Follower of One : Missions For The Rest Of Us

Paul acknowledges that Jesus strengthened him and put him into service. The word translated service can also be translated ministry. This is the same Greek word from which we get the word we translate Deacon. Is this an official role, or is it a practical one?

Mike used to think "ministry" was reserved for those special people who were super-Christians, like the Apostle Paul. But when he realized that Jesus himself said that he came to serve, not to be served (Mark 10:45), Mike started to think differently. Certainly we can all serve? Do we have to go to work for a church, or become an overseas missionary to serve Jesus?

Mike decided to define his service as helping others move one notch closer to Jesus. He realized he could serve, or minister, to anyone, in any job, at any time. That's when he became a full-time minister.

Jesus will put you into service, too. All you have to do is obey him. He will give you ideas of ways you can serve others so that Jesus will become visible to them. In fact, we practice this every couple of months on the Marketplace Mission Trip. Why not check it out and sign up at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com. You'll realize that Jesus will put you into service, too.

If we know the right thing to do, and then we don't do it, we fall short. Sin is falling short, or missing the mark. Our sin nature is based in our own desire to be god, with a little "g". We want to call our own shots. But God speaks to us all the time. When we know the right thing to do, and we do it, we join him. We cooperate with him. And we help others see him. 

Like so many things with God, we can't live in neutral. When we know and act, we join God. When we know and don't act, we rebel against him. Mike talks about how he used to whine to God when bad things happened. He knew God was conforming Mike to the image of Christ, (Romans 8:29), Mike would get angry at the frustrating things happening in his life and ask God to give him some time off. When things are difficult in your life, are you ever tempted to ask a question like that? "Why are you doing this God? Would you just leave me alone today?"

When we know the right thing to do - ask forgiveness, make amends for a mistake, give more than is expected of us, love someone the way we want to be loved - and we fail to do it, we miss God's mark for us. Today, when God gives you an idea, will you act? Will you say "Yes, God!" or will you rationalize. Every time we act, we draw nearer to God. And every time we fail to act, we get farther away. Let's be those who act today. Every time we obey Jesus, he draws us closer to himself and he grows us a little more. 

Speaking of doing what God leads us to do, we have one last Marketplace Mission Trip coming up in 2 weeks. Go to MarketplaceMissionTrip.com to learn more and sign up.

In this week's episode of the Follower of One podcast, Mike talks with Gina Lokken. Gina is an ACC certified coach, former vet-tech, and entrepreneur that helps people find, develop, and manage their strengths to become a better you. Give her a warm welcome to the community! 

00:55 - Meet Gina

1:30 - How Gina started Coaching

6:30 - Strengths Finder and Gallup 

8:45 - Faith in Gina's Work

11:05 - Gina's Focus in her Business

11:50 - Stories from Gina's Coaching 

14:05 - Process on getting to your Strengths

16:45 - Gina's advice on living your faith in the Workplace

22:15 -Gina's advice on fear of Job

23:10 - Breakout Mastermind Groups with Gina

Small Shifts

The importance of caring for people, bringing our friends and family one step closer to Jesus, has nothing to do with big deeds. Most of us can't go overseas to preach the gospel or have meaningful change within 3rd world countries. Yet, we all aspire to do something extremely meaningful. Gina talks about how you don't need to look far, it is happening all around you. God puts everyone in our lives for a reason and it only makes sense that we start to pay attention to the more minor details of those circumstances. How are you going to start paying attention to the smaller details? Maybe think of new ways to show kindness at work? Let us know what works for you in the comments!

True Potential

Gina and Mike talk a lot about the Strengths Finder in this week's episode. This tool is used to show your potential in an array of areas related to yourself and how you behave. One of the most important ways Gina uses this tool is to help people see their full potential and bring another form of light into their lives through faith. How can we get more out of life than we are getting now? It is difficult but Gina wants to see people grow as much as you want to be the best person you can be. What does reaching your true potential mean to you? Are you striving for happiness and being closer to God? If we focus on those goals, we can then see the doors Jesus opens for us!

Interview Quote

"It's all about the small shifts... the small things. God puts a lot of things in our path that are small and we miss those Divine appointments to breathe life and Jesus into other people. Pay attention to what and who God has put in front of you on a daily basis?" 

Connect with Gina

Gina's Linkedin

Gina's Website

Connect With Follower Of One

Join us over in our Online Community, get social with us; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Listen to our podcast on your way to work and subscribe using your favorite podcast app. Be a part of our next Marketplace Mission Trip!

Notice how the Bible works. Paul asserts that the Bible changes us. The Bible performs its work in us who believe. When we concentrate on what we believe, and when our beliefs are based on the word of God, then we can expect God to change us. We can expect our knowledge of the Bible to change us too. 

But in a way, we also know that as a man thinks, so he is (Proverbs 23:7). The proverb is about an evil man. What we think about matters. Even check out Philippians 4:8. We're instructed to think about the true, right, honorable. Let our minds dwell on these things. 

Our third daily activity is know what we believe. If we claim to believe the Bible, but we don't know it, it will be less effective changing us. Let's know the word of God and trust it to transform us. When we store the word of God in our heart, we know it will keep us from sin, or missing God's mark for us. (Psalm 119:11)

Today, think about what you know in the Bible and watch it change you. Trust God by focusing your mind on his word and he will use you in the lives of others. 

Follower of One is an online community of people who commit to follow Jesus. We would love it if you joined us there so we can help one another grow our knowledge of God and walk with him. Check it out at community.followerofone.org to learn more and sign up!

What difference does belief make? There are a few references to this passage in the Bible. What does it mean to trust in the Lord with all of your heart? We acknowledge him in all of our ways. We do not lean on our own ideas and thoughts. 

Today, Mike talked about a few ideas he believed were given to him by God, but he leaned on his own understanding and gave himself a pass. When we do that, we fail to follow Jesus. We stop listening to God. When we acknowledge him in all of our ways, he directs our paths. He lets us experience his joy and we get to see him work.

Join Mike today. Do what God prompts you to do, even if it seems difficult, expensive or inconvenient. Trust the Lord with all of your heart and watch him work.

And maybe, one thing you can do is sign up for the next Marketplace Mission Trip. Maybe you think, "Well, I did that already." But what is God telling you? When we trust him with our whole heart and follow him, he directs our path and we experience his joy. Sign up for the next mission trip at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com.

Psalms, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews and James all reference this passage. Notice a few things about the passage and then let's examine how our own beliefs affect our behavior. 

1. Abraham believed early. He still had many years to live and many mistakes to make. Yet God credited righteousness to him. 

2. Abraham wasn't circumcised yet.

3. The Law had not been given to the Jews yet, either.

4. God made the promise to Abraham even before he believed.

We act on our true beliefs. Often we lie to our selves about our beliefs. We say we trust God, but if we never actually have to trust him, do we really believe. You can say you trust God with your money, but if you never give any money, you don't trust him much. Our actions demonstrate our true beliefs. Fortunately, with Abraham as an example, we also know perfection is not possible. Perfect belief or perfect actions are not the requirement, because Abraham continued to fall short. His belief must have been genuine. It influenced his actions, but he still failed.

Today, remind yourself what you believe about God. The bigger you believe him to be, the easier it becomes to trust him. We can give away more and serve others more if we believe he is powerful enough to redeem our time or our money. The more we trust God, the more likely we see him work. And at the same time, the more likely we can be to experiencing some hurt. When we remind ourselves, let's act. Actions cement our faith. Pray for someone today. Serve someone today. Express appreciation for someone today. Act and it will be. Your actions demonstrate the power of belief now, and God will demonstrate the power of our belief in eternity. The two are related.

What do we trust? Do we trust Jesus or our behavior, or some belief about God? 

I catch myself trusting my actions and my resources for everything I do. I regularly pray that God would make my actions effective. I pray that he would provide money or people to do things. I don't often pray for his power, grace and mercy. 

This passage talks about righteousness. If I can be right with God by his doing, then why don't I trust him for other things? In Mark 2:1-11, they lower a man through the roof of the house to ask Jesus to heal him. Jesus initially forgives his sins. The Pharisees who were listening were astonished. No one but God can forgive sins. Then Jesus said, "So that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins," he said to the paralytic, "get up, take up your pallet and go home." Jesus healed this man to show us all he has the power to do the physical. The physical is easier than the spiritual, but we don't believe that because we're physical creatures.

Christ's death was necessary for our salvation. Elsewhere, Paul asks, "He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him, freely give us all things." (Romans 8:32 NASB)

Let's challenge ourselves to trust Jesus today for something physical. Our righteousness is certain. Christ didn't die needlessly. And if we can trust him for our salvation, we can trust him for our provision and for our work situations. Is Jesus asking you to give something away? Do you need to buy someone's lunch or give an extravagant tip? What is Jesus asking you to do? Do it today. Minister to those around you and watch God work in the physical and spiritual realms.

Don't forget to check out the Marketplace Mission Trip, too. This is where we practice trusting God daily in our workplaces. There's no cost, but a few minutes each day for 2 weeks. Check it out and sign up at www.MarketplaceMissionTrip.com. 

Here it is. A reference to our ministry. I struggle with the term full-time minister and full-time ministry. Because I have to earn my living from our economic process, I was never in a good position to quit my job. I could never get a church to hire me anyway. But the term full-time minister simply implied that I was part-time. And I've never liked the idea of being part-time in my faith. 

This passage says that God reconciled us and then he gave us the ministry of reconciliation. There you have it. You're a minister. We've talked before about how the Greek word often translated minister can also be translated service or servant. God gave us the service of reconciliation. You're a minister. 

This is talking about how we are reconciled to Jesus. In verse 19, he says that our trespasses are not counted against us. Jesus paid for our sin. Oswald Chambers said that we don't go to hell for the bad things we've done. We go to hell because we don't trust Jesus. God's side of the reconciliation is done. All we need to do now is help others trust Jesus. That is the ministry of reconciliation.

However, I don't think it is any accident that reconciliation, not compromise, but a win-win reconciliation between people also seems to be what our world needs. During this political season let's be reconcilers - people who look for win-win situations rather than win-lose or lose-lose situations. Let's try to find ways to demonstrate to our friends on differing points in the political spectrum, that we all need something bigger than our own opinions. We need a Savior. Let's practice living that life instead of just talking about it too. 

Thanks for being a minister of reconciliation. Check out the Marketplace Mission Trip at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com to learn more about our 2-week boot-camp to practice our ministry of reconciliation on the mission field where we work and live. 

In this week's episode of the Follower of One podcast, Mike talks with Brian Dobbs. Brian is a licensed real state agent, Author, and business coach. Brian actively impacts families and strengthens communities in the Real Estate business by living his faith out each day. Please give him a warm welcome to the community! 

Episode Breakdown

0:55 - Meet Brian Dobbs

1:45 - Brian's Story to Christ

3:40 - Brian's path to full-time Ministry 

10:45 - Ending up in the Real Estate Business

13:05 - God in the Real Estate Business

19:35 - Brian's Book Uniquely Called 

24:25 - The Process of Measuring your Growth in Faith

29:30 - The Eight Phases of Transformation 

32:30 - Redefining Real Estate Radio Show

36:00 - Advice from Brian on Ministering in the Workplace

Witnessing Everywhere

Most of the time, we get lost doing our daily duties of life. It could be work, sports, school, and even home-life where we become distracted from witnessing God in our lives and the lives of the people connected to us. Yet, if we pay attention, opportunities are abundant. Brian discusses this with Mike, specifically through his career in real estate. So where has God put you to witness? Managing to open up a pathway and allow God to act in your work is difficult at times and sometimes you let him work directly or indirectly but the key is letting it happen. Do you recognize those opportunities? Can you count them on one hand, or maybe its two hands? I think you will be surprised by how many chances there are once we start counting. Everyone is working as a service and that goes for being a Christ-Follower as well so pay attention and see just how much service you can provide through God on any given day! Let us know the count in the comments!

God Has Called You Uniquely 

Brian discusses his book "Uniquely Called: Live Out Your Faith In The Marketplace". You have been uniquely called by God to serve him and his work in your life. Do you know what that unique situation is? Some of us are still trying to figure that out and a read of Brian's book will help you do just that! Sometimes we just need a fresh lens, a fresh outlook, and a new way of thinking to see true joy. That joy helps us bring others closer to Jesus, one step at a time. We are never stagnant in life and growing and learning will always play a big role in our development. How far along are you in the process? How deep, introspectively, do you go with yourself? The deeper you reach, the more you bring out! 

Interview Quote

" With all of the stuff that has happened in our world.. it is going to be really good to redefine some things - to see the restoration, the redemption and the reconciliation happen from the lord as he intervenes"

Connect with Brian

Brian's LinkedIn 

Brian's Facebook

eXp Realty

Book Link - Uniquely Called: Live Out Your Faith In The Marketplace

Re-Defining Real Estate Show

Connect With Follower Of One

Join us over in our Online Community, get social with us; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Listen to our podcast on your way to work and subscribe using your favorite podcast app. Be a part of our next Marketplace Mission Trip!

Yesterday, we spoke about how we follow only one person, Jesus. We don't acknowledge or honor people based on their status, or their wealth. Today, however, we see that all of the classes and groups, the things we would recognize, or award or treat as special, and those that are less so, are all put away when we come to Jesus. Jesus makes us new creatures. If we were someone that others look down on, or if we were someone others look up to, in Jesus, all is new. 

Where do you recognize people as special? For me, I look up to people who appear successful. People who do the work and exert the effort, even if they're not all that successful, I appreciate them and look up to them. And I am tempted to look down to people who appear to not try. 

But when Jesus saved me, he began changing all of that. My old self is gone. I also need to put away all of my old prejudices and my old tendencies. But old habits die hard. I hope I recognize only Jesus, and I respect and honor others because of what the Bible tells me to do. May I recognize no one according to the flesh, but realize that in Christ I'm new, and new things have come as it says in this verse. Let's talk about what we do because of this in our next episode.