Bill's Bible Blog

“Everything we do is practice for something greater than where we currently are.” Les  Brown, motivational speaker and writer.

It seems like almost all aspects of our life consists of starting at an entry level and learning, advancing to the next level, and so on. We do this in our education. Tests to show we learned enough to advance are more obvious maybe in education than in some other arenas but they are always there.
The same is true in sports. How well we do in elementary recreation league determines if we make the team at school. How well we perform at the high school level determines whether or not we’re picked for a college team and so on.

The same is true in the arts. My sister was always very talented, but didn’t get the chance to focus on developing her talent until after her daughter was on her own.
I remember one year talking with her on my birthday and she was telling me she had opened a store on Etsy. I was very excited for her and asked how many pieces she had sold so far. ‘None,’ she answered.
But my sister continued practicing her art and the sales happened. Next she displayed and sold at local craft shows. Then she was invited to display and sell some of her works in local businesses. By the time she was within one year of retirement, she was receiving invitations to headline art gallery showings. Her dedication took her from an unknown artist to a featured headliner. You can see some of her work at TerryChanceMosaicsEtc.com

Growing into the Great Commission is like that. We often think of those who are participating in the G.C. as the pastors, the evangelists, the church planters and missionaries. These are like the pros in sports. Every one of us on the Christian continuum can be a participant also. Let’s look at the various elements for how that can be.

If you listened to a gospel presentation, believed and were baptized, you were participating in the Great Commission.
If you listen attentively to your teaching pastor’s sermon each week, maybe even take notes and discuss them, and if you are working on changing at least one aspect of your life each week to bring what you do, what you say, and yes, even what you feel and think, into obedience to the Bible, then you are participating in the G.C.
Every Sunday we are told at the end of our service @SummitChurch.com “Summit, you are sent!” The idea is that since we spend the rest of our week in “the world,” we should be participating in the G.C. by being witnesses for Christ and sharing our testimonies of what God has done in our lives and the lives of those we know.
I have to be honest with you, that is very difficult for me. How about you?