So here is the thing, I have issues with feeling inadequate at times. Like, “How can God use me?” “What is my purpose for the kingdom?”

Ever since I was asked to contribute to this page, I have worried that I wasn’t worthy or had anything worthwhile to say. I don’t always have the most catchy or witty things to say, and I questioned if anyone would even want to read anything that I wrote.

I began to write a “cookie cutter” lesson on my computer at school, but then the Lord stepped in. I came home to finalize that post only to find out that I had not saved it properly. Lost – everything was lost! I had to start over from scratch. Then the Lord spoke to me and said, “I am doing a NEW work in you! I have something else for you to say.”

Isn’t that just like the year we have had? All the plans and paths we thought we were on suddenly changed almost a year ago, and we have all had to adapt and readjust. I believe strongly that this is a time in history where God is going to do amazing things. We just have to be willing to be true disciples of His.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

EVERY Christian, not just those in formal ministry roles, are called to make disciples of all nations. The Lord has been showing me lately that my “nation” might just be my neighborhood. We all have a sphere of influence that the Lord has entrusted to us with whom we need to share the love of Jesus by simply doing life with each other.

You don’t have to go to a foreign land, have a degree in theology, or have a formal role in ministry to make disciples of those around you. Moms are called to love their children and families like Jesus does, and that is a mission field for sure. Teachers can positively impact students lives by loving them like Jesus when they need it most.

People in this country, probably more than ever, need Jesus and are seeking Him, even if they don’t realize it. The words we speak can either speak life or death into someone’s spirit, and I pray that all that I say or do will point the people I come into contact with to the cross.

Over the course of my life, I can look back on the everyday people I have come into contact with that have ministered to me in a meaningful way, many of which had no idea what they did. They simply lived their life out in such a way that it pointed to Christ. Rather that be a praying Grandmother that got me through many trials in life, to a caring teacher that offered extra encouragement at just the right moment, or a friend that offered to be present and listen just when I needed it.

When we fill our hearts, souls, and minds with the word of God, that overflow naturally impacts those around us and could quite possibly change the trajectory of not only their day but also their eternity.

I want to encourage anyone reading this to be filled with so much Jesus that it can’t help but overflow, to be intentional about relationships, and to treat your neighborhood as your mission field.

Now go out and make disciples. Yes YOU! I’m telling you to go out and make disciples!