GraceCreates

By Jon Walker

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13–14 (NIV)

You were God’s first choice for your place on his team, but being part of God’s squad requires you to shoulder the responsibilities of team membership. You’re no longer playing as if you’re a team of one.

When teams work together, they become more than just a group of individuals; they move in unity with one heart and one mind, a model of oneness with God.

Teams build on the strength of each player and they adjust so that individual weaknesses become irrelevant. A unified team understands that what affects one team member also affects every team member, and so they dig in deep to commitment.

On God’s team, when one teammate stumbles, other team members step into the gap, physically and spiritually; when one teammate’s faith falters, other teammates stand firm in their faith, confident and encouraging that God will guide and provide.

A team of Jesus-ones challenge each other to “press on toward the goal to win the prize” (Philippians 3:14 NIV). They build each other up, carry each other’s burdens, and celebrate one another’s success, whether large or small, collective or individual.

As we teammates are learning to love one another, God mixes our talents, abilities, spiritual gifts, personalities, and experiences into a supernaturally-charged recipe that will create a massive explosion of Jesus-action-and-energy.

God didn’t give us gifts just to sit and watch from the sidelines. You’re part of the team; get into the game and see God stretch you “heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 NIV).

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

By Jon Walker

Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel. Philippians 1:27 (NIV)

Instead of seeing evangelism as something you have to do on your own, get together with some other believers and work together.

Be inventive as you collectively tell others about Jesus. Have a movie night, game night, dessert night—the possibilities are unlimited.

Make a list and check it twice. Who is God telling you to pray for, encourage, or support with Jesus-love? Write down the names so you can give them considered thought and prayer. Collect names from everyone in your small group of friends and tell each other why you believe God placed each person on the list.

Here are four ways your can pray for your friends and family:

1. Pray for an opportunity to talk about Jesus (Colossians 4:3). Ask God to give you an opportunity to tell others about Christ, and to invite them to your Jesus-love events. God will take you seriously and answer your prayer!

2. Pray for God to prepare hearts. Rick Warren, the author of The Purpose Driven Life, sometimes asks, “Do you know how God softens hearts? He sends the rain!” Anytime you see someone going through a storm in life, you can know God is softening a heart.

3. Pray for God to tenderize your heart. Ask God to give you a burden, which is just an old-fashioned word that means your heart is tender toward a specific person or group of people.

4. Pray that the words of Jesus “will simply take off and race through the country to a groundswell of response” (2 Thessalonians 3:1 MSG), just as they did among the early Christians.

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.