Just as the power of a vision can move us and others around us closer to a better way of life, having no vision can move us and those around us further away from a better way of life. How I view our reality affects our focus on the vision we have for our lives. If we want our futures to count for more than our past, then we nee to ask some practical questions in the pursuit of our vision. Is your vision being impacted by distractions? Are distractions keeping you from impacting others and building relationships? God wants us to leverage our influence to bring people to faith, and every day that we do so impacts the future for the better.

Just as the power of a vision can move us and others around us closer to and eventually into a better way of life, the power of no vision can move us and those around us further away from a better way of life. Having a vision is so important. When we have a vision for the future and make a decision to pursue that vision, it robs our future of unnecessary regret. No one wants to deal with regrets in the final stages of their life. The good news is we don't have to. Having a vision and chasing it can minimize future regret.

Life isn’t always pretty. Our current circumstances can make it difficult to hold on to our dreams for a better future. Our dreams for tomorrow become casualties of our life today. How can we continue to dream even when life is hard? How can we learn to look beyond our current set of circumstances to the future that could be and should be?

Dreams are a powerful thing. Matter of fact when you look at much of history one can conclude that much our advancement as humanity has been on the back of dreamers and visionaries who regarded what was considered impossible, possible. Having a vision for our future brings life into our present.

Phillip Yancey called grace “the last great word.” It is the one thing that differentiates Christianity from all other religions. Only Christianity presents the idea that God loves us unconditionally without strings attached, without demands, and without exceptions. Christianity alone dares to make the love of God unconditional. In the first century, people were categorized in a variety of ways as either good and bad. When Jesus came, He shattered that idea by the way he lived his life and taught. He changed the way people thought about God and about others.

The story of the early church is an epic account of how ordinary people changed the world. They were people that were invited in and sent out with a purpose, and they were bold and fearless in pursuing that purpose. As followers of Jesus, we are the church. May it be said of us today that we are as bold and fearless as the church was when it first began.

Everyone loves a good story. Stories create an opportunity to connect with people and communicate something in a compelling and persuasive way. Jesus taught his followers about the power of telling their stories. Everyone has a story of faith, and those stories carry the potential to influence people to take a step in the direction of faith.

Jesus invited his people to follow him so they could learn how to reach out to other people to bring them to faith. He believed that everyone could reach someone and that everyone should reach someone. Jesus invites all of us to live a life of significance, where our purpose is to influence others towards faith—others we reach through our jobs, our relationships, etc. Someone’s story of faith always begins with someone else. Whose someone are you?

When Jesus called his disciples, he called unschooled and ordinary men. He used these men to change the world and set up his church as a way for the gospel to shared. These men did not have to qualify, reach a level of academic achievement, have a certain pedigree, or background. They simply followed in the steps of Jesus and began to imitate him. These men had witnessed the life of Jesus and had been transformed by his love. This is how He chose to change the world. He invites us to love him by loving others and by making new disciples.

God wired each us with a longing to love and be loved, a desire to know someone and be known by someone. Whether or not we realize it, we all crave community with others. Relationships that are mutually beneficial make us wiser, sharper, and better versions of ourselves. The first century church was so compelling because it had ability to create and sustain community among diverse people. Community is inspiring to see, but the greatest power of community is in what it prevents. Community keeps us from living out the stories we don't want to tell.