Well, it’s not uncommon to see the same message in the Bible because God calls ordinary men to serve. Jeremiah was called as a youth:

“Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. – Jeremiah 1:6-8

In Judges, Gideon was called to save Israel:

 ”But Lord , ” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”  The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.” – Judges 6:15-16

And finally, one of the most popular men, Moses:

But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you….” – Exodus 3:11-12

If you look closely back on these passages you see two common themes:

1. The “ordinary” person felt unworthy
2. God declared “I am with you”

Don’t feel that you are unimportant! Don’t think that you are not worthy. Don’t think that God doesn’t want you to help serve. God chooses people all that time that are “ordinary.”

At the same time, don’t wait on God to call you. The best way to determine what plan God has for you is to start quickly. As you take on different roles, you will discover which ones God has determined for you. You will quickly find yourself with even more possibilities than you ever dreamed. He will open your eyes to needs that you will feel led to pursue. Don’t wait on him, and don’t dare say “who…me?” He is with you…fear not!

Mark 16:15 repeats this “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.’”

Yet, how many of us do this? Well, I’m happy to say that Sunday night, 4 students took some steps forward to do this. I was honored, and I’m sure God was too, when some students came forth and gave their testimony during church.

Public speaking is probably one of the hardest things to do, next to witnessing to someone. And this weekend gave me great hope in the youth of our generation as they came forward not only to speak, but to speak about God. They are taking the first steps toward speaking out TRUTH in our nation. 

In the news today, there are so many anti-Christian remarks and rulings that makes me wonder what happened to the country our forefathers established in America. What happened to our Freedom of Religion? Or Freedom of speech?

Just today in the news is an “outrage” concerning a Penn State T-shirt that may resemble a cross design on the front (see http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569665,00.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a16:g2:r5:c0.076740:b28529225:z10 for the story).

“It’s just sad to see that in this day and age, the most offensive thing on a shirt can be what people see as a religious symbol,” said Stephanie Bennis, a senior at the school who designed the shirt.

Think about this:

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Well, there it is in black and white. We want to secure the blessings of liberty! It was said a long time ago, I just wish it was still true. So, how do we continue to secure these blessings? By speaking out to the government. I think too many times that we Christians sit down and are quiet because we fear it is wrong if we cause an “uprising” to support our cause. Well, every other non-Christian group is speaking out, so it is now our turn to speak out.

Go and Tell! Tell the world (and our nation) that we believe in God and that we want our religious freedom back. We want our liberty! Without liberty, democracy is in jeopardy. Without democracy, our government may become communist or a dictatorship!

Genesis 2:15 – “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”

I find it interesting that even in the opening book of the Bible, God didn’t tell man to “have fun,” but to work and keep the Garden of Eden. Here, in what is probably the second best area to ever live (Heaven being the best), man is told he will have to work. He is given a mission, and fails miserably at it.

Recently, I read that when you hear of someone else that has fallen, don’t judge, but first realize that you too are a sinner – just as capable of falling into the same sin that the other person has. Here, Adam, as one of us, the first man, proved that failure is going to happen. What matters next is how we respond to it. Later in the book of Genesis, we see how Adam responded (by hiding from God). We too, are so guilty of trying to hide from God. Why can’t we learn from other’s mistakes?

Furthermore, in Genesis 2:19 we also see that it was Adam’s mission to name all the animals. Today, we sometimes take “mission” work to the extreme and think we have to “go” somewhere to do God’s work. But there is MUCH work to be done in our hometowns. Please let’s not forget our hometowns. Sometimes I wonder how the poor people near our churches feel about us going elsewhere to care for others when there are so many within just miles of our church that need help.

Go and make disciples, but don’t forget to start at home! Adam and Eve had a mission to carry out that God gave them. Just like you and I, God wants us to succeed. He knows that we might “miss the boat” (so to speak) on occassion, but if you do, get back up, and start fresh again.

Try to follow God in everything you do. It isn’t always easy, but it is always worth it!