Follower of One : Missions For The Rest Of Us

Is God still working on you? And is that a trick question?   "To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power," 2 Thessalonians 1:11   In the verses before Paul talks about what God is doing. Because God is so busy, we should be praying. He says he "always prays." Could you say that? In...

Are you worthy of the Kingdom of God?   "This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are also suffering." 2 Thessalonians 1:5 ESV   By saying "this is evidence," Paul is pointing back to the previous verses and we covered those yesterday. Our ability to grow spiritually through difficulty is evidence of God's judgment. Ou...

Carol Middlekauff is the author of the book, " Take Someone with You to Heaven ," in which she shares story after story of God working through her. Her message is simple: Anyone can share their faith with others—you just have to make yourself available. Carol joins me in this episode of Follower of One to share just how easy it can be to share your faith in natural conversations. You will want to...

Do you whine to God?   "We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring." 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4   Paul boas...

If we're all lost, how arrogant can it be to give directions?   "Judge not, that you not be judged. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1-2   First, let's say this isn't about using discernment. We make judgments multiple times a day as to how we will act, or what we say, or what we do. This "judgment" is abo...

What are we trying to accomplish by living and sharing the good news?   "to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me." Acts 26:18 NASB   Paul is retelling the story of his conversion, and he quotes the risen Jesus. In the January...

How good do we have to be to get to heaven?   "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:20 ESV   The minimum standard to enter heaven seems like a pretty high bar in this passage. What did Jesus mean and what hope exists for us?   Yesterday, we talked about the consequences of not keeping the whole l...

What difference does the Law make now that we follow Jesus? Why did Jesus say he came to fulfill the Law rather than to abolish it?   "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Matthew 5:17 ESV   What do you think happens when the Law and the Prophets are fulfilled? Jesus says it in the next verse, "not an iota, not a do...

Deb Brown Maher fell in love with sales when she was a kid. But when she entered the workforce and got her first sales job, she failed miserably. Why? She was expected to use a high-pressure script. She couldn't sustain the behavior they asked of her, so she quit. That spurred her to find a way to sell that was ethical, honors the prospect, and makes money. Because Deb is a Christ-follower, she lo...

Why do we think following Jesus will be easy?   So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." John 20:21 NASB   Notice that Jesus says, As the Father sent me, so I send You. What do we see when we consider the phrase "as the Father sent me"?   I came across this verse when I was recording the podcast series on 2 Corinthians 6:1-12. We see hardship. W...

When you're worried about something, where do you go? To whom do you turn?   "The Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of distress; he cares for those who take refuge in him." Nahum 1:7 CSB   Do you ever feel like you're in danger? Do you ever feel alone, or isolated?   Nahum spoke to the Jewish people, probably the southern kingdom, about 100 years after Jonah. Many years before this Nineveh captu...

Do you consider yourself wise?   And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. Ecclesiastes 2:13 NASB   Every day, you need wisdom. Wisdom is applied knowledge or the ability to skillfully apply knowledge. Many of us believe in Jesus. But we need wisdom or our faith won't make much difference in the day-to-day of our workplace.   The CSB says, "there is an advantage to wisdom over f...

How often would you say your motives are purely for another person's benefit?   "[J]ust as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved."   I spoke about the verse before this in Episode 784 Give No Offense , but I skipped to the next chapter in the next episode and never talked about this verse.   Can you say that you seek th...

Does Jesus expect us to be perfect?   "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48.   Jesus seems to be summing up one section of his sermon and moving to another. This could be a great transition verse. In most of chapter 5, he's been blowing up the ideas of the past and the way the Jews think. He's making the point that perfection is the standard.   All of the...

In 2011, Dr. Self Charlie Self asked the question, "What does a healthy Christian look like 24/7? Can we measure that?" Dr. Self and colleagues Johan Mostert, and Jame Bolds set out to figure out ways to articulate wholeness in Christ to help Christians grow in both their strengths and weaknesses.  In 2013, they published an assessment tool to allow individuals to answer questions and receive a pe...

Imagine you're an heir to billions of dollars. What comes to mind?   "[A]nd if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." Romans 8:17 ESV   I came to this passage thinking about being an heir with Jesus. It was really a cool devotional time as I thought about this. He owns everything, and I'm an he...

Have you ever been a witness in a trial?   The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Romans 8:16 ESV   I've never had to be a witness in a trial. I have been asked to talk about things I've experienced before. I often share about what I've been through so I can help others avoid the misery of many of my mistakes.   The image of this verse is about how the Spirit...

Are you adopted? How does that illustrate what God has done for us?   For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by who we cry "Abba! Father!" Romans 8:15   Notice the contrasts again. Fear and death and slavery are all associated with the flesh in these passages. But we don't need to be subject to those things anymor...

Do. you expect an inheritance from God?   "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:14 ESV   Back in the time the Bible was written, sons inherited things. Paul uses the term "sons" here to denote that we will be expecting an inheritance. We are heirs of God. We're his children. He's going to give us his glory and his riches. Once we trust God, and get in the position as...

Today on the Follower of One podcast, Mike Henry sits with John Decker. John Decker was one of the founding directors of Every Student Sent and lives in Syracuse NY with his wonderful wife Dorothy and has 3 children and 8 grandchildren who love Jesus.  His passion has been to influence secular college campuses and the workplace by preventing the 70% college faith drop off and catalyzing awakenings...

How do you live? What guides your life?   For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:13 ESV   Mostly in movies we see life or death situations. You know the bad guy has to die. Paul reminds us that we battle death all the time. If we live according to our flesh, we will die. Notice how the opposite of li...

What does it mean to be in debt?   "So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh." Romans 8:12   Paul is reminding believers that we're in debt, but not to our flesh. The verses that follow show that we're in debt to God, or the Spirit. We don't owe our flesh anything. It hasn't done anything for us. We're told in 1 Corinthians 9:27 that we discipline our fle...

Did you ever consider that you are a letter to the world, written by Jesus?   You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Corinthians 3:2-3   I don't know about...

Do you think we are called to peddle Jesus? Are we peddlers?   For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:17 ESV   The biggest slam against Christians is hypocrisy. Do you feel like you have to "sell" someone into trusting Jesus?   Paul here reminds the Corinthians that he is not a p...

Have you ever seen a triumphal procession?   "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere." 2 Corinthians 2:14 ESV   I read that a Roman Triumph would occur whenever a Roman army defeated more than 5000 in battle and took new territory. The procession would be huge, with the leader in a gold ch...