16)

4.      Tell others that Jesus is coming back, heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons (Matthew 12:7)

5.      We must tell others about Jesus and what He has done (John 15:26-27)

DON’T TALK BADLY AND CONTROL WHAT YOU SAY

1.     Don't talk badly and control what you say (Matthew 15:18-20)

2.     Don't discuss sinful things in a joking manner or at all (Matthew 7:21-23)

3.      When you say you're going to do something, then do it, and don't swear that you’ll do it (Matthew 5:34-37)

WATCH OUT FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T TEACH THE TRUTH

1.     Don't follow bad leaders (Matthew 15:14)

2.     Watch out for false teachers and pastors who don't speak truth but rather look over serious sin issues (Matthew 7:15-23)

3.     Understand the Authority of Jesus' teachings are a lot different than others and it should amaze us, challenge us, and change us (Matthew 7:28-29)

________________________________________________________

My prayer is that we would eagerly desire to start obeying the words and commands of Christ like never before.  I sincerely hope that you will utilize this information and start meeting reguarly with one or two people a week, and walk them through the commands of Christ,hold them accountable for the commands, and help them grow closer in their walk with the Lord.  An easy way to approach a 'discipleship meeting' with another person, is to plan a specific time and place to meet each week, and come prepared to touch on 2-3 of the commands in detail.  Strive to do some research into the background and context of each scripture reference and let the passage itself spur questions and insight into what Jesus was trying to tell us to do and what that might look like in your lives. Following each discipleship meeting, I desperately encourage you togo through the following questions in order to develop accountablility, transperency, friendship, and unity within the group.  This tactic is known as RISE. It is an acronym that can easily be remembered:

R: Rise Up

  Ask each other what are some things that are keeping you from rising up for Christ.  For instance: unconfessed sin, commands that you're struggling with, job issues, depression, family problems, etc.  Use this as a time to confess sins and struggles with one another.

I: Imitate Jesus

Ask each other how yall are doing on looking into what Jesus said on your own.  Discuss how your daily reading of the Bible is going, how your prayer life is, and how yall are currently striving to imitate Jesus.

S: Share Salvation

 Boldly ask each other who they have invited to church lately or who they have handed a 'John 3:16' card to recently.  Strategize ways to share salvation with others in the coming week.  

E: Everyone

Discuss ways that yall can impact 'everyone' meaning people outside your circle of friends or immediate church family...what can yall do sacrificically to help others around the world or next door that can show them the radical love of Christ in a practical way.  ex. Donate money to a charity, help  a neighbor with yard work, pay for someone's meal, plan a mission trip, etc.

After discussing the RISE acronym, then also ask each other what their 'dream' or 'life goal' is for Christ, and then pray with each other before dismissing the meeting.  Strive to encourage one another throughout the week and strive to equip the other people to be able to lead their own group in the coming weeks or months depending on their growth.  

*Here's something STAGGERING to consider: If you personally decided to do this discipleship meeting program with 2 other people once a week for 6 months and you trained those 2 people to do the same thing with 2 other people each after that 6 month period, in 15 years you yourself would have been a part of making close to 1 million disciples for Christ yourself.  Listen, we don't have to be 'missing it' anymore!

I strongly urge and encourage you to get a plan together as soon as possible to startsharing your faith with others and getting them plugged in with a church,  getting thembaptized, and then start meeting with 2 people a week and helping guide them through the commands of Christ.  This will definitely change your life, and you will experience anunexplainebale peace in knowing that you are doing exactly what Jesus wanted you to do all along.

If you have any questions or concerns feel free to message me on facebook, or text or call me at817.343.4912.

Thanks and God bless,

Ryan Roberts