As Christians, God has asked us to participate in the most
wonderful and beneficial cause or gift in this world – The Kingdom of God.
God’s Kingdom and plan for mankind’s Salvation is the most significant and the
greatest cause of all time. Moreover, no race, ethnicity, or gender is left out
of God’s cause or plan for mankind. In fact, God wants all people to know about
His love and to know that He sent His Son to die for their sins and then to
arise from the grave conquering eternal death so that they, too, can be part of
God’s Kingdom. Indeed, through Christ everyone is offered the greatest gift of
all, eternal life, but first they need to not only hear about God’s gift and
His kingdom, but they need someone to explain it to them. That is where members of
God’s Kingdom, i.e., those who are born-again Christians, can participate in God’s
great cause by sharing the Good News with others and by living up to the
standards of God’s Kingdom, such as caring about others and helping those less fortunate. Are you a part of God’s cause and Kingdom? If not
keep reading and you too can become part of God’s glorious Kingdom.
There is nothing that matters more in the life of a Saved
person than to be an example of Christ’s characteristics and traits for others
to see. For it is through our own example of Christlike living and our
willingness to share the joy of knowing Christ as our Savior that we will have
opportunities to share the Gospel. But to do so, we have to live honorably and
humbly for God and His Son so that others can see Christ in us and will then want
to know how to invite Him into their lives too. They will need to see our joy
and our peace. But sometimes we are so into ourselves, into our own peace and
joy, and into what we want to do that we fail to think like world-class
Christians. However, there are some steps that we can take to not only live as a
child of God, but to also work on becoming a world-class Christian. Just what
are those steps? Let's take a look.
First, every born-again Christian needs to stop their
self-centered thinking and start thinking about others instead of thinking only
of themselves. We all should be “other-centered”. In fact, the Apostle Paul addressed
“other-centered” thinking when he wrote: “My friends, stop thinking like children. Think like
mature people” -- (I Corinthians 14: 20 CEV). Then Paul also wrote: “Don’t
think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too.” –
(Philippians 2: 4. NLT). And, finally Paul explained the Christian’s role in
the Kingdom of God, when he wrote: “I don’t think about what would be good for me but about
what would be good for many people so that they might be saved.”
– (I Corinthians 10: 33. GWT). If you are a Christian, do you think about
whether the other person has come to know Christ or not? Thinking about the
Salvation of others should be a priority in the lives of born-again Christians. This is part of becoming a world-class Christian.
Second, born-again Christians need to expand their thinking from
just those local people that they run into in their daily lives for whom they
can witness, to thinking about people around the world who need to hear the
Good News. For, God has always cared about all of the world. In fact, the
Apostle Paul wrote: “This same Good
News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives
everywhere, just as it changed yours.” -- (Colossians 1: 6. NLT). And Jesus said, “You will tell everyone about Me in Jerusalem, in all
Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.” -- (Acts 1: 8. CEV). And when we get to
heaven a huge crowd of people from “every race,
tribe, nation, and language” will one day stand before Jesus to
worship Him. – (Revelation 7: 9. CEV.). Do you know how many of those people standing
before Christ that you will have personally witnessed to? Sadly, most
Christians can count on one hand the number of people to whom they have
witnessed. Certainly, we can do much better in witnessing for Christ both at
home and abroad. We just have to make witnessing to others for Christ a
priority in our lives. Perhaps you can go on a mission trip to another
country, or if you can’t, perhaps you can house visitors from another country
in your home for a few days, and therefore get an opportunity to tell them
about Christ. But if you cannot do either, you can certainly pray specifically
for one person or for a group of people in another country. All you have to do is
ask the foreign missions board or your church pastor to give you the name of a
person or a group of people for whom you can specifically pray.
We should all pray for opportunities to witness to others
instead of just living our lives in a vacuum. We can even pray for both local
and overseas missionaries, as well as for those individuals who are putting
their lives on the line in order to share Christ with others. Paul said: “Pray for us … so that God may open a door for our message,
so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ.” – (Colossians 4:
3. NIV). So, we also must pray for the courage to speak up and not remain
silent when we are given an opportunity to share Christ with another. The
Apostle Paul also told the Ephesians: “Don’t forget to
pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at
the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I …. am
responsible for getting out.”
-- (Ephesians 6: 19-20. The Message). Then let’s also pray for each other to
know what to say and to have the courage to say it when God puts an un-Saved
person in our path.
Don’t forget to pray for those who will believe. For
Jesus prayed, “My prayer is not for [my disciples] alone.
I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of
them may be one, Father, just as you are in Me and I am in You.”
– (John 17: 20-21. NIV). (This was part of Christ’s High Priestly Prayer when
He prayed for His disciples.). However, not everyone that you witness to will
come to know Christ as their Savior. But don’t be discouraged. Instead, just as
Christ prayed, pray for those who will believe in Him when they hear the Gospel
message. Pray, too, that their ears will be opened and that their hearts will
cling to the words that God is giving you to share. Pray for their
understanding and for their willingness to recognize that they, like us, were
born sinners and need the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ to take away their
sins. It is that understanding and their willingness to ask Christ into their
hearts that will make all the difference in their lives. They will be blessed
and you, too, will be blessed for sharing the most important message that
anyone can ever hear.
The third way that we can focus on becoming a World Class
Christian is to start thinking about eternity rather and just thinking about
here and now in this world. I don’t know about you, but as a born-again
Christian I think a great deal about eternity with God. I am so happy that I
will get to spend eternity with God and my Savior, and I look forward to eternity. In fact, thinking
about eternity is a good thing to do. For, the Apostle Paul explained to us
within his letter to the Corinthians that Christians are to think about
eternity. He said, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is
unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” -- (II Corinthians 4: 18. NIV). Paul also
told us to “Deal
as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as
you see it is on its way out.”
-- (I Corinthians 7: 31. This means that we should not focus on the
greed, the money, the technological social aspects that entice us, or on any of
the momentary things that can ultimately cause us harm or pull us into loving the things of this world. Instead, we need to
focus on the eternal things like the love, kindness, and peace that awaits us
as we live for God in the here and now as well as on what awaits us in eternity
too. For, the things of this world are on the way out. Are you ready for the Rapture?
Every day as I hear the news and see the terrible things
that people are doing to each other, I believe that the world is getting closer
to the end. On the other hand, I have something wonderful to look forward to. For,
God has given us a glorious eternity that starts in our hearts when we are Saved,
but that will culminate in the eternity that Christ has prepared for us; an
eternity of love and peace with an abiding fellowship with God. And, our
guarantee that God will give us an everlasting body at the resurrection of all
believers is the Holy Spirit within us. Moreover, as we think more about
eternity and less about the here and now, Christians are also able to think about our
investments in eternity. In fact, it is our love, kindness, generosity,
and our self-sacrifice in doing good for others that becomes our
investment in eternity, which all Christians can make, if they are willing to
do so. Again, the Apostle Paul succinctly explained these investments and our need to invest in
eternity when he told Timothy: “By [being generous and doing good to others] [the wealthy
in this world] will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven – it
is the only safe investment for eternity! And they will be living a fruitful
Christian life down here as well.”
-- (I Timothy 6: 9: LB). Are you focused on investing in eternity by
helping others and by being kind, generous, and loving? Do you think about what
you can do to represent Christ to the rest of the world? If you need to start
thinking about ways that you can reach out to help others and show the love of
Christ, as well as witness to those who need to know Him, you might consider
Active Relational Christian mentoring. Christian mentoring as an easy way to
invest not only in others, but to invest in your eternity as you become a World
class Christian.
Fourth, World class Christians have goals, because they have
stopped thinking of excuses and have instead started thinking of creative ways
to fulfill the commission that Christ has given to each of them. The Great
Commission is every Christian’s commission. (See Matthew 28: 18-20). No Christian
is too young or too old to start thinking about ways to fulfill their personal
commission given to them by Christ. In fact, whether the Holy Spirit is
encouraging you to become an Active Relational Christian Mentor or encouraging
you to become a spokesperson for a particular ministry, the Lord has endowed
each Christian, i.e., you, with the ability to share Christ with others. We
know this because Jesus, before He was taken up into Heaven, told the apostles:
“But when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people
about Me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth.” -- (Acts
1: 8. NLT).
Just as the disciples were given power, i.e., the Holy
Spirit, to witness for Christ, born-again Christians today have also been given
the Holy Spirit who empowers them to witness for Christ everywhere they go. It
is just a matter of choosing to do your part for the Kingdom of God. Indeed, by
doing your part, i.e., by turning from self-centered thinking to other thinking;
by spending more time in prayer; by thinking more about the entire world’s need
to meet Christ instead of just thinking about those closest to you; by thinking
more about eternity instead of just living in the here and now; and by thinking
about creative ways to fulfill the commission given to you by Christ, you will
not only be living a life of
significance, but you will be on the path to becoming a World-class Christian.
World-class Christians maximize their potential as a member of the Kingdom of God.
For, Jesus said, “Only those who throw away their lives for My sake and for
the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live!” -- (Mark 8: 35. LB).
I hope each of you
can focus on growing spiritually and can focus on maturing as a Christian. In
fact, the question for all of us is: “Are we going to personally live up to the
standards and the cause of God’s Kingdom?” Moreover, are we going to change our
selfish way of thinking and instead start thinking about how we can help others
understand the Kingdom of God better? Then, are we going to start thinking
about people within our communities, within our state, within our nation and
even thinking of those in other parts of the world by praying for opportunities
to witness and speak up. We need to not only pray for others around the world,
but we need to also pray for the missionaries who can witness to the lost? Ultimately,
we need to pray for all the people who will believe in Christ as their Savior.
I know you can do it! You can not only mentor others for the Lord, but you can
become a World-Class Christian, too, in your attitude and in your actions.
***********
Are You Saved?
If in reading this post you realized that you are not a born-again Christian, it is
very easy to turn your life around and ask Christ into your heart. It is never
too late, (that is until you take your last breath and then it is too late), to ask Christ for
forgiveness of your sins and then ask Him into your heart. All you have to do, with true belief in Christ as the risen Son of God, is to pray something like
this:
“Dear Lord, I know that God sent you into this world to die
for my sins and I believe that you were born of a virgin, died on the cross,
and arose again the third day conquering eternal death for all who will believe
in and trust in You. Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and that wages of sin is
eternal death. I want eternal life. I am asking you to forgive me of my sins, for I believe that you
are the Son of God and that you died on the cross for our sins and then arose from the grave to give those who believe
on You eternal life. Jesus, I believe in You! Please come into my heart and
save me!”
It is not those exact
words that will save you. But it is your telling Christ that you believe in Him
and His resurrection, and that you want Him to forgive you of your sins and come into
your life that is important and that will save you. Once you give your heart and
life to Christ, then go out and tell someone. For Romans 10: 9-10 tells us “That if you
confess with your mouth ‘Jesus as Lord’,
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the
mouth he confesses, resulting in Salvation.” Then you can work on becoming that World Class Christian for Christ.
*************
If you are interested in reaching out to people for Christ,
if you are interested in helping, encouraging, and empowering other women to be
all they can be for God, themselves, and their families, perhaps you would be
interested in reading my book on Active Relational Christian Mentoring. My book
is entitled: The Three-Strand Cord of Active Relational Christian Mentoring.
Through personal mentoring stories, it discusses the many types of mentoring
and how Christian women can become a blessing to other women, and in the process,
they too can be blessed. My book can be purchased through Amazon, Barnes and
Nobel, Christian Faith Publishing Co., iTunes, and Google Play. Below is a link
to Amazon.
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