Go therefore ... Part 1
Ever have one of those days where every time you turn around, you keep hearing the same thing over and over. Every conversation makes its way to the same subject somehow or another. That's what happened to me this week. In fact, in one day, I had 4 conversations and 1 dream all about the same thing. Okay Lord ... I think I got it! But the tricky part is acting on it.
In the end of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus leaves the disciples (and us) with this statement:
Go ... Make ... Baptize ... Teach! Pretty clear instructions for the disciples wouldn't you think. The problem comes in as you start to think about HOW to accomplish these 4 things. I know that probably sounds crazy, but how many different books, programs and teachings have we heard about accomplishing what the Lord commanded in the end of Matthew 28. One church says it has to be done this way, and another a different way. And last week, I sensed the Lord leading me back to the simplicity of these verses. Go ... Make ... Baptize ... Teach!
I have to admit that I can be a very linear kind of thinker. I want to know the steps to accomplish something before I get into it. I confess ... I LOVE TO READ THE DIRECTIONS! There, I said it. I mean I like to read from the front page to the end. Warranty info, copyright descriptions, care and maintenance. Yeah ... not that I remember any of it. I just have enough perfectionist in me that I don't want to do it if I don't have all of the data in front of me to do it right. Contrast this with my wife who likes to cook without setting a timer. I constantly tell her that the instructions are there to help make sure the meal turns out right. Just think how much money companies spent to research cooking times, even at high altitudes! But no ... she is an intuitive chef. I don't know what that means, but it sounds way too risky for me. And that is my problem with microwave popcorn. It never takes as long as they say. But I digress ... This kind of thinking can turn simplicity into complexity fast. But the Lord, in His wonderful simplicity, has been taking me back to His command to His disciples in the book of Matthew. So what does it look like to GO? What exactly does it look like to Make Disciples? What about Baptizing? Not to mention Teaching? Where these just some random thoughts from Jesus or were they strategic instructions He gave them on advancing the Kingdom and building the church?
to be continued ...
In the end of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus leaves the disciples (and us) with this statement:
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Go ... Make ... Baptize ... Teach! Pretty clear instructions for the disciples wouldn't you think. The problem comes in as you start to think about HOW to accomplish these 4 things. I know that probably sounds crazy, but how many different books, programs and teachings have we heard about accomplishing what the Lord commanded in the end of Matthew 28. One church says it has to be done this way, and another a different way. And last week, I sensed the Lord leading me back to the simplicity of these verses. Go ... Make ... Baptize ... Teach!
I have to admit that I can be a very linear kind of thinker. I want to know the steps to accomplish something before I get into it. I confess ... I LOVE TO READ THE DIRECTIONS! There, I said it. I mean I like to read from the front page to the end. Warranty info, copyright descriptions, care and maintenance. Yeah ... not that I remember any of it. I just have enough perfectionist in me that I don't want to do it if I don't have all of the data in front of me to do it right. Contrast this with my wife who likes to cook without setting a timer. I constantly tell her that the instructions are there to help make sure the meal turns out right. Just think how much money companies spent to research cooking times, even at high altitudes! But no ... she is an intuitive chef. I don't know what that means, but it sounds way too risky for me. And that is my problem with microwave popcorn. It never takes as long as they say. But I digress ... This kind of thinking can turn simplicity into complexity fast. But the Lord, in His wonderful simplicity, has been taking me back to His command to His disciples in the book of Matthew. So what does it look like to GO? What exactly does it look like to Make Disciples? What about Baptizing? Not to mention Teaching? Where these just some random thoughts from Jesus or were they strategic instructions He gave them on advancing the Kingdom and building the church?
to be continued ...
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