Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, ...

– Colossians 1:15

If you remember, I sent a devotional to you contemplating, “Why doesn’t God reveal himself to the doubters?”. And I suppose that a part of me wanted God to show up in a way that put fear and humility in the hearts of people that reject him. But of course, that is not the Lords heart. . . That seems to be so very obvious to me today. Something even more obvious, is that JESUS is God revealed to man with the right heart.

We have so very much evidence to show us that Jesus was fully man, but also fully God. Evidence of his existence; of his death and resurrection, and evidence of his commissioning us to go and tell others of his sacrifice for us and our opportunity to put our faith in Him!

. . . But we don’t want to hear it, do we? Oh, don’t get me wrong, those of us that realize our lost condition without his sacrifice want his free gift of salvation, for sure. We put our faith in his work on the cross and asked him to wash us clean and save us from our sin. We are even willing to gather as a church of believers once a week and take turns making each other coffee, greeting each other and directing traffic in the parking lot. It is actually kind of cool, to be a part of a clan of believers that dote on each other. And there is nothing wrong with that; it has an element of good to it. But if you’re like me, deep down inside, you know that being a Christ Follower is more than this. . . . and perhaps your even a little afraid that God is going to call you to “leave your nets and follow Him”. Well, I believe he is indeed calling us to do that. And as followers of Jesus, we will not experience heavenly purpose on earth until we are willing to GO.

What does that look like? Well, for many, it is finding out where we can serve the practical needs of our community. Serve the poor, the orphan and widow and then being willing to share Jesus when opportunity presents itself. Perhaps it is going across the driveway and loving your neighbor. Or opening your home for a community group or Bible study.

. . . what is it, that God put in you, that you are good at? What brings you joy in serving others. Put that together with other Christ followers and GO, wherever he leads to serve the practice needs of others. And in that process, be bold. Share the hope that you have.

My friends, gathering together as a church is not the main event. It is the preparation, or equipping of the saints for going. For doing. For being the hands and feet of Jesus to the one in front of you. If it sounds kind of scary, it is a trick from the enemy. Because we were created for this! Take a chance and GO. I promise you that your going will result in blessings beyond comprehension. A deeper connection with your creator and a fulfillment that we could only dream of from the safety of our chair in church. . . . please don’t be offended by that. All of us need to hear it from time to time. Be encouraged and determined to GO. Find a friend or three to partner with and do anything that serves others in Jesus name. And prepare for JOY unspeakable.You know God has called us – his Church to model this verse above to the world! . . . And our world desperately needs someone; some people group to model this, Amen? It is Unity. Being of one mind. And it starts in the heart of two people resolving to put the others needs ahead of their own. To be determined to love another no matter the response. . . . Even within a marriage, this kind of unity would change everything.

Actually, this is not complicated to walk out. We do not need more information to BE a unified church. We simply need to let the word of Christ soak into our souls; agreeing with the truth, praying for God to help us grab hold of that truth and then offering up ourselves to God as a living sacrifice – meaning we commit to God through prayer to give up our right to put ourselves first. We ask for and practice compassion, tenderhearted service to one another. We resist arguing - demanding fairness and treat each other like everyone matters most to God, therefore they matter to you!

We can miss the power of the word, when we read black letters on a white page and comprehend a superficial understanding of it while racing onto to other things. But that does not change anything. We desperately need to LET the word of Christ dwell in us RICHLY! Thinking deeply about what the truth in front of us is saying. Saying it out loud; writing it down. Praying for deep meaning and taking it into the day’s activities attempting to put it into practice with others.

To walk this out with other Christians is to sincerely see others and love them. It is to get to know others and to serve their practical needs. It is to pour out the Godliness that is in you, onto them and to partner with them to do this to others. It is to agree on the very few core beliefs necessary to serve God and to give grace and compassion in every other area. AND – most importantly, it is to take those beliefs into your community and serve the practical needs of your town and beyond in the name of Jesus.

. . . just one verse like the one above, if adopted into your soul, can change an entire world. My friends, that is the power of drinking in Gods truth. And there is a never-ending well of truth in scripture just waiting for our good pleasure :)

Equip...and Then Go