Every Good Thing...

Today's Reading:
Philemon; Philippians 1-2

In Paul's letter to Philemon, we have one of my all time favorite verses, "I pray that you will be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ Jesus" (vs. 6). The reason why this is one of my favorite verses is not because I love going out and telling others about Christ. I wish I did. I've anguished over this area of my life for most of my walk with God. You see, I find it difficult approaching people I don't know well. I'm not even that good at pursuing my friends (so if I'm pursing you, consider it a God thing). But what I love about this verse is the mark I have written next to it in one of my older Bibles, "(7/88). " When something jumps out at me in the Bible and I work through that issue, I write the date next to that passage in my Bible to act as a constant reminder to me of what I was dealing with at that time in my life. "7/88" stands for July, 1988 when I was on my first missions trip to Japan with Campus Crusade for Christ, and that is why this verse means so much to me. During that summer in Japan, we shared our faith to people who did not know Christ the entire summer. Talk about living out of your comfort zone! I can honestly say that when I returned I was completely fulfilled as a human. I was satisfied. Why? I had learned the secret of, "every good thing we have in Christ Jesus," by sharing my faith all summer long.

Today after work, I stopped to get gas. A homeless man approached me and asked for money. We talked for a while as I learned about his life. After he finished talking I shared my faith with him and asked if I could pray for him. He agreed. We prayed. As I drove away down Chicago Ave. I waived to him and he returned the greeting. I felt rather good inside. I was reminded of how blessed I am to know Jesus Christ and to be able to share him with another person. I was able to love and respect someone else I did not know. Do you want to have a deeper sense of purpose and fulfillment in your life? Go tell others about Jesus Christ. In time, your life will feel much different.

PrayerPoint:
Ask God to give you strength to serve Him.