I have the blessed opportunity to travel this week and make my way out to the West Coast by attending Calvary Chapel’s Youth Workers Conference. Excited to be refreshed and encouraged in God’s Word, looking forward to the week anticipating revived vision for our Teens, but to write plainly, I just want to hear from our Lord. The vision shared thus far, which denotes the theme of the conference is to “Imitate.” Throughout the New Testament, the Apostle Paul invites people around him to ‘Imitate me’ as he also imitated Christ. Paul willingly set his life up as an example for the people to watch. What would evangelism look like if we took the phrase ‘Initiate me’ seriously and actually allowed people to witness and watch our lives? Would our lives look different than they do now? Would they see Jesus living through us? Imagine what our church, community, and world would look like if we take this invitation of Paul to heart and seek to imitate him as he imitated Jesus. I covet your prayers.

Rom 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law [are] just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Many times in the course of the week, I read a news headline or learn of some account that will reaffirm the downward spiritual course of man in our culture. I read or listen, hear the contents, and agree. I will agree that the account is wrong which will only confirm in my conscious that the event is the result of the consequence of man’s sin. This reminds me of a danger we have as believers. Like what James writes, we are to be doers of God’s Word and not just hearers. We can error too easily because we can take this mindset into our time with the Lord in our personal devotions or in our church pew. We can fall prey to listening to a message, hearing it’s truth and simply agreeing with it, yet there is no action or perhaps adjustment that needs to take place. This is a real danger for us of the Faith that we must not slip into. One of the best defenses which will be the better offense is to purpose in our hearts at least one thing that we will do or apply to our lives every time we do our devotions with the Lord. Every time we read His Word. Every time we sit in a Bible Study. Ask, receive, and then purpose to do one thing.

Luk 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few [stripes]. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.