Last night was share night for my son’s youth mission trip at church, it was so good to hear these young people share about how God & other people had changed their perspective on life, who they are, & who they should be.  My husband & I have recently went to Eldoret, Kenya on a mission trip & it was amazing, God worked so much during that trip in us & those we served, & the county was beautiful!!!  All three of us have been changed by these events & this is something God has called us out to do, but we hear all the time from people that they could never do what we do, and  you know what that is okay.  Everyone is still called to be on mission with God.  Mission is used as such a big word in the Christian life, but really it isn’t that big, everyone is on mission, everyday, it’s just if you answer it in your daily life.  Matthew 28:18 – 20 (AMP) tells us this, “Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations (help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words), baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always (remaining with you perpetually-regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion), even to the end of the age.”  Wow, He said all nations, you know what that means, that means this nation too, right here in your own backyard, down the street, at the grocery store, at the coffee shop, at the dmv, even at church!  Everywhere we look we will find someone that needs some Jesus, maybe today your mission isn’t leading someone to Christ, maybe today that lady just needs someone to hold the door for her, or they need someone to smile at them, or say a friendly word.  We hear the word mission & we take it as such a heavy word but really it just means to share the love of Jesus, He calls us daily.  Sometimes it may just be in our own home, or maybe it’s that grumpy person that you smile at everyday & don’t seem to be affecting but you don’t know how that could be changing them slowing from the inside out.  It gets harder when we don’t see immediate change, doesn’t it?  We want results now, we can get everything else NOW, so why can’t we see change NOW!  Oh, if we could slow down, God has so much more in store, & He is always on time, whether we like His time or not.  I love seeing my nephew’s post about his youth group, he is always on fire to get more people in there & see more lives changed, & that is just the norm for him, nothing special, that is how it should be for all of us, just the norm to brighten someone’s day.  Just the norm to take that mom of two little ones buggy for her, so she can tend to them, to let someone go before us in line, even though we are running late.  You know God sees all these things whether we are obedient or not, He sees our heart & He wants to draw us in & make us more like Him, sometimes that may not seem easy but it is always rewarding.  Think about it, wouldn’t it be great to think you started a trickle effect of good works; you do something, someone sees that so they do something, & so forth & so on, how good would that be, how much more can you change the world, one act of kindness at a time!  You know I love how the Amplified Bible words things, I love parentheses, (I know I’m a bit of a geek :), Jesus tells us in the above passage that He will be with us always & then the parentheses goes on to add that that means in every circumstance & occasion!!  How awesome is that, you know what that means, that even when it doesn’t feel natural to smile at that stranger or to help someone you don’t know or say nice things to that really bad server, Jesus is with us, wanting to pour out His love on others even when we don’t think they deserve it (by they way I know I didn’t deserve the love others poured out on me years ago & still don’t sometimes now).  Jesus loves all of us regardless of what we do or say, how we act or react, He is just love, 1John 4:8 says so.  So next time you hear the word “mission” don’t be afraid of it, think what can I do today God, He will have something for you, that will not only bless someone else but it will bless you as well!

Growing daily,

Michelle