Category Archives: Evangelism

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ALL MINE


2 THESSALONIANS 2:14

“It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Can you believe that? If you respond to God’s call given through the Gospel, you will gain (fully possess) His glory. What? Are you kidding me? That’s what it says. God wants to glorify us. But He can only do that if we are His.

You hear a lot people claiming to be believers but who live like the world. Being called through the Gospel has to change us. Our motivations for life shift. Our desire and wishes become more heaven focused. Am I right? The things of this world hold no value, or at least lesser value. All we want is His glory.

APPLICATION

This may be one of the toughest things to teach our children. They really have to just live it and experience it. So, our jobs are to lead them to Christ and disciple them once they have surrendered. You can’t disciple a lost child. If your little Johnny doesn’t know Jesus, he will never respond to your efforts to “build him up” spiritually.

BUT if your child comes to the King of Kings, they too will be glorified. You should see a change in their attitude. Will they still mess up? Don’t you? Will your child make some mistakes? Probably so. Pour into them. Let other mentors do the same. Sometimes our kids respond to others better.  That’s okay.

So, have you responded to the call? Have you yielded your heart to the Lord of Lords? He will make you His own. He will exalt you as you humble yourself. Don’t you want His glory all over you? I sure do. Give Him praise.

Father God, You are worthy of all my praise. I do desire Your glory. I long for you gentle hands which direct me toward others who are also in need of it today.

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I PICK YOU


2 THESSALONIANS 2:13

“But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.” 

Those are God’s words to us – “I chose you.” Now, I am not going to get in a discussion about predestination. I am just looking at this verse.  God chose you from the beginning for salvation. Don’t you love being picked by someone. I used to love being picked for a team. No one wants to be left out. The good news is (drumroll please) God chooses EVERYONE! His will is that all men be saved.

“Okay then, Carl, why do some people die and spend eternity in hell?” Because they chose THAT. That’s right! Even though God has chosen them for salvation, they turned their back on Him and decided to go their own way. This choice sealed their fate. It wasn’t God who sent them to hell. Nope! He has chosen them for salvation, which they rejected.

APPLICATION

Do you give your kids choices? I hope you do. They need to learn early how to make choices. Nothing is worse than to see an adult who can make a decision. Agreed? So, let your children make choices. But here is the hard part. You need to let them also accept the consequences. Every choice has a consequence. Some are good, and some are bad.

If you rescue your children from every consequence, they will never learn the power of choice. And you must teach them that. Remember that you are preparing them for eternity. While most of their choices aren’t eternal ones, they are learning from each one they make. They will never make a more important one than accepting God’s free gift of salvation.

I pray you know Him personally. I pray you have accepted His choice of you. If you haven’t, do that today. Don’t make the other choice of not accepting His choice of you. He wants you to come to Him. He wants you to spread this news to everyone you know. Do that today.

I accept Your choice of me, Lord. I want to be Yours. I am thankful You chose me from the beginning.

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IT MAY FEEL GOOD, BUT…


2 THESSALONIANS 2:12

“in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”

We all like pleasure. For some it’s a day at the beach. For others it is a long run (no, that’s not me). But others take their pleasure in wickedness. I know it may be hard to believe, but there are really people out there who do. I don’t know any personally, but they are all around us.

Sadly, we think they are getting away with their pleasure seeking. We see them hurt others and thrive on it. Today’s verse, however, assures us that one day, they will be judged for these evil motives. They will receive exactly what they deserve for ignoring the truth and going their own way.

APPLICATION

This is exactly why we parents spend so much time teaching our children to choose the truth. We do not want them to go down that road of wickedness. Now, I am not against pleasure. Pleasure is not a bad thing. I take pleasure in serving others. I get pleasure is seeing God’s principles followed by a husband and a father.

Truth is the key. Teach our children to follow the truth of the Gospel. They have to understand that there is no other truth. Any other “truth” is really deceit which will lead them further away from the real truth. Confused yet? I hope not. Take the Word of God each day and share it with your children, always referring to it as the truth. 

Let me ask you a question. What are you pursuing today? Truth or wickedness? If you are pursuing anything other than truth, you will never experience true pleasure. It is only available in its purest form through the truth of God’s Word.  Let it make your life pleasurable as only the Lord can do.

Lord, I want to walk in truth so I can experience pleasure. The pleasure I desire is to please You, not myself. That’s my goal today.

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IF YOU WANT TO BELIEVE THAT

2 THESSALONIANS 2:11

“For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false,” 

This verse really bothered me at first reading. If you take it out of context, it sounds like God WANTED them to be fooled into believing a lie. Nothing could be further from the truth. We know it is God’s Will that all would be saved. So, how could He also want them to be deceived. Remember, Scripture does not contradict Scripture.

What is happening here is free choice. “For this reason” means since they refused the love of the truth (salvation), God will allow this “deluding influence” to come, which they welcome. God will not force us to believe. We have to decide on our own that He is God and that His Son Jesus died for us. If we want to believe falsehood, He will let us. He has to let us choose.

APPLICATION

This is a hard application to make in our families, especially with our children. We cannot make them believe in God. We cannot make them love Jesus. We have to provide the environment for that to happen, but we can’t force feed faith. Every person who is born, including our own children, has to come to a personal point of faith.

So, how do you influence your child toward faith? By modeling it daily to them. There is no better way to lead your children to Jesus than by being Jesus to them. When they see you trusting and loving, they are drawn to that. When they see you studying and hungry for His Word, they will want that. You can’t force it, but you sure can impact it.

Is there someone in your life to whom you need to spend more time influencing for Christ? Be Jesus to them. Let your attitude and words exemplify the Holy One. Let them see you and see Him. Point them to Jesus every time you are with them.

I want to be the kind of person, Lord, who influences others for Jesus. I want to see my family and friends ALL come to Christ. Place me in the right place at the right time to see Your Will done.

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THE PURPOSE OF EASTER

2 THESSALONIANS 2:10

“and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.” 

Resurrection Sunday! Easter! Shouldn’t we celebrate the resurrection of Christ every day? I think so. His death atoned for all our sins, but His resurrection gave us victory over the grave and death. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Today’s verse fits nicely with the Easter message. Satan is constantly trying to deceive mankind. His wicked ways will lead us straight down the road to destruction. We will perish without receiving the love of God, the love of truth. We must receive it to be saved. That word “receive” is written in the middle voice, which means it is our decision to receive. No one can make us.

APPLICATION

Okay – here are some clear commands to follow to lead your children to Christ. 1) Satan will try to deceive them. 2) His ways are wicked. 3) His ways lead to destruction. 4) They must receive Jesus on their own. 5) God will save them if they do.

It’s really that simple. Any child can understand the simple truth of the Gospel. Don’t complicate it. Teach them to share this with their friend. You don’t have to have 100 verses memorized to be saved (not that memorization isn’t important). Your little Susie must come to the realization that her sins are wickedness and are only pleasing Satan. Then she must confess them, receive the love of the truth (Jesus) and God will save her.

Who can you share that with today? You see, you have people all around you who are dying spiritually right now. They will certainly perish without receiving the Lord. You are essentially watching them rot and decay before your eyes in their wickedness. Stop the decay! Share today’s truth with them and lead them to receive a resurrected life in Christ. Amen?

Lord, today give me someone I can share truth with. Let me be the one to introduce them to a way of escape. I will give You all the glory!

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I TOLD YOU SO

2 THESSALONIANS 2:5

“Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?” 

I am sure you have NEVER said that someone – “I told you so.” Sure, you haven’t. If you haven’t, I guarantee you have wanted to at least once. We warn people and warn people. We try to give them ample notice. But they go ahead and do something we all know is not smart. Then when it goes wrong, just as we told them it would, we want to say, “I told you so.”

Paul is telling the Thessalonians that. He is saying, “I told you so! I told you people were going to try to fool you. I told you, when I was there, to be careful who you listen to about things of God. I told you to check things out before you believe it.” I am sure Paul was more disturbed by those who were trying to mislead the church there. He knew the Thessalonians were young in their faith and wanted to do the right thing. But those who were trying to deceive them knew EXACTLY what they were doing.

APPLICATION

Children are prone to believe anything someone in authority tells them. Adults can mislead our little ones so easily. That is why it is so important for us to have them grounded in His Word. When they know the REAL truth, no amount of deception can lead them astray. But if they don’t know it, they can believe anything or anyone.

How do you ground them in the Word? I’m glad you asked. Read them the Word. Use the Word to answer their questions. Get them a good devotional, when they can read on their own, that is on their level. Help them memorize verses for AWANA or for Sunday School. Get them a very, good study Bible by the time they get into Middle School. Support them in their efforts to attend Christian events where the Word will be taught.

You, of course, have to model all this yourself. Simply telling them to do these things only goes so far. They are going to watch you and how you desire the Word. Make the Word your beginning and ending point of the day. When is the last time you have memorized a verse? I challenge you today to begin that.

You are the Word, Lord. You are the truth. Help me teach my children and others that the only true shield we have against those who would deceive us is to know You and Your Word.

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OUTLAWS

2 THESSALONIANS 2:3

“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,” 

Who is this “man of lawlessness” or this “son of destruction”? Well, you could read a dozen commentaries and probably get two dozen opinions. Some believe it referred to one of the Caesars. Others think it was the Pope. Others believe it represented a group of men through history. We won’t know Paul’s exacts thoughts through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit until we see him in glory.

Paul is telling the Thessalonians that certain things must take place before Christ returned. The same still holds true today. We shall always have lawless and destructive men around us. Some men have no other desire than to try to destroy anything holy. That is what Paul is talking about. They are outlaws of the faith. They want nothing to do with it.

APPLICATION

Warning our children of these men’s deception is critical. These types of “outlaws” don’t necessarily wear black hats. They come disguised so as to deceive and lead away unsuspecting people. Our children need to be prepared to recognize and detect these individuals. Leaving them defenseless is not smart and could cost them their very eternity.

“Wow, Carl, you are getting pretty heavy.” You think? Well, that’s the beauty of going verse by verse in the Bible. This is NOT my soapbox. It’s God’s. I didn’t write this. He did. And He still wants to warn us to be watchful and prepared. Parents for generations have taught their children the truth to protect them from evil men. We must do the same.

Let me ask you a question. Can you recognize these evil men? Are you grounded in the Word enough that you can discern when one of these “outlaws” tries to lead you astray? I pray you are. One good way to know is ask yourself if what you are being asked to do will glorify Jesus. If it won’t, then don’t go down that road. We should always be pointing others to Him.

Thank You, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit can tell me when I am wrong. Help me listen more closely to His voice. Give me the wisdom and discernment to spot evil and wicked people who desire to lead me astray.

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KEEP IT TOGETHER

2 THESSALONIANS 2:2

“that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.” 

In verse 1 of chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians Paul makes a request of the church there. This is it! Keep it together! Don’t get upset! Don’t let some spirit or message or letter get you all excited. Rumors were spreading that Jesus had already returned and they had missed Him. People were beginning to doubt the message Paul had given them concerning the return of the Lord. So, Paul was asking them to just calm down.

Have you ever planned to meet someone for an important meeting? What if you had that all planned and when you got there someone told you that you had just missed them? Would you be upset? You may have been planning this meeting for days, weeks or even months and now you missed it. It was a potential life changing meeting. That is what was happening right here in this verse.

APPLICATION

Has your child ever missed the bus or a ride home? Many children do that. In fact, it happens all the time. The next time that happens or you hear of it happening to one of their friends, pull out this verse. The Thessalonians thought they had missed their “ride home.” They were anticipating the return of Christ to carry them to heaven. Now they were “stuck” here on earth, looking like idiots for believing Paul.

The difference in your child missing a ride and us missing Jesus’ return is one is temporal and the other is eternal. If your child is a believer, there is NO WAY they can miss that ride. It’s a guaranteed trip. But if they aren’t a Christian, well… 

Do you have your ticket punched for the ride home? If you do, don’t worry or fret about when Christ is returning. He will, and when He does, He will carry all of us to Glory. Do you know some friends or family who are saved? If so, take the time today to share with them the saving knowledge of Christ so they too can be assured of that trip.

O God, give me the opportunity today to be a deliverer of that ticket to someone. Let me show them the way home to You.

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COMING TOGETHER

2 THESSALONIANS 2:1

“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,” 

Isn’t it funny how circumstances can change how we ask people things? For instance, if you know you will never see someone ever again, you might be led to ask them something you REALLY want to know. If you are going to see them the next day, you might wait until later. Timing is everything when it comes to choosing your words.

Paul is beginning this second chapter (remember, there weren’t chapters in the original letter) by saying, “Since Jesus is coming and we will all be together, I need to ask you for something.” We’ll see what he asks for later. But in today’s verse he is setting the stage. He is sure they will be together and that Jesus is coming. So, with that in mind, he feels free to ask them anything.

APPLICATION

We need to teach our children how to be more tactful when it comes to asking people things, right? Have your children ever asked someone something that embarrassed you? Kids can do that. They don’t have a filter yet. As they get older they learn the appropriate time to ask certain things. But they also may lose some of that boldness.

For example, I have a nephew who would ask total strangers on a plane or in the airport if they were saved. I was humbled by his boldness. He wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed to ask that question. Why should he be? We shouldn’t be. In fact, since the Lord is coming back (as Paul says), shouldn’t we be bold asking our friends and neighbors that very question. 

Will you be bold today? Will you ask the question since He’s coming soon? Don’t put it off. Tomorrow may be too late. He’s on His way. And He wants all who are willing to come with Him to heaven. Don’t you?

I will ask someone today, Lord, what their eternal plan is. I want to be bold and deliberate as I talk to friends and strangers alike. Give me the courage to speak!

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SEPARATION

2 THESSALONIANS 1:9

“These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,”

What could be worse than eternal separation from God? No forgiveness, no redemption and, as it says here, eternal destruction. Now, you have to understand something about that word “destruction.” It does not mean that you will cease to be. It really means total ruin without extinction. Who wants that?

When I moved back to Chattanooga in 2007, I moved ahead of my family due to my daughter’s last year in high school. We didn’t want to pull her out that situation. So, we commuted back and forth to Lakeland, FL for eleven and a half months. We made it work but being separated for that amount of time on a daily basis was horrible. I can’t imagine an eternal separation.

APPLICATION

The next time you have to be away from your children draw out a countdown for them to mark off. For each day you are away they can put an “X” on that day when it is complete. This way they can see the days getting closer when you return to them. When you get home ask them how it felt to be apart for that time. Hopefully, they will tell you how much they missed you.

The Father feels the same way. He wants us home. He can’t wait until we are in His presence. He can’t make us come home, but He will do everything in His power to lead us that way. But, because He is a holy God, He can’t allow us to enter into His presence if we haven’t surrendered to His Son. We, in fact, force our own eternal destruction and separation by choosing to ignore His commands to repent.

Are you surrendered to Him? Are you headed home? I pray you are. If you aren’t, would you make that right today? If you aren’t sure, make it sure today. There is no greater peace than knowing your eternal destiny. And as you make sure of that, spread the news to others. Help them make sure too.

I know where I am headed one day, Lord. I look forward to seeing Your face. Help me spread the good news to as many as possible along the way.

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