It’s Time for Show, Go, & Tell

February 4, 2014 by Kathy Howard 2 Comments

Maybe my confession will shock you and maybe it won’t:

Telling others about Jesus does not come naturally or easy for me.

In contrast, my friend Kim turns every encounter into a conversation about Jesus with what seems like no effort at all. It simply oozes out of her pours. And another friend, Susan, purposefully and joyfully builds relationships with hurting people who need to know Jesus.

I could just forget about it and say I’m not “gifted” in evangelism and while true, that’s just an excuse. In reality, I haven’t had enough practice. That’s my fault.

God calls every believer to share Jesus with those who need Him. He wants us to show them what a life of faith looks like, go to places that need Jesus, and tell everyone about the eternal life found in Him.

Jesus’ last words to us before He ascended to heaven reminds us of this divine directive:

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20, NIV

Our February theme at Do Not Depart is “Show, Go, and Tell.” We’ll talk about the biblical basis of living “missional” lives, tell about some of the ways we share Jesus with others, and give you some tips and resources to “show, go, and tell!”

Right now, I’m preparing for a short-term mission trip to Bangladesh. Honestly, I’m a bit nervous, but I know God called me to go. One of my biggest prayers over the last few months is that God would give me a heart for the girls and women we will be ministering to. I want my heart to break for them. I want it to be burdened for their physical and their spiritual need.

God loves them. Jesus died for them. But unless they hear, unless they come to know Jesus, they’ll remain lost, condemned (John 3:16-18). This is true for every soul in the world. In Bangladesh. In Africa. In America. Next door. So Jesus sends us. Will we go?

What would you like to hear or learn during this month that could help you foster a “missional” life?

We come to this – Isaiah 55:3 {Memory verse}

February 3, 2014 by Lisa Burgess 2 Comments

First, we listened. We heard His invitation to come, buy for free, eat, and enjoy (Isaiah 55:1-2).

Now, we see what we are coming to: God. And soul life. And His promise to love us forever (Isaiah 55:3).

Will you memorize with us this week (Feb 3-Feb 9)?

Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
Isaiah 55:3 (ESV)

Suggestions for memorizing Isaiah 55:3:

Begin each day reciting Isaiah 55:1-2 in your head or out loud
Pray to receive the message He intends you to hear this week
Read Isaiah 55:3. What is God asking you to do? What will you receive?
Read or listen to The Great Invitation by John Piper on Isaiah 55:1-3
Read through all of Isaiah 55
Repeat Isaiah 55:3 several times a day, looking for key words and phrases
Notice what words trip you up and mark them for extra review
Practice Isaiah 55:1-3 using Scripture Typer
Say Isaiah 55:1-3 aloud to someone in your home, workplace, or church
At the end of the day thank God for His lavish gifts to you from Isaiah 55:3
Practice using first letters:
I y e, a c t m; h, t y s m l; a I w m w y a e c, m s, s l f D. (Isaiah 55:3 ESV)

LINK-UP REMINDER:
Next Monday, February 10, is our winter link-up for your blog posts on scripture memory and/or Isaiah 55. Start writing now!

More information here on memorizing Isaiah 55. Download free resources here.

What have you learned so far from memorizing Isaiah 55? Please share in the comments and/or on our Facebook memory page.

New Beginnings: A Recap

January 30, 2014 by Patti Brown Leave a Comment

Have you begun something new this year?

Have you embraced that you are someone new in Christ?

We’ve spent the month pondering all things new with you – we hope you have been refreshed and encouraged.

In case you missed any, here are all the posts in our New Beginnings series:

A list of scriptures for your new beginnings
How to receive God’s grace in new ways for your old situations
In Christ you are a new creation, and that affects every aspect of your life
New beginnings mean we keep moving forward, even when things are hard
You can have a new beginning in your personal lineage – your ancestors’ sins don’t define you, Jesus does!
A look at the life of John, a man made new when Christ got a hold of his heart
Every day is a new beginning, every small choice that honors God moves you in the right direction

Allow God to water the sprout of a new beginning in your own life!

Every Day is a New Beginning

January 28, 2014 by Patti Brown 6 Comments

Do you ever feel like a hamster in a running wheel? Round and round you go with the same old habits, the same stinkin’ thinkin’. You wonder how you will ever get off.

You wonder if you will ever shake a sense of defeat.

I have my own entrenched habits that I often vow to overcome. I will never eat sugar again! No complaint shall ever pass these lips! Some days I’ll do well. Most days? Not so much.

I love to make big plans… do you? I sit with my pencil and paper and scratch out lists and schedules and create a world of perfection. A world where I never do wrong and everything goes according to plan.

Then I put the paper down and life seems to go along as it always has.

Yet as I look back over the past few decades, I barely recognize the woman I was twenty years ago. How is this possible?

Real change has always come for me in the small. It has come in the moments of one choice – do I speak my frustration or keep my mouth closed right now? Do I hit snooze or drag myself out of bed and read my bible? Do I believe what God’s Word says about me in this moment or do I believe the enemy’s accusations?

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

Each day is a new opportunity to make decisions that honor God. His love for you is so great – He lavishes it on you with His continual mercy and forgiveness.

It is not always easy to make those small decisions that lead to godly change, but you have an advocate! Jesus Christ, who knew all the temptations of man…

But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

Do you feel defeated in some area of your life? Take heart. God is not looking for perfection… He knows you can’t deliver on that.

But progress, yes indeed, that is possible. You can head in the right direction. Every little choice you make that honors God makes a difference. Every time you speak lovingly to your kids when you feel like yelling, every time you stay silent instead of complaining, every time you choose God’s way instead of your own – it is a new beginning.

Today is a new beginning! Be refreshed in His love and mercy!

Don’t settle for less – Isaiah 55:2 {Memory verse}

January 27, 2014 by Lisa Burgess 7 Comments

I invite you to memorize with us this week (Jan 27-Feb 2)!

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
Isaiah 55:2 (ESV)

Do you ever settle for less?
Is your schedule too full of urgent things that you miss out on the important things?
Have you given up on thinking you’ll get the good stuff, and are settling for inferior substitutes instead?

Remember that God desires only the best in our relationship with Him.

This week be encouraged from Isaiah 55:2 to use your resources to their best advantage to receive the riches God wants to give you.

It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
– C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses

Suggestions to help you memorize:

Review Isaiah 55:1 when you wake up each morning.
Read Isaiah 55:2 several times. What should he be spending money on? Working for?
Meditate on how you want to spend your money, energy, and time this week.
Continue reviewing the new verse several times every day.
Try reciting Isaiah 55:1-2 together to a family member.
Read through the rest of Isaiah 55 several times during the week.
Practice typing Isaiah 55:1-2 using Scripture Typer.
Pray before you go to sleep to rest well for a productive new day tomorrow.
Practice using first letters:
W d y s y m f t w i n b, a y l f t w d n s? L d t m, a e w i g, a d y i r f. (Isaiah 55:2 ESV)

Get more information here on memorizing Isaiah 55. Download free resources here.

What have you learned so far from memorizing Isaiah 55? Please share in the comments and/or on our Facebook memory page.

What Happens When Jesus Gets Ahold of Your Heart

January 23, 2014 by Lindsey 7 Comments

Admin note: We’d like to welcome Lindsey Bell to our writing team! Lindsey is a wife, awesome mom of two, and great writer with her first book coming out in less than two weeks! Meet Lindsey and her writing below.

Something happens when Jesus gets ahold of your heart.

We’ve been talking all month about how God changes us…how he makes us into new creations…how he molds our lives through his Word and His Son.

This could not be more evident than in the life of John.

John, whom Jesus called a Son of Thunder, became the disciple of love.

John, the disciple who asked Jesus for permission to call down fire on a Samaritan village (Luke 9), transformed into the man who later said these words: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God” (1 John 4:7).

Anger to forgiveness.

Judgment to love.

Son of Thunder to Disciple of Love.

So what happened that caused John to change?

As I look at the New Testament, I think the thing that happened was this: Jesus got ahold of John’s heart.

John watched as Jesus gave his life for the sins of the world (John 3:16-17).

He listened as Jesus taught the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5).

He saw Jesus forgive the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11).

John witnessed the sinful woman pour perfume on Jesus’ feet…and then saw Jesus love this woman-this woman that everyone else refused to even look at.

When others would have avoided a person, Jesus reached out his hands and touched them. When others would have thrown stones, Jesus forgave. When others would have judged, Jesus loved.

And that’s what made all the difference for John.

I’ve learned it’s also what makes the difference for us. When Jesus gets ahold of our hearts, He changes us too.

Where once there was a heart of anger, He gives us forgiveness.

Where once there was a tendency to judge, He gives understanding and grace.

Where once there was brokenness, He gives healing.

I don’t know where you’re at today…if there’s anger eating away at your heart or pain that never seems to go away or unforgiveness threatening to destroy you…but I do know this:

If you’re willing to give these things to Jesus..and let Him get ahold of this area of your heart…something amazing is bound to happen.

Something always happens when Jesus gets ahold of your heart.

What’s a story of what changed when Jesus got a hold of your heart?

Bible App for Kids {Let the Children Come}

January 22, 2014 by Patti Brown 3 Comments

Our youngest is a typically active little boy. When he is not running in circles outside or digging holes, he is reading books about knights or building lego warships.

We limit his “screen time” because we want him to grow up strong and healthy and able to find ways to amuse himself that are not electronic. But the fact is that there are lots of screens in our house (Mom is a writer and Dad is a computer programmer) so the requests to play on a computer or phone come steadily.

I have found a few educational games that are fun and appropriate for him, but I was especially happy to discover the new free Bible App for Kids from YouVersion.

Launched just a few months ago, the Bible App for Kids is a brightly colored, interactive story app, that takes kids through major stories of the bible. The text is printed as well as read aloud. After the story is read, your child has the option to answer questions.

In addition, there is a gaming element – the kids can hunt for pieces of the spiritual armor to add to their collection. There are achievement levels that can be reached based on number of stories read, and how often they are read.

Each story is individually downloaded (this is very helpful for impatient kiddos as the whole app does not download at once – much faster!) And new stories continue to be added.

As of January 2014, the Bible App for Kids includes

In the Beginning (creation of the world)
The First Sin (the fall)
The First Christmas Gift (Jesus is born)
Through the Roof (Jesus heals a paralyzed man)
It is Finished! (the cross)
A Happy Sunday (the empty tomb)
A Forever Promise (the new heaven and new earth)

My son says “It is really fun! And cool! I get to find the spiritual armor!”

I asked around for other parents’ thoughts on this app:

“My two year old grandson loves it! The interactive pictures hold his attention and he wants to do it again and again. I love that you have to listen to the verse/story before you play.” – Julie
“I’ve only played one level but me and my kids all like it. I loved that it is so easy to understand e”my 9,5,3,1 year old all play together and then we talk about it. It has really helped them understand on their level and made learning about the Bible fun.” – Missy
“My 8yr old loves it. He will sit and play on it until my kindle battery dies.” – Autumn

This app is marketed for kids ages 4-10. Children younger than 4 can enjoy it with an adult, and bible savvy kids may get bored in the older age range. Our son is right in the middle of the age range and enjoyed it, but did find the questions “Pretty easy, and really more for little kids.”

Have your children tried the Bible App for Kids? What did they think?

New beginnings start with history

January 21, 2014 by Julie Leave a Comment

Based on reliable information, I was destined to be a real hell-raiser. But before I could grow up to write a long, empty, broken history, God spared me and drew me to Himself. Like many others who began a relationship with Jesus as a child, I don’t have many sordid tales to convince you I was on the path of destruction. Maybe you have a testimony of early salvation and you’ve struggled with how to tell a story of life change and new beginnings that seems rather dull compared to those of dramatic transformation.

Look no further than your own family history for the answer to your dull dilemma.

With the ease of accessing information, there has been a resurgence of interest in genealogy and family history. God can use this to reach people! Online sources like Ancestry.com have taken away the barriers of discovering our ancestors. Author George Orwell spoke truth when he said, “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” Without looking at our history, both recent and far, we fail to shape a solid case for sin. As we uncover our lineage, we trace the pathway of the footsteps we were destined to follow.

Who were you on track to become before you began a new life in Christ?

Out of a love for history and a longing to connect with family, I began a search for my history, hoping to find something noble and redeeming. What I found was evidence left to me by generations back to the late 1500’s. Instead of a long line of saints, I found a yearbook of lost, empty, broken, lives. I needed a new beginning.

I was not only born to “look” like them, but to LIVE like them.

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11, emphasis mine)

I know we’re all born as sinners and destined to die because of it, but my family history proves I was born onto a trajectory that set me on a course for vices like alcohol, anger, and abuse. I had no hope of being a fine, upstanding citizen on my own. You?
When God intervened in the life of my parents and then in my life, He saved me from a future that was as sure as my history. He washed me, changed me, and declared me righteous because of what Jesus did. He is the God of new beginnings. Only Jesus can change the course of a life.

Praise God He can and does change the course of lives every day!

So, what’s in your story? Who were you destined to become?

This week’s memory verse – Isaiah 55:1

January 20, 2014 by Lisa Burgess 10 Comments

This week’s memory verse (Jan 20-Jan 26):

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Isaiah 55:1 (ESV)

Where do you go for water when you’re most thirsty? Most of us head to our refrigerator or kitchen sink.

But what about when you thirst spiritually? Where do you go?

As you meditate on and memorize Isaiah 55:1 this week, ask yourself if you’ve been seeking the correct source to satisfy your thirst, and if you’ve been overworking to receive what’s meant to be free.

Suggestions to help you memorize:

Recite the verse aloud several times, phrase by phrase.
Reflect on the word come. What does it mean to you?
Research the context of Isaiah 55, particularly verse 1. Look up cross-references.
Ask yourself: Who is to come? Where are they to go? What are they to do there?
Ask God how you can apply this verse to your life this week.
Take these words with you on a card or your phone. Review them in spare moments.
Type the verses on your laptop or phone app using Scripture Typer.
Practice with the first letters of each word:
C, e w t, c t t w; a h w h n m, c, b a e! C, b w a m w m a w p.

Are you memorizing with us this week? Register to receive our free eNewsletters. Download free resources here.
Please share what you’re learning in the comments and/or on our Facebook memory page.

When You Have to Come Down the Mountain

January 16, 2014 by Caroline 3 Comments

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I hear giggles. I step into the room and see smiles and beautiful play. My daughter has two of a similar toy and hands one to her brother, grinning as she says, “Your turn!” in her sweet, baby girl voice.

It’s beautiful. It’s peaceful and energetic at the same time.

I praise them for acting so kind and sharing so well.

And suddenly someone pushes someone else and someone screeches and we’re into a bickering moment (even though brief).

How quickly we came down that mountaintop with the peaceful view of calm hills.

The same thing happens in my own faith life.

I pray. I consult God first (what I always want to do, but so often forget to do). I act on that faith with love regardless.

But then, just as suddenly as a shove, I’m tumbling down that mountain. I grumble, I forget, I worry.

Why can’t I stay on the glorious mountaintop?

We Can’t Stay Yet

We want desperately to stay on the mountaintop. For me, personally, that’s part of what has fueled my insatiable perfectionism.

Ann Voskamp writes in [amazon_link id=”0310321913″ target=”_blank” ]One Thousand Gifts[/amazon_link] (Zondervan, 2010):

“Can I just go back to the moon and the brazen glory? Wind and trees and sky wake me and I’m Peter on the mountaintop, stirring to see The Glory in all its God-radiance, stammering out that it’s good to be here; let’s build shelters and never depart (Luke 9:28-36). But there’s always the descent from the mount.” – One Thousand Gifts, p. 124, emphasis mine

We’re not meant to stay on the mountaintop—yet.

We’re not flawless—yet.

We won’t be; not on this side of Christ returning.

But, we are on a journey. And that journey includes hilltops and valleys. Experiencing the highs and lows makes the highs so much more glorious. Seeing the dark (impossible to avoid) and the light reminds us the light shines so much brighter, and it shines regardless of how dark the dark is.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:5

We’re on a journey. And every step of that journey is new.

A new beginning. A new chance. A new opportunity to choose right and good and love.

It might be a step forward. It might be a step the side. A step up the mountain, or a step down toward the valley. Or even a step back where we came from.

But, we keep moving. We keep journeying.

“We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.” – C.S. Lewis

We keep walking into each new day, new moment with a God who is present the whole time.

“Remember not the former things,  nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing;  now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? 

I will make a way in the wilderness  and rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:18-19

What new step are you taking in your journey today? If it’s been rough traveling for a while, how can you look at your next step with a fresh perspective of new beginnings? Share in the comments below!