Shooting the Breeze

This is a guest by Gerald Collins.  I am thankful for Gerald’s active participation in this blog community.

Author Bio: I am a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I started GC Ministry in 2009 as a call to preach the word of God. I write at GCMinistry.com to help encourage followers to develop a close relationship with GOD.

The Power of One

What is the real power of one person?

Most of us from time to time have wondered if we really make a difference in this world. We wonder how we could since we are only one person. How significant could one person actually be.

The Power of a Lie

This is one of the greatest weapons in our enemies arsenal. Satan uses the false accusation that we are only one person and insignificant to debilitate our service for the kingdom. He tells us that we shouldn’t even bother sharing our story because we are too small and insignificant to matter.

You do matter. Every soldier of Christ is valuable and useful to His army.

I want to share with you just how much of a lie this is. Follow along with me as I illustrate the power of one for you today.

The Power of You

In our example, you share your faith and gospel message with one person per week. I know at first glance that seems small and insignificant to you. We come in contact with many more people than that every day of every week. I think this is a small enough number to be very practical for you and me.

If you continue this practice for a year, you will have shared the message of God with 52 souls at the end of one year. You will have spread the message of Christ to 520 at 10 years and 1560 after 30 years. This is all from you sharing the message of God with one person per week consistently.

This number still seems somewhat small. The enemy may still whisper that many others reach that in one sermon or crusade. Why should measly little you even bother? Because that number is only part of the story!

The Power Multiplied

The rest of the story employs the wonderful art of exponential growth. Allow me to explain how this works. Very seldom will you share the gospel without any harvest. Here again is the power of one illustrated.

Suppose you have one soul each year as a harvest. That is a minuscule 2% return. Again, this is a very practical expectation.

In the second year, you would then both be sharing with one soul every week. Instead of 52 souls exposed to the gospel, you have now influenced 104 ( 52 x 2) as a result of your witnessing.

The third year would now see four individuals working for the kingdom ( you, your original convert, and each of your subsequent converts) and sharing the gospel. All of these souls reached are a direct result of your decision to share the message of God.

At the end of thirty years, you will have reached 1,073,741,874 souls for Christ. That is right, over 1 TRILLION souls!

You have the power to influence that many people in your lifetime and more.

The question is, are you going to step out in faith and believe what God can do through you? How many more could be reached if these meager numbers are increased?

This is a guest post by David Norman. David is a Christ-follower, a husband, a daddy, a pastor, a seminary student, a musician, and a blogger. He is currently at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth pursuing his M.Div. in Expository Preaching.

I love the beach – the sand between your toes, the gentle rhythm of the surf, the calming motion of the swells as you bob in the water. It just doesn’t get better than that.

This past weekend my family took a vacation down to Corpus Christi. One of the major reasons we went had to do with my eldest son’s 10th birthday. And his big request was simple – he wanted to go to the beach.

Requests like that make this daddy proud.

And more than willing to give him what he asks for.

And as we played at in the water, swam out to the second sand bar, built sand castles, and splashed in the shallows, it struck me.

What I like most about the beach is that I can get lost in it.

I can be wholly and completely immersed.

I can drive to a spot on the beach where no other human can be seen (at least I could when I owned my Jeep). I can swim to a spot deep enough that I can’t dive to the bottom. I can swim out in the Gulf so far that I can’t hear any other voice but my own (and if I listen, His). I can be completely swallowed by the enormity of the waters.

Nothing (apart from Scripture) brings me more comfort, hope, and assurance in the sheer magnitude of God than being immersed at the beach. However expansive the sky or the waters may seem from my perspective, He is greater still. And with that in mind, all of my cares, concerns, struggles, and questions become far less worrisome. In fact, they begin to seem rather small and fade away.

And in that serene sanctuary of God’s Creation, I discover the peace of knowing that there is nothing that I will face that can possibly compete with His grandeur.

Where do you experience the magnitude of God?

***** Don’t forget to enter my 4 year blogiversary giveaway! Click here for more details.

God has been doing some serious heart surgery on me over the past few weeks. I’m a little embarrassed to admit this but God has pointed out to me, through a couple different situations, that I need to address the issue of pride in my ministry. Pride has become this insidious and destructive thing that has kept me from becoming the leader God wants me to be and furthermore it’s become a thick barrier to my relationship with God.

It was C.S. Lewis who said,

As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.

This recent journey has led me to three questions that have been keeping me up late at night, causing me to break out in a cold sweat, and exposing traces of pride I didn’t even know existed. I dare you. No, I double dog dare you to slow down for a minute and honestly ask yourself these three questions.

1) Am I willing to allow another person to do what I think I must do?

2) Am I willing to do what I am doing, even if no one else knows I am doing it?

3) Am I willing to let God use me for a season, and then be okay with Him later putting my work into the hands of another?

Which question leaves you the most exposed?

***** This is a post Pete Wilson from Without Wax wrote for my blog a few years ago.  I thought it was worth re-posting. Pete Wilson is the founding and senior pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN.

This is a guest post from Michael Perkins from the blog Untitled. Michael is an ordinary guy looking to show God’s brilliance through ordinary-everyday life.

We go to the pool often during the summer.

Probably my favorite thing to do there is to sit and watch the kids jump in. It never fails, there is always a three or four-year-old kid who takes a running start and jumps into the pool without any hesitation.

But when I get in the pool it’s a totally different story.

I go in via the steps.

Testing the waters as I slowly make my way into the pool.

Hebrews 11:8 says,

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

Maybe, you are are at a pool in your life that God has led you to.

And you’re trying to decide whether or not to slowly test the waters or jump in like a kid.

Do yourself a favor and jump in.

What is God leading you to jump into?

This is a guest post by Jason from EndlessImpact.com.  Jason’s goal is to connect with others in a conversation about life, service, and faith while connecting to God who is true Impact.

I read a verse in my daily reading this morning and it bothered me. Jesus said in Mark 9:49, “For everyone will be tested by fire.”

It seemed so hard and less-than-compassionate. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I want laughing, playful Jesus 24/7 and to just skip over the parts where the truth gets harder.

Even though I know Jesus’ words about that testing fire is true and I’ve experienced it, I still don’t really like it. I can certainly appreciate the outcomes and transformation that happens, but the process is not glamorous or comfortable.

In that chapter of Mark, Jesus had been admonishing those around Him to get rid of their sin at all cost because we’re all going through the fire.

Fire is meant to expose any leftover impurities and put our faith into action.

The fire helps us get the full benefit of our trials (that may be a foreign concept!). It means we’re progressing!  I’ve decided I want to get through the fire with what I was supposed to and not have to go through again.

We really can endure all hardship and count it as discipline, and if we are trained by it, there will be a harvest of righteousness waiting for us (Hebrews 12:11). But we do have to be trained by it.

I think the scariest thing is when we try to take ourselves out of the fire. We tell ourselves that surely God couldn’t want this for us. He wants us to be happy, right? Fire and testing aren’t part of the equation!

We put our limited wisdom, skills, talents, resources, connections, wealth, etc. to find a way out, but it’s dangerous.

If we keep taking ourselves out of the fire, and in the absence of repentance, we will little by little lose our flavor as Jesus goes on to say in verse 50,

“Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.”

This post is not supposed to be a downer. I hope to be an encouragement that your struggles are just your passing through the fire. Move forward in faith and trust Him to bring you through to the other side in full flavor.

He’s treating us as children (Hebrews 12) and we’re becoming more and more like Him. So don’t grab the fire extinguisher or bucket of water. Trust Him and walk with Him completely covered in His grace.

Have you ever tried to escape the fire? What have you seen God do as you trusted Him through the test?