Freely you have received, Freely give

In Matt 10 we read about Jesus sending His disciples out to minister and preach about the Kingdom of God. Yet, too many times we see this as a story about someone else and miss the point that all of the followers of Jesus, that all of His disciples are given this same commission to minister. In Christ we have been given so much, and each of have life and hope and blessings to share with the world around us.

The apostle Peter tells us (1 Pet 1:3-4) that Jesus has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness - we have been given exceedingly great and precious promises.

2 Cor 5:17-21 declares the truth that we are new creatures in Christ, we have been reconciled unto Him – but it doesn’t stop there. The fact is that we have been given the ministry of reconciliation, where we become ministers of the very message that freed us. We are His representatives in the earth today and we carry the Word of life, the Word of hope, that sets people free.

Preaching and ministry is not just for a certain group of people. As the people of God, as the followers of Christ we must stop disqualifying ourselves. Lord, open all of our eyes to see that we have been invested with new life and the very power of God.

If we have been born again, if we have been born of the Spirit of God, then we carry the divine seed within us. It is no longer us that lives, but Christ that lives in us (Gal 2:20).

In Acts 1:8 we see that we are filled with power from on high, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and we are to be witnesses of this fact.

God has given us each spheres of influence, we all have people that we relate with on a regular basis. All we need to do is simply be open about what Jesus has done in our lives and what He can do in their lives.

This is not about formally preaching at your neighbors and friends, this is not about trying to have a church service or share some pre-programed message. What this is about is just sharing in your own words and in your own way how Jesus is real to you. It does not have to be a complicated and polished message, in fact most people don't want to hear something religious - but most people do want to be loved, to be accepted, to have something to hope in, and to have a reason for living.

If you have a personal relationship with Jesus and you know you are loved, that you are forgiven, and that the Lord is there every day to be with you. Then you have all that you need. Freely you have been given, freely you can then give.

Think about it, if each one us who is a believer would simply share about how Jesus touches us and shows us things and gives us grace, if we just shared these things it could change the world - which is the exact what Jesus came to do.