No ministry can single-handedly reach their community with the Gospel. Use the “5 G’s” to find like-minded ministries to partner with.
]]>How amazing would it be if every soul in your community heard the Gospel, had a chance to respond in faith, and was able to get connected and grow with a Christ-centered body of believers?
At Dare 2 Share, we call that a bold vision—a massive, Gospel Advancing goal that can be accomplished only through God’s strength and by partnering with other believers outside of your church or ministry.
But how do you find and vet other churches and ministries to join you in striving toward that bold vision? What other leaders should you network with to reach your community for Jesus?
Should Baptists and charismatics unite for the cause of Christ? Methodists and Pentecostals? What about Presbyterians and Catholics?
At Dare 2 Share, we encourage what we call “5 G Theology” as the theological basis for a unified, multi-church push toward fulfilling the Great Commission in our communities.
These 5 G’s cover the essentials of the historic Christian faith in a simple, easy-to-remember way, and provide a basic framework of agreement that allows believers across denominations to work together to build Christ’s Kingdom.
God is. He is holy, just, merciful, loving, eternal, righteous, and so much more. He is one God, existing in three distinct, divine persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is fully God and fully human, yet without sin. He died in our place for our sin on the cross, rose physically from the dead, and will return physically to Earth.
He is the third Person of the Trinity, who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; indwells believers to empower them for life, service, and witness; and seals us until the Day of Redemption.
The Bible is inspired, inerrant, and, therefore, in charge. It’s to be fully trusted on every matter it touches, because it was “breathed out” by God Himself through the men He ordained and guided to author it.
The Gospel tells the whole story of creation, from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. It’s a clear and simple message that deeply and profoundly impacts those who receive it by faith. It can be summarized in this acrostic:
God created us to be with Him.
Our sins separate us from God.
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds.
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again.
Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life.
Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.
The 5 G’s provide the foundation for pastors and youth leaders to unite with other pastors and youth leaders in their city, for the sake of advancing the Gospel.
Like five weight-bearing columns holding up a building, each is essential. If one of them falls, the unity fails. The group crosses the line from biblical unity to anemic ecumenicalism.
When explaining the 5 G’s to youth leaders, I hold up my hand, spread out my fingers and say:
“If we agree on these five essentials, we can all put our hands in the middle for the sake of seeing every teen, everywhere in our community, hear the Gospel from a friend. We can work together, pray for each other, share ideas and resources, and mobilize our teens to make sure every school is covered with fully trained teen missionaries. The one rule is that, when we gather, we don’t bring secondary issues to debate at this table. Where someone stands on the sign gifts, the return of Christ (pre-, mid-, post-, pan-), modes of baptism, and the like, is not the concern for this networking roundtable. What is the concern, beyond basic theological integrity, is the salvation of every young soul in our city.”
May the 5 G’s help you unite, fight, and ignite:
✅ Unite with other solid churches in your community.
✅ Fight to win every last soul in your city.
✅ Ignite a movement of biblical proportions that shakes your community with the Gospel!
Hands in the middle!
]]>Striking up spiritual conversations can be easier than you’d think.
]]>Then Jesus came to them and said: ‘…go and make disciples…’
Matthew 28:18-19
As His parting command before He ascended to Heaven, Jesus told His disciples to go and make disciples. For years, they’d watched Him do just that—often by engaging strangers in spiritual discussions. They’d seen firsthand that the harvest was plentiful (Matthew 9:37).
The same is true today. Every day we encounter people who don’t know Christ’s saving love—who are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
It may seem daunting—even terrifying—to engage people around us in spiritual dialogue and point them to Jesus. But starting a conversation and turning it to the Gospel can be easier than you might expect—especially in a culture where so many people are looking for something authentic and hopeful to build their lives on.
To give you an idea, here’s one example of a recent conversation I had:
I was getting ready to head into a store at a local mall when I spotted a young couple.
The man had three crosses on his hat, so I asked him if he was Christian. He told me they both were Catholic.
I asked their names (Antonio and Sophia), and then after we chatted for a few minutes, I asked them both if they knew 100% they were going to Heaven when they died.
She said she hoped so. He said he knew. I asked him why he was so sure, and he told me how he tried his best to live by God’s rules.
Then I asked him, “Antonio, did you know that in order to enter God’s presence in Heaven, you have to be as good as God Himself?” He looked a bit shocked. So did she.
I asked him if I could share with them how they could be 100% sure they were going to Heaven.
They both gave me permission, so I shared the G.O.S.P.E.L. with them.
After asking them if what I just shared made sense, I invited them to trust in Jesus.
They agreed and said a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the free gift of salvation.
One of the benefits of traveling so much is I know a lot of good churches across the nation. Since they live in California, I got them hooked up with a solid church.
Pray for Antonio and Sophia as they begin their new walk with Jesus!
Anyone can share the Gospel with strangers using these six simple steps: pray, see, engage, explain, invite, and connect.
1. Pray every day for God to open up opportunities to share the Gospel.
2. See people, by taking the time to look around you, and be ready to obey the Spirit’s promptings to evangelize.
3. Engage people in conversation by asking questions and listening.
4. Explain the Gospel with simplicity and conviction.
5. Invite them (not coerce them) to put their faith in Jesus.
6. Connect them to a strong, Bible-based church to grow in their newfound faith.
Pray along with me that God will give us daily opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus, with friends and strangers alike.
]]>Is the Holy Spirit moving? Here’s how you can tell.
]]>After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Acts 4:31
As believers, we long to see God move powerfully among us, reviving hearts and igniting passion. But what should revival look like? How can we tell if spiritual ignition is real and in line with Scripture?
Here are three telltale signs of true, biblical revival:
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.
For the early believers in this passage, it was a literal shaking. God gave them their own personal earthquake that hit only their building. There is no recorded damage to this property, but it surely injured the kingdom of darkness.
When’s the last time this kind of shaking happened in a prayer meeting you participated in? I’m not referring to a literal shaking of the literal building (although that would be awesome). I’m referring to the corporate sense that our prayers are reverberating up to Heaven on a righteous Richter scale that’s shaking its very foundations.
I’ll never forget a meeting I attended at Cru headquarters, where I preached on this very passage at a gathering of national leaders. After I finished, the president of Cru at the time, the late Steve Douglass, came up to the stage with a somber look on his face.
I thought I was about to get rebuked for something I’d said. Instead, he took the microphone and said: “I had prepared remarks, but I feel compelled that we should go to our knees and pray that God would shake this building and shake our hearts for the urgency of the mission at hand.”
We did just that.
The moments that followed gave us all a taste of Acts 4:31. I’ll never forget the beautiful, but heart-wrenching intercessory prayers uttered throughout the room.
May we all aim to turn our prayer meetings into building-shaking, Heaven-taking events.
This can happen only when we pray with clean hands and pure hearts (Psalm 51).
This can happen only when we pray in true faith (Mark 11:23) in the name of Jesus (John 14:13-14), based on the promises in His Word (2 Peter 1:3-4).
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit….
The filling of the Holy Spirit is when God Himself fuels believers.
The Holy Spirit indwells us at the moment of salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14). But just because He indwells us doesn’t mean He propels us.
We must give Him the steering wheel—and clutch, gears, gas, and brake.
This filling is a moment-by-moment yielding to His presence, power, and control (Ephesians 5:18). It’s a daily declaration of dependence on Him, as a member of the Trinity, to empower us and allow the life of Christ to flow through us (Galatians 2:20).
This “shaking” may or may not come with emotions, chills, or experiences. But it does come with power. From this power flows the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and boldness to proclaim the Gospel (Acts 1:8).
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
You can’t call it a revival if it doesn’t hit the streets.
If disciples aren’t being made, then the Kingdom isn’t progressing.
Too many prayer-focused Christians lock themselves in a room, claim to get filled with the Spirit, but then never go out of their prayer closets to share the Good News.
But the first sign of the filling of the Spirit in Acts 2 is that the believers’ tongues are set on fire for the Gospel (3,000 new converts added in a day!).
If you want to experience revival, then follow the biblical pattern:
And, as you do, live a life all-out for Jesus. Then go out and share the Gospel with everyone you can.
May prayer shake your church, the Spirit shake your soul, and the Gospel shake your city.
This is biblical revival!
Don’t settle for anything less.
]]>Why clouds inspire me to share the Gospel
]]>There are many views of end-times theology. I’m in the “pre-everything” camp, but I’m friends with lots of people who hold to other views.
One of the truths I love about the pre-tribulation view of the rapture—which is the belief that Jesus returns on a cloud to rescue His people before seven years of increasingly devastating judgment poured out by God on the earth—is the readiness that it demands of believers in Jesus.
Jesus put it this way in Matthew 25:13:
‘So always be ready, because you don’t know the day or the hour the Son of Man will come.’
Paul the apostle explained it like this:
For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
After watching the so-bad-it’s-good A Thief in the Night movie of the 1970s when I was a kid, I saw every cloud in the sky as the possible chariot Jesus might use to take His church home. When I saw an especially billowy one, I’d assume it was big enough to hold His whole church, and I’d tune my ear for the trumpet blast.
It produced in me a holy restlessness and readiness and urgency to share Christ and live for Christ.
Over the years, that practice of cloud-watching has slowed way down.
Shame on me.
Regardless of our eschatology (pre-, post-, mid-, confused, or whatever), we all need to be readying ourselves and everyone around us for the return of Christ.
We need to share Jesus with urgency, because God doesn’t desire anyone to perish in the coming judgments, but all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9-10).
We need to live holy lives for God’s glory (2 Peter 3:11-12), so that when He returns we receive the rewards of following Him and hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).
And, if you happen to not be a Christian, you need to put your faith in Jesus before it’s too late. Jesus died in your place for your sin to rescue us from “the coming wrath” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
All who put their faith in the resurrected Jesus for the salvation of their souls will be saved. All those who don’t will face some gruesome judgments (see the book of Revelation).
Trust in Jesus now.
May we all be rapture-ready.
May we all focus our eyes on the clouds and tune our ears for the trumpet blast.
May we all put “I Wish We’d All Been Ready” by Larry Norman in our Spotify playlists today.
Are you rapture-ready?
Hey, look, a cloud!
]]>Leaders: To ignite your followers to share their faith, start here.
]]>Pastors and youth leaders: If you’re looking for an ideal sermon series or curriculum to inspire your congregation and teenagers to share the Gospel, I have great news: There’s one sermon series that’s free, easily accessible, and works every time.
That sermon series is you.
When you have compassion for the lost and a passion for Gospel Advancement that inspires you to consistently share the Good News of Jesus with those around you, it’s contagious. Your tears for the unreached will spill over onto your weekly sermon notes and your midweek program. And those tears will soften the hearts of those you’re leading.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t teach about evangelism or instruct your congregants or students on how to share their faith. On the contrary, outreach-training curriculum or events can give people the skills and confidence they need to clearly and effectively tell others about the Gospel.
But counting on a one-time series or event to ignite your flock is a setup for disappointment. It’s only when your people see you actively sharing the Gospel in your personal life and weaving your faith-sharing stories into your sermons, lessons, and programs that it will finally get through to them.
You become the ultimate sermon series.
Jesus modeled this in His life. When He called two fishermen—Simon Peter and Andrew—to be His disciples, He said:
‘Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.’ Matthew 4:19
As they followed, they saw Jesus pray for, care for, and share the Good News of the Kingdom with countless people, which trained and inspired them to do the same (see Acts 3 for just one example).
Jesus also said:
‘The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.’ Luke 6:40
Case in point: The students Jesus trained went on to turn the world upside down in a spiritual revolution that continues to this day.
The apostle Paul also followed this principle with those under his care, including the believers in Corinth, whom he told:
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1
Are you able to say the same to your followers? Are you ready to be the sermon series they need to see? Are you ready to personally share the Gospel and mobilize your church and youth group to do the same?
You are the sermon series, so begin setting the example today!
]]>How a chance wilderness encounter fueled my fire for every teenager to hear the Gospel.
]]>I’ll never forget fishing with my grandfather deep in the majestic Rocky Mountains of Colorado. As a city kid, raised in the urban streets of Denver, I looked forward to this annual fishing and camping trip.
It was always the highlight of my year—just grandma, grandpa, and me for two whole weeks every summer.
We’d stake out our camping spot, get everything set up, fish all day, and sleep all night—not in a tent, but in the camper shell on my grandpa’s bright-yellow Ford F-150 truck.
Every night, grandpa would make a huge fire, and every day he and I would trek somewhere to go fishing.
Although I didn’t particularly enjoy fishing, I loved being with my grandpa.
We would fish all day, catch our limit, and head back to camp. Guess what we ate for dinner? The trout we’d caught that day.
One day, while grandpa and I were fishing on a river about a quarter-mile down a steep ravine, he sent me back up to the truck to get more fishing tackle.
To be honest, I was nervous.
I was a nervous kid anyway, but being away from my grandpa, deep in the heart of the mountains, even for 10 minutes, terrified me.
As a kid with a very active imagination, I pictured a mountain lion around every corner, a wolf behind every tree, and a bear behind every boulder.
As I climbed above one of the final ridges before I got back to the truck, my worst nightmare came true. A wild animal stood right in front of me—literally a foot from my frightened face.
It was a little lamb, staring straight into my eyes.
After my heart started beating again, I realized that somehow this little lamb had gotten separated from its flock. I also realized that if I didn’t catch it, it would die out there, from one of the many predators that filled the woods.
I lunged to catch it, but it was faster than I was, and it sprinted away. I chased it as far as I could without losing my bearings, but in seconds it had disappeared into the thick forest around me.
I never forgot that little lamb. I didn’t have a camera with me, but the mental picture I took that day is an ever-present reminder of Jesus’s words in Matthew 18:12:
‘What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?’
It also reminds me of Jesus’s words in Matthew 9:36:
When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Heading back to our fishing spot that day, I was sad and somber because of that lost, surely-going-to-die little lamb.
I can still see it in my mind’s eye and feel the surge of energy as I lunged for it. I can still feel the sadness when I realized there was no way I’d be able to catch it and save it.
Perhaps that’s part of the reason why I’m so passionate about reaching the lost, especially the young ones—teenagers—with the Gospel.
These little lambs are lost in the wilderness with predators all around them (the world, the flesh, and the devil). We must rescue them before it’s too late.
That’s what Dare 2 Share is all about.
That’s what drives me to rescue the lost lambs and bring them back to the Shepherd of their souls.
Join me in this holy quest—before it’s too late.
]]>Fact: You can’t out-suffer Christ—which makes Him the ultimate empathizer.
]]>Whatever you’re going through, Jesus relates!
Whenever you pray and you’re not sure that God can empathize with your situation, just remember that there’s now a human—Jesus!—who’s a member of the Trinity.
Jesus is fully God and fully human (John 1:1,14; John 10:30).
He didn’t stop being God when He became a man.
He didn’t stop being a man when He ascended to the right hand of God the Father, 40 days after His resurrection from the dead.
The scars from the nails of His crucifixion will be on His holy hands forever (Zechariah 12:10, Revelation 5:6), as a visceral and eternal reminder of His humanity.
This God/man is our intercessor and advocate before the Father (Romans 8:34).
As He intercedes for us, He relates with all our hurts because He’s been hurt more deeply (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) than we can imagine.
Whatever you’re going through, Jesus relates.
He more than relates, because He’s gone through more pain, grief, abuse, hurt, abandonment, and torture than you and I can imagine.
So bring it all to Jesus.
He doesn’t condemn—He empathizes.
As Hebrews 4:14-16 reminds us:
…let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Come boldly before God’s throne of grace and bring all your struggles, for you have a God/man who relates.
You have Jesus!
]]>For me, it’s personal.
]]>My ma met my biological father at a party. They partied. She got pregnant. When he found out, he got transferred 2,000 miles away (he was in the Army).
Instead of standing in shame before her strict Baptist parents to give an account for another bad decision, my ma got in her car and drove from Denver to Boston. Under the pretense of visiting my Uncle Tommy and Aunt Carol, ma secretly was planning to have an illegal abortion. This took place years before Roe v. Wade would be put into law.
Thankfully, my uncle and aunt talked her out of it. When she was eight months pregnant, she came back to Denver. She then gave birth to me on August 20, 1965.
For years I wondered why ma would often burst out in tears when she looked at me. When I was 12 years old, my grandma sat me down and told me the whole story. Until the day she died, my ma never knew that I knew that she almost aborted me.
Through a series of crazy, yet divinely orchestrated events, my tough, bodybuilding, street-fighting family members became Christians. But not ma. Even when four of her five street-thug brothers, my uncles, converted to Christ, she was a holdout.
She bore too much shame. She had too much sin.
Or so she thought.
I got saved at the age of 8. When I was 12, I learned how to share the Gospel. The first person on my heart was my ma. I began to share Jesus with her, and she would say things like: “You don’t know the things I’ve done wrong.” (Although I did, because my grandma had told me everything.)
For years, I shared the Gospel with her. Then finally, when I was 15, I was privileged to lead her to Christ at my grandparents’ kitchen table.
But, in spite of her salvation, she still felt a lot of shame until the day she died, 19 years ago. Now she stands before the Savior, guilt-free, shame-free, and sin-free, because of the shed blood of Christ on the cross.
There are several reasons why I’m pro-life. One reason is that, well, I’m glad to be here.
A few years ago, I sent out a Tweet that went viral. It read:
In 1965 my mom drove from Denver to Boston to have an illegal abortion. My uncle & aunt talked her out of it. She often cried when she looked at me, feeling shame for almost aborting me. At the age of 15, I was able to lead her to Christ. Grateful for that. Grateful to be alive.
I am grateful to be alive. If she would have went through with aborting me, I would have never gotten married to my amazing wife, had two wonderful kids, or been privileged to train millions of teenagers across America and around the world to share the Gospel.
I’m glad to be here, but that’s not the biggest reason I’m pro-life.
Another reason I’m pro-life is that I witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of shame on my ma when it came to almost aborting me. Night after night, I could hear her bawling her eyes out through our paper-thin apartment-complex walls. Day after day, I’d hear her say things like: “I don’t want you to become a bum like me.”
This is the shame my ma felt for almost aborting me, so I can’t imagine the hurt that would have been in her heart if she’d actually followed through.
I hurt for those who’ve had abortions. Many must struggle with unimaginable grief, guilt, shame, and pain. It hurts my heart to think about it. I long for them to know, as my ma now knows, the mercy and grace that’s in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It hurts to think about the pain and shame so many women who’ve had abortions must be experiencing. But that’s not the biggest reason I’m pro-life.
The biggest reason I’m pro-life is that I believe in God, the Creator of life.
The great Apostle Paul wrote:
For in Him all things were created: things in Heaven and on Earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:16-17
Every life was created by Jesus and for Jesus. Every life is a precious gift from God and for God.
King David put it this way in Psalm 139:13-15:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.”
Every baby is a masterpiece that God Himself wove together in the womb of his or her mother. It’s not within our rights to destroy the Artist’s masterpiece. It’s not within our rights to take a precious life that God created.
To me this isn’t a political issue—it’s a moral issue. Ultimately, it’s not about a mother’s right to choose or a baby’s right to live. It’s about God’s right to create life. He’s the King of kings and Lord of lords. We dare not seek to stop His creative hand. We must see every life as a precious gift from Him.
And, if you’re reading this and have had an abortion or are seething mad because you’re pro-abortion, just know this: Your life is precious too. It’s so precious that the Son of God invaded time and space to become the Son of Man—Jesus Himself. He lived the perfect life you and I could never live. He died, as the perfect sacrifice, in your place and mine. He died for our sin and because of our sin. And now He offers you true life, everlasting life, if you simply trust in Him to save you.
Jesus said these words in John 11:25-26:
‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’
Jesus is pro-life too—pro-eternal life. Trust in Him now. Receive His gift of eternal life through faith. The moment you do, you’ll be both forgiven and given: forgiven for every sin, no matter how drastic that sin may be, and given life, hope, purpose, and a new family of brothers and sisters in Christ.
I write all about this, and tons more, in my book Unlikely Fighter: The Story of a How Fatherless Street Kid Overcame Violence, Chaos and Confusion to Become a Radical Christ Follower. I encourage you to read it. This book will remind you of how precious every life is, both young and old. It will remind you that the Gospel changes everything.
It sure did for my ma.
]]>The way to be saved is so simple—and yet so easy to get wrong.
]]>Pop quiz: What’s a human’s greatest need?
As Christians, we know the answer: a loving, eternal relationship with God, the living, all-powerful, personal Creator of the universe. And we know that the only way to have that relationship is through salvation—a deliverance from sin and death, which separate us from God. Unfortunately, too often when we talk about salvation, the message is muddied, and it’s unclear to believers and unbelievers alike how we receive salvation.
Fortunately, in just three short verses from the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul outlines five essential truths about this all-important salvation.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10
For it is by grace you have been saved…
The word “grace” means “the undeserved favor of God.” We don’t deserve it, but God generously gives it to us out of His love. We deserve judgment, death, and Hell—eternal separation from God. Instead, God extends to us His limitless grace, resulting in justification, life, and Heaven—eternal fellowship with Him.
…through faith…
Faith is the means by which we receive our salvation. The word “faith” means “trust in or reliance upon.”
When we trust in Jesus and rely upon His finished work on the cross in our place because of our sin, He saves us from Hell and hopelessness.
…not by works so that no one can boast.
If we could be saved by what we do, then when we got to Heaven, we’d say: “Look at me!”
But we bring nothing to salvation except our sin.
We’re saved by faith in Jesus and what He did on the cross when He died in our place. That means when we get to Heaven, we’ll all say: “Look at Him!” He’ll get all the glory, because He did all the work through His perfect life and His death on the cross.
“It is the gift of God…”
You don’t get charged for a gift. You receive it freely. The giver paid the price. You simply take it as your own.
Salvation is a free gift, but it was not cheap. It was purchased “with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
We receive it by simple faith and accept it gratefully from the nail-pierced hands of Christ.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We’re saved not by works, but for works.
God has prepared good works for you to do as a believer in Jesus and a recipient of salvation. You have a spiritual gift to use to serve the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:15-16). You have a spiritual mission to accomplish by spreading the Gospel and making disciples (Matthew 28:19).
The free gift of salvation by grace through faith should make us so grateful that it spurs a lifetime of passionate service to King Jesus. This is not the requirement for salvation but the only logical response to receiving such an indescribably amazing gift!
__________________________
Later in Ephesians, the apostle Paul tells us that our salvation is a proverbial helmet, protecting our minds from our spiritual enemies. I encourage you to protect your mind by reviewing these five truths about salvation daily, allowing you to stay grounded and strong in the glorious truth of the Gospel of grace.
Too many Christians are napping through a high-stakes battle. Here’s why and how to get up and fight.
]]>Believers, get in the fight!
There’s a battle raging, behind the veneer of this world. It’s a battle between believers and the forces of darkness for the souls of humanity (2 Timothy 2:26).
We must open our eyes to the battle and get in the fight. Satan has taken far too many of our neighbors, co-workers, classmates, family members, and friends as captives. He aims to drag them through hell and, ultimately, to Hell, where they will suffer God’s wrath forever (Revelation 20:11-15).
Meanwhile, this crafty Prince of Darkness has distracted far too many Christians with trinkets and toys, so they won’t look up and see the battle raging around them.
It’s time to look up and see. It’s time to rise up and fight, strapping on the armor Jesus has provided us (Ephesians 6:13-20). It’s time to storm the enemy castle and rescue the perishing.
It’s time to do more than just sit in holy huddles and exegete the text. It’s time to execute the mission, the Great Commission. It’s time to scrape from our ears the lies that keep us quiet about Jesus. It’s time to bring the Gospel up to anyone and everyone we can. It’s time to get in the fight!
Let the words of William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army, be your battle cry as you fight for the Light:
While women weep, as they do now, I’ll fight. While little children go hungry, as they do now, I’ll fight. While men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight. While there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor, lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight. I’ll fight to the very end!
Get in the fight today!
]]>