Since I became a Christian the road has not been easy, but you know what? I’ve been in contact with God. I have forgiveness from my sins. I know that ultimately His peace will prevail in my life. I have the hope of eternal life. I have a new reason to live. Yes, it’s hard. Yes, we suffer. But it all looks different on this side of becoming a follower of God. That’s how you break your story down. Give them the real deal. Give it to them straight. Don’t be intimidated by this. You’re just sharing your life, but you’re giving it some thought, so you’re ready. Nothing brings joy to your faith like sharing your faith with others.

Pray, invest, and invite. Be God’s representative and allow Him to use you to persuade others of His friendship. That’s where the joy is. That’s where the excitement is. That’s where you’ll see God move in powerful and surprising ways. Listen, I’m all for going deeper in your faith, but if you want to bring life and joy to your faith, share your faith. You need to open up and become aware of what God is doing in the lives of the people around you.

How do we be God’s representatives and persuade people to resume their friendship with God? Invite people into your story. Share what your life was like before God, the experience of meeting Jesus and what your life has been like since. Then, invite people to Jesus. Invite them to a place where they can experience the presence of Him first hand. Invite them to one of our Easter experiences. The worst thing that can happen, is you will plant a seed that might be watered in the future. Jesus said, “Wake up! The fields are ripe” (See John 4:35). People are ready to know him. The question is, are we ready to make the invite?

When you get in on a mission and start praying for others to take spiritual steps towards God, it’s not a question of WILL God open doors, but WHEN. You’re not just what you do for a living. You’re not just the role you play in your family or friend group. You’re also a representative of God, and it’s one of the most exciting roles in your life where you can be used to invite people into a friendship with God. When you embrace this identity, faith moves from something internal to something external. You’ll begin to see God moving in the lives around you. 

With Easter approaching will you open your focus and begin to see life with two sets of eyes? One that looks at your micro focus of the moment, and another that sees the macro focus of finding God’s friends. Being His representative, being interruptible, and noticing those He moves in your path. Will you open your heart to people not like you? People who are older, younger, liberal, conservative, minority, non-minority, poor, rich, white collar, blue collar, or no collar? Will you employ radical acceptance to love and respect people as human beings made in the image of God? Most importantly, will you open your story? Will you share what God has done in your life to show what God can do in someone else’s life? Will you be a friend to those people who are God’s friend, but just don’t know it? If you are open to it, I think God has a great adventure in store. The closer you get to God the more you have a heart for those farthest from God.

To find God’s friends, you don't have to know everything about the Bible. You don’t have to have all of the right answers. You don't have to approve of everything they say and do. You just need an open heart. People can carry a lot of shame. You can be a shame breaker, by finding common ground and accepting people for who they are as a human being. Your acceptance and your friendship will often speak more powerfully than anything else. You demonstrate the friendship of God when you reach out and value people who feel far from God, alienated by religion, and devalued by society. The friend God wants you to find may be someone you would not normally talk to. That means you need to open your heart. We’re speaking for Jesus himself now: Become friends with God; He’s already a friend with you.

To find God’s friends, you don't have to know everything about the Bible. You don’t have to have all of the right answers. You just need an open heart. People can carry a lot of shame. You can be a shame breaker, by finding common ground and accepting people for who they are as a human being. Your acceptance and your friendship will often speak more powerfully than anything else. You demonstrate the friendship of God when you reach out and value people who feel far from God, alienated by religion, and devalued by society. The friend God wants you to find may be someone you would not normally talk to. That means you need to open your heart. We’re speaking for Jesus himself now: Become friends with God; He’s already a friend with you.

With Easter approaching will you open your focus and begin to see life with two sets of eyes? One that looks at your micro focus of the moment, and another that sees the macro focus of finding God’s friends. Being His representative, being interruptible, and noticing those He moves in your path. Will you open your heart to people not like you? People who are older, younger, liberal, conservative, minority, non-minority, poor, rich, white collar, blue collar, or no collar? Will you employ radical acceptance to love and respect people as human beings made in the image of God? Most importantly, will you open your story? Will you share what God has done in your life to show what God can do in someone else’s life? Will you be a friend to those people who are God’s friend, but just don’t know it? If you are open to it, I think God has a great adventure in store. The closer you get to God the more you have a heart for those farthest from God.

Chances are when you were hiding from God, He didn’t send an angel to confront you. He didn’t show up in person like some blinding light. He didn’t send the pope. He probably didn’t even send a preacher! He sent normal, everyday people to meet you right where you were and give you what you need. God sent his Church to find you. The Church is like God’s Find my Friends app. It’s how He locates and reaches those He loves when they’re lost. God has an app for that—it’s you.

We all need to focus on things to get through life. In the coming weeks you’ll be in situations where all you’re thinking about is: I need to get my kid some food, I need to get this package in the mail, I need to get my car fixed, I need to get this project done, I need to get the trash to the curb, I need to return these shoes, I need to get in my steps, I need to get some lunch, I need to get some coffee, I just want to rest, and I just want to get home. I believe God calls us all to lay a macro-focus on the top of all those micro focuses. On top of that, He calls us to think about our life’s focus: to be God’s representative and to show His friendship to other people who are not yet friends with Him. Often, your life-focus is happening just outside of your micro focus. Maybe there are people you’re supposed to encourage, talk to, or show some kindness in the midst of that activity. In fact, they may be a person who feels like an interruption. It might be in a place that feels like you should just be passing through. The friend God wants you to find might appear when you are in the middle of something else. 

We all need to focus on things to get through life. In the coming weeks you’ll be in situations where all you’re thinking about is: I need to get my kid some food, I need to get this package in the mail, I need to get my car fixed, I need to get this project done, I need to get the trash to the curb, I need to return these shoes, I need to get in my steps, I need to get some lunch, I need to get some coffee, I just want to rest, and I just want to get home. I believe God calls us all to lay a macro-focus on the top of all those micro focuses. On top of that, He calls us to think about our life-focus: to be God’s representative and to show His friendship to other people who are not yet friends with Him. Often, your life-focus is happening just outside of your micro focus. Maybe there are people you’re supposed to encourage, talk to, or show some kindness in the midst of that activity. In fact, they may be a person who feels like an interruption. It might be in a place that feels like you should just be passing through. The friend God wants you to find might appear when you are in the middle of something else. 

We hide when we keep living a lie and stay on the run from God even though He longs for us to come home to Him. We can wander off and lose touch. Just like a parent with a lost child, God longs for us to return to Him. The difference with God is He always knows where we are, and He is available for us to return to Him. He loves us more than we love anybody else. When we’re found and come out of hiding spiritually, He forgives us. He gives us perspective, a new hope, and love through faith in Him. All we want to do then is see other people experience the same love and forgiveness we have experienced. We want others to be found.

No matter your circumstances, and how far off or impossible your deliverance may seem, God is not limited by your limitations. He is not imprisoned by your circumstances. He can find a way to work in whatever you’re facing. You just need to trust Him and lean into what He is saying and doing. It’s like those words from Jeremiah, “Is anything too hard for God?” Usually, only our hearts are too hard. Too stubborn. Too fearful. Have a soft heart towards Him, even in hard circumstances. Don’t let your circumstances define you. Let God’s love define you.

Generous giving is a way to turn earthly resources into spiritual riches. It’s an investment that God guarantees will pay off. This applies to all forms of generosity. You can be generous with your time, your attention, your influence, your acceptance, or your abilities. Whatever you treasure, you can share.

Your weakness does not eliminate you; it’s the entry point of God’s strength. Think about where you feel weak right now. What is it that people are telling you will never work, never be right, and never get you anywhere? What is it in your past that people used to exclude you, to shame you? Whatever that is, God can work in it. He can come into that weakness and be strong where you are weak. All it takes is faith. A change of allegiance. You can move from feeling stuck and frustrated by life to winning with Grace. Just see that your past doesn’t disqualify you, your circumstances don’t define you, and your weakness doesn’t limit you. Your past does not determine your potential. God’s grace determines your potential.

The way you find the peace that riches cannot bring is to trust and seek the God who delights to meet your needs. A big part of this is learning to be generous with things God has blessed you with. You can never get rich trying to hold onto that blessing. You get rich by passing on the blessing. You get rich as God blesses others through you. Study after study shows that generous people are happier, healthier, and live with a greater sense of purpose. This is why we’re so much better together!

Words have power to shape your life, your heart, and other people. You can use this power for good or not so good. You can destroy people or build them up. Speak God’s words of life over each other. As a church, the words we speak to each other and about each other will either invite people into the word or put up a wall. We can release the love and power of God in this church by speaking words of life to each other, in our families, groups, and serving areas. God can provide peace, love and joy today if we all commit to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry.

How do we get the most out of giving? We give freely. It’s not an obligation, it’s an opportunity. God does not need our money; He wants our heart. Next, we give first. Nobody likes leftovers—honor God first and He will honor what is left. Then, give generously. It takes faith to live on less, so you can give more, and God always notices. You have tried to handle money your way, and this is where it has gotten you? Maybe it’s time to put God’s trust to the test. Take a risk and see what generosity can do for you. You can’t afford to not be generous.

We’ve sacrificed, but God has always proven faithful. I firmly believe, and have seen, God can do more with 90% than I can do with 100%. You give him 10% and He’ll show up to bless what you keep. It can be financial blessings, emotional blessings, family blessings, a deeper sense of meaning, or a deep sense of peace. I can talk about it all day long, but the only way to truly understand is to experience it yourself, which is why God says, “Test me in this, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (see Malachi 3:10).

Begin to give out of the freedom of it, out of the joy of it. Giving is about partnering with God to make a real difference in people’s lives. It’s not about guilt. In fact, a little bit earlier in 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about a church that even though they were very poor gave out of generosity to help other churches and other places. “And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us” (2 Corinthians 8:5). First, they gave themselves fully to God and then out of that commitment they were able to give generously to others who had real needs.