“Then Jesus came close to them and said, ‘All authority of the universe has been given to me. Now wherever you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And teach them to faithfully follow all that I have commanded you. And never forget that I am with you every day, even to the completion of this age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 TPT)
“And he said to them, ‘As you go into all the world, preach openly the wonderful; news of the gospel to the entire human race! Whoever believes the good news and is baptized will be saved, and whoever does not believe the good news will be condemned. And these miracle signs will accompany those who believe: They will drive out demons in the power of my name. They will speak in tongues. They will be supernaturally protected from snakes and from drinking anything poisonous. And they will lay hands on the sick and heal them.” (Mark 16:15-18 TPT)
“Now you must go into all the nations and preach repentance and forgiveness of sins so that they will turn to me. Start right here in Jerusalem, for you are my witnesses and have seen for yourselves all that has transpired. I will send the fulfillment of the Father’s promise to you, so stay here in the city until you are clothed with the mighty power of heaven.” (Luke 24:47-49 TPT)
“But I promise you this – the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and you will be seized with power. You will be my messengers to Jerusalem, throughout Judea, the distant provinces – even to the remotest places on earth!” (Acts 1:8 TPT)
I can remember just how excited I was every time my parents announced that we were going on a family vacation. I would pack, and repack, to make sure that I hadn’t missed a thing needed to make the most of the upcoming adventure. I could never sleep the night before as my imagination exploded with the possibilities. What new sights would I see? What new experiences would I have? What new foods would I enjoy (this was a big one to me)? My mind would race with the thoughts of campfires, amusement rides, gift shops, new places, and new faces. I have even greater joy when I think about my life adventures with Jesus (He literally wakes me up during the night).
I came to the spiritual understanding that Jesus loves me and wants to spend eternity with me at the age of 8. At the same time, the Lord gave me a deep desire to reach out with that same love to all around me. Today I use words like “saved,” “called,” “sent,” and “commissioned,” to describe what happened that day. Back then I just knew that Jesus loved me and he wanted me to spread that love around.
As you are reading this today I have that same childlike desire and drive to let you know that Jesus loves you! He isn’t hung up by all of the shortcomings and failures of your life. He isn’t turned off by the bad stuff you have done. He sees you as you are, the good, bad, and ugly, and loves you with an unlimited, unconditional love. Nothing is hidden from Him.
Think about this – Jesus looked into the future and saw every “sin” that I would ever commit. He heard every raunchy word that I would ever speak. He read every dirty, degrading thought that I would ever have. He heard every nasty, hurting word that I would ever speak to someone else. He was broken hearted over every time that I would reject Him, both privately and publicly, through my words and actions. He also saw every great accomplishment that I ever achieved in the pride of my own efforts. He witnessed all of the good things that I said and did, taking credit for them apart from Him. With all of this, the Bible says that while I was a sinner (had no interest in him at all) he died for me. If I was the only person in the entire universe in need of a savior He still would have left His home in Glory and came to this earth to be rejected, and die, for me. The same is true of you. WOW! The thought of just how deep his love is for me makes me want to get up and do a happy dance. I think I will!
Jesus loves you and wants you to be His disciple. He wants to teach you how to live the best life possible now and for all eternity. He wants to forgive you of all your sins, free you from all of your bondages, heal you from all of your sicknesses, and fill you with the very life of God (the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of Heaven). In short, if you will let Him, Jesus will give you the Kingdom of Heaven right here and now (all that heaven has to offer is yours for the asking).
Make Jesus the Lord of your life today. Simply accept His free gift of salvation. the Bible says that if I will call on the Name of the Lord I will be saved (forgiven, delivered, rescued, set free). Just talk to him (I call that prayer). He already knows anything that is coming between the two of you and loves you anyway (he sees all of the dirt that we try to hide and deny). All He wants you to do is acknowledge that you need Him to change your way of thinking (repentance) so that together the two of you can change the direction of your life. For me it started with the following simple prayer…
“Heavenly Father I know that I have sinned. I am definitely not good enough to come into your presence, but You have come to me anyway. I need a savior. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for me so that I don’t have to. Thank you for bringing Him back to life so that I can live with You forever. I make Jesus the Lord of my life. I’m going to live for Him from now on. You told me that whatever I ask in Jesus Name I will receive so I believe that I am now saved and forgiven in Jesus Name.
Amen!”
Let’s be disciples of Jesus and expect our lives to explode with His goodness and blessing as we ponder…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 300: Discipling Nations: The thrill of a lifetime!