How do you activate the gift of your influence? Here’s the first key: taking the time to understand others. My thanks to John Henry for pointing this out to me several years ago. Enjoy the video!
Being a child of God offers us a place to belong, intimacy with God, freedom from fear, and many other benefits. But it also empowers us to make a difference in a world where there are supernatural forces at work resisting good. More on the video…
We don’t live in a vacuum. As a member of the body of Christ, everything we do affects every other member. When one part of your body is sick or injured, your entire body suffers. But as that part gets recovers, your entire body rejoices. The same is true in the body of Christ.
As we take to the Lord our anxieties, anger, shame, temptations, failures, loneliness, and anything else that is dragging us down spiritually—and receive from Him what only He can provide, not only does our health improve, but so does the health of the entire body of Christ. More in the video.
Jesus has given you the role to be His witness (Acts 1:8). That means you carry around with you an important tool that will make a powerful difference in the lives of others. What is that tool?
Your story. Your story brings God into focus for others. Your story helps others to feel and experience His love. Your story makes clear who God is and how much He cares.
When we think about being a servant, it’s easy to think that in that role we are somehow made “less than” or in some way dehumanized. But it works just the other way around in God’s kingdom. God’s servants are given enormous power, far more than anyone would have if he or she were acting on their own. More (plus a great story about me that very few people know) on the video …
Did you know that we have the power to make the invisible God visible? Jesus gives us that power in Matthew chapter 5, in the Sermon on the Mount. Here He says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. … Therefore, let your light shine before others so they might see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Just as light makes hidden things visible, so our good deeds make God visible to people who can’t yet see Him with eyes of faith. It is our acts of kindness, not our arguments or our theological expertise that makes our God visible to our world. More on the video…
This is your first of seven transforming identities. Remember that your identity is what you are—NOT what you are trying to be, wish you were, hope to someday be. It is NOT a goal; it is a present tense reality. Your identity is transforming because when you know who you really are, it changes the way you experience life. (Two neat stories about that in the video.)
As the salt of the earth, you help to keep your world from spoiling—from going bad. You make your world a better place. Your presence is good news. Good people are glad to see you. When you walk in a room, things improve.
Why is that? I think it’s because God’s Spirit lives in you. You carry God’s presence with you wherever you go. That opens up a whole world of possibilities for you and for me. More on the video.
So … how are you bringing God’s presence into your world?
Very simple! You are designed to make a difference. It’s part of your identity. But people sometimes get the wrong idea about identity. That’s why I posted this video…