The Outsiders

My heart is overwhelmed with the Word of God this morning.  He is so clear as to what He wants of us and what He expects from us, how can we be so blind to continuously miss it?

God is calling and gathering those that no one wants or expects.  We as those that consider ourselves "insiders", better get ready to accept, embrace, welcome and train those we would consider "outsiders".  God is bringing them and we are responsible for how we treat them.  We are responsible to love them, treat them with respect and dignity and great compassion.

You see, we "insiders" don't have a monopoly on God or on His blessings.  Actually, He likes and embraces the "outsiders".  He makes special promises to them that He hasn't made to those of the household of righteousness.

I am just naive enough to believe that if God wants and loves the outsiders, and wants them treated a certain way, then that's what I am going to do.  Love them, treat them well, respect and honor them and never make them feel "less than".  If I do this, God will continue to send more my way......that to me sounds like a harvest!

Just take a look at scripture to find out how God really feels about those that we consider "less than"...

Isaiah 56 - Message

Salvation Is Just Around the Corner

 ^1-3 God's Message: "Guard my common good: 
   Do what's right and do it in the right way,
For salvation is just around the corner, 
   my setting-things-right is about to go into action.
How blessed are you who enter into these things, 
   you men and women who embrace them,
Who keep Sabbath and don't defile it, 
   who watch your step and don't do anything evil!
Make sure no outsider who now follows God 
   ever has occasion to say, 'God put me in second-class. 
   I don't really belong.'
And make sure no physically mutilated person 
   is ever made to think, 'I'm damaged goods. 
   I don't really belong.'" 

 ^4-5For God says:   "To the mutilated who keep my Sabbaths
   and choose what delights me
   and keep a firm grip on my covenant,
I'll provide them an honored place
   in my family and within my city,
   even more honored than that of sons and daughters.
I'll confer permanent honors on them
   that will never be revoked.
 ^6-8"And as for the outsiders who now follow me,
   working for me, loving my name,
   and wanting to be my servants—
All who keep Sabbath and don't defile it,
   holding fast to my covenant—
I'll bring them to my holy mountain
   and give them joy in my house of prayer.
They'll be welcome to worship the same as the 'insiders,'
   to bring burnt offerings and sacrifices to my altar.
Oh yes, my house of worship
   will be known as a house of prayer for all people."
The Decree of the Master, God himself,
   who gathers in the exiles of Israel:
"I will gather others also,
   gather them in with those already gathered."


I pray that God will help us to change our perspective on how to love and reach people.  After all, we were once strangers and wanderers and He gathered us to Himself and planted us inside His family, maybe we should do the same for others.........just a thought......

"Least of These...."

It's been a while since I've written, but something is stirring in me this morning and I can not shake it.  I have been thinking about practical Christianity and walking out what I say I believe.  It seems I have become self-absorbed and selfish in my faith.  That's not a pity, false humility statement - it is true confession......how do I know?  I have been comparing my life activities to what the Word of God has to say and I've come up short!

Here's what I've been discovering and what has really hit home with me lately - we can talk about God and church, we can have deep theological conversations or we become "too heavenly minded to be any earthly good" (a quote from my 25 year old).  However, when I look around me I see that those I'm having the conversations with are "full/fat" on the Word already and it is becoming gluttony - while we have people all around us that are being ignored.  I think the reason is this:  these are the people we are comfortable with.  They don't challenge our faith, they don't look different or act different, they aren't "out of our comfort zone".

I just want to get on my rooftop and shout - WAKE UP CHRISTIANS!!!!  Stop ignoring the unsaved, the unlovable, the undiscipled, the lost and the hopeless!!!!  Come out of your private circles and church clicks and see those around you that need all this knowledge and revelation and wisdom that you have!!!!! 

I know I sound like I am ranting and maybe I am, but honestly, I am heartbroken to realize what I have started to become - complacent, comfortable, haughty, arrogant and blind to those around me that are needing the Jesus that has changed my life and made me whole.   I'm being challenged. I am being confronted by the Spirit of God.  I am willing to change and live life outside of my comfort zone if it means that I am doing the will of God and being His hands and His feet.  So, if you are willing and you want to change, let's do it together; however, if you just want what you have and you are comfortable where you are and with who you are with - I'll see you around.  I'm done with complacent Christianity and so called "church".  There are people who need Jesus and I have to go get them and love them and reach out to them - starting today!

Here's my prayer for you and for me:  Father, forgive me!  Forgive my blindness, my conceit, my selfishness.  Remove the blinders from my eyes.  Help me to see those around me.  Help me to recognize those in need.  Help me to be Jesus with skin.  I surrender my life for the one you have chosen for me.  I give myself away, so you can use me.  I ask you to bring those that have been ignored, abused, considered less than into my path.  I ask you to help me to minister Jesus to them in a very practical way so they will see that you love them.  Help me to lead them to you!  

If you think I'm over reacting or just being dramatic, here's a thought - read the scripture for yourself and see what Jesus has to say about it.  After all, he's the ultimate authority.......

Matthew 25:31-46

The Message (MSG)

The Sheep and the Goats

 ^31-33"When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

 ^34-36"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

   I was hungry and you fed me,
   I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
   I was homeless and you gave me a room,
   I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
   I was sick and you stopped to visit,
   I was in prison and you came to me.'

 ^37-40"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

 ^41-43"Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

   I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
   I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
   I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
   I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
   Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'

 ⁴⁴"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'

 ⁴⁵"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'

 ⁴⁶

Why Should Others Follow You?

In the previous article, we discussed "Come Follow Me".  We talked about the motives and mindsets.  We asked ourselves some tough questions.  Hopefully, we found some honest answers.

Today, I think the thought has to be, what made Jesus so confident that He could tell others, "Come follow Me and I will make you fishers of men"?  Lay aside the fact that He was 100% God.  He was all powerful, stepped out of heaven and came to earth to redeem us - the one and only son of the Most High God, born of a virgin - skip all of that.  We also have to remember that He was 100% man!  Tempted like we are, flesh and bone.  Emotions, a will, the ability to make decisions - human.  In light of that perspective - what made Him confident enough to tell these men - not children, not weaklings - men.  Fishermen, in fact.  Strong, rugged, stinky, hard working - men.  What did He know that they didn't?  Why was He so confident that He could look at them, call them out, interrupt them from their routine, approach them even though their father was with them and tell them - "Come, follow Me"?  

Jesus had been through a process.  He had been trained by His mother, told that He was the Messiah.  He knew inside of Himself that He was the King of Kings.  He submitted to every form of authority over Him.  He traveled to the synagogue, He played with the other kids, He learned to follow and obey His parents.  He then submitted to baptism and honored John the Baptist's position as His forerunner.  He followed the Spirit's leading into the wilderness.  He fasted, He prayed, He was tempted - and He stood on the Word.  Jesus had been through some stuff before He ever invited people to follow Him.  He wasn't a novice.

Interestingly enough, Jesus went to Capernaum after He heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison and He decided to make Capernaum His new home base.  Scripture says He began preaching before He ever called his disciples to follow Him.  I believe this is a principle - one that we sometimes get backwards.  Many times we want to assemble a team and then go do something.  However, I believe the way Jesus did it is the best way.  He established Himself by just doing what He knew He was called to do - by Himself.  No assistant, no helper, no person to carry His robe.  He just went about preaching.  He didn't ask for permission.  He didn't seek approval.  He just did it!  Right where He was. 

If we are going to ask people to follow us, we need to have a track record.  We need to be doing what God has called us to do.  We need to be living our life in such a way that it makes it easy for people to follow us because we have already established ourselves as the leader.  Jesus was a great leader because He was a great follower.  He did nothing without the Father's instructions.  It was recognizable in Jesus' life that He was the leader.  He knew where He was going.  He knew His assignment.  He was going whether anyone followed or not.  Process and persistence - He knew who He was and where He had been and where He was going. 

Too many people want others to follow them because they have a "vision" for something great, but they have not been through the process nor do they know how to accomplish the vision - no plan.  They may have charisma, they may have personality - but what about integrity, character, direction, testimony.....Jesus showed us that it takes all of those things in order to be able to be bold enough to say, "Come follow me"!

Process and persistence.  Keys to boldness.  Keys to success.  Keys to leadership.  So, here are the tough questions:  Have you been a good follower, so you can be a good leader?  Have you been through the process or preparation?  Did you pass the tests?  Do you know where you've been and where you're going?  Are you bold enough to tell others that you can be trusted enough to be followed?

I am asking myself these same questions.  When Christ calls us to lead, we are responsible to lead as He did.  We must know who we are following in order for us to have the boldness to have others follow us. Our challenge is to follow Christ as we ask others to follow us.

Come Follow Me

How many times have you followed someone somewhere?  The reasons you followed may vary:  some follow others because they don't know the way, some follow because they don't want to lead, some follow because the leader insists, some follow just for the adventure.  There are many reasons we follow.  Some good and some not so good.  During my reading this week and during my life this week, I keep hearing these words, "Follow me".  Sometimes I was saying them and sometimes I was hearing them.  It made me reflect on their meaning and it made me ask a few questions.  I want to share that with you and see if you may feel the same way.

First of all, many times this week, I heard myself saying, "just follow me" or "I'll drive" or "I know how to get there".  Those are really powerful words that we sometimes take for granted the implication.  To ask someone or a group of people to follow you is a power that not everyone is comfortable with or quite frankly that everyone should have.  As I reflected on these phrases I began to realize that I was asking people to trust my leadership ability.  I was asking them to have confidence in me.  Trust me.  When we look at that in its full context we begin to realize that we are asking people to surrender their will to ours, their way to ours and their desires to ours.  It could be as simple as they would have taken a different route to the destination had they been driving or it could be as life altering as them trusting our interpretation of scripture for their future and destiny (eternity). 

I believe in asking myself tough questions.  I believe that it is only by facing the inward motives of my heart that I can truly walk the life I was designed to live.  So, I want to ask you to consider these questions.  I want you to consider who you are asking to follow you, why you are asking them to follow you, how you are asking them to follow you, where you are asking them to follow you.

Where we want people to follow us and how we want them follow us and most importantly WHY do we want them to follow us are questions that we must ask ourselves daily.  Am I giving people a good reason to follow?  Where am I going that others need to come to?  Is there a reason I want them to follow a certain way?  Why - what makes the place I am going so much better than where they are now?  Am I asking them to follow me for wrong motives?  Am I asking them to follow me because I think it would be good for them?  Too many times, we ask people to follow us - but we don't know why.  We ask them to trust us - but we don't know why. 

Very specifically, Jesus told his first disciples, "Come, follow me".  He knew why.  He knew where.  He knew when.  He knew how.  The first thing Jesus told them was the why - "I will make you fishers of men."  He wanted them to use their gifts and talents and abilities to build the Kingdom of God.  He related to them where they were.  He told them their purpose.  He didn't tell them the how and the where but He did tell them the why and the when - "Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men."  Come -  now, leave your familiar setting, follow me - what they would be doing, make you fishers of men - why they needed to leave and follow. 

Today, ask yourself this question - who is following me?  Where am I leading them?  What example am I setting?  Do I know where I'm going?  Can I help them reach their destination?

These questions are applicable to every area of life.  If you are a mom, you are leading your children.  If you are a dad, you are leading your family.  If you have breath in your body - someone is following you.  Where are you leading them?  Realize it is a privilege and an honor to have people follow you.  They are placing their trust and confidence in you.  You were called to have others follow.  Enjoy the trip!