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"As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."
(Proverbs 27:17)
When you see the word "curator", you probably think of the one who is in charge of a museum or an art collection. But another definition of a curator, according to dictionary.com, is someone who selects content to be presented. I will serve as a curator in today's devotion, not for a museum or art, but for information that I think will encourage you.
I took notes at the America Prays conference on April 15 and will share some of the highlights that really spoke to me. There were some pearls of wisdom and golden nuggets of knowledge that benefited me and my walk with the Lord. Here are a couple of quotes that really spoke to me:
"Only a united church can heal a divided nation."
"Prayer must be our first response, not last resort."
Chris Hodges is the pastor of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, AL. He shared a powerful message at the conference from John 4:27-35 (Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan woman). Here are my notes from his message:
We don't have a harvest problem but a mobilization and prayer problem.
Here are 3 principles for reaching people like Jesus did:
- See the world the way Jesus does. In John 4:35 Jesus said, "Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!" We've been given the ministry of reconciliation, and God doesn't have a Plan B. Let us populate heaven and plunder hell. (I have already begun to use this line, I love it.)
Pastor Chris teaches all the new member classes at Church of the Highlands. He has spoken to 100,000 people in these classes. He explains to every new member that the passion of the church is to reach people who do not know the Lord. Chris said there are 5 billion lost people in the world. Ponder the enormity of that number for a moment. He said if you lined up every human being heel to toe, the line would reach around the Earth--get this--37.3 times!
- Pray for the lost. Find 12 people who do not know Jesus and pray for them by name. He gave 5 ways to pray for them:
- Ask the Father to draw them to Jesus (John 6:44).
- Bind the spirits that blinds their eyes (2 Corinthians 4:4).
- Pray they have a personal relationship with Jesus (Romans 8:15). Always emphasize relationship over religion.
- Pray for believers to share the Gospel with them (Luke 10:2).
- Pray that they truly know Him (Ephesians 1:17).
- Train believers how to reach the lost. Chris preaches one series a year on evangelism. In Matthew 4:18-19, Jesus said follow Him and you will fish for lost souls.
I hope this devotion has helped sharpen you. I love to learn from others and glean from their ministry experiences. Be sure to read tomorrow's devotion for more helpful truths to assist you in your walk with God and your effectiveness to share Jesus with others.
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