The Effect. When the angel announced the good news that a Savior had been born—Christ, the Lord—the immediate response was worship. The announcement had another important effect as well, namely, the shepherds words, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us” (LukeContinue reading “The Angels Good News—4”
Tag Archives: motivation
Motivation for the Mission-10
Impure Motives. In this final post of the series on motivation for the mission, I want to touch briefly on the matter of impure motives. In former days, this was my main concern concerning motivation. Then I realized very few people had any motivation at all to speak, so I turned my attention toward increasingContinue reading “Motivation for the Mission-10”
Motivation for the Mission—9
Glory to God. We have been exploring motivations for the mission of telling others about Christ in hopes that we can find motivation to actually do so (series begins here). Another great motivation for telling about him is knowing that when we do, it gives glory to God. We might surmise that telling others aboutContinue reading “Motivation for the Mission—9”
Motivation for the Mission—7
Inward Compulsion. Having considered one of the more painful motivations for telling others about Christ last week, today we turn to one of my favorites—an inward compulsion to tell others about him. In Acts 4, Peter and John had been proclaiming Jesus to the people. The Sadducees were greatly disturbed about this, so they seizedContinue reading “Motivation for the Mission—7”
Motivation for the Mission—6
Fear of the Lord. We have been considering various motivations for speaking to others about Christ (series begins here). This post will explore a motivation that we used to hear a lot but rarely here today in many circles. I’m referring to the fear of the Lord. This motivation may have been overemphasized previously, butContinue reading “Motivation for the Mission—6”
Motivation for the Mission –4
Compassion. A part of the unique superiority of the New Covenant is that God gives us resources to help us do the things he calls us to do. In the case of our calling to tell the good news about Christ, one powerful resource he has given us is motivation. The motivations we have consideredContinue reading “Motivation for the Mission –4”
Motivation for the Mission – 3
Christ’s Love for Us. God has given us a mission of showing and telling the good news about Jesus to others, and he has also provided resources to help us do so. One important resource is motivation. It is so much easier to do what we are motivated to do than what we merely thinkContinue reading “Motivation for the Mission – 3”
Motivation for the Mission—1
Obedience to the Instructions of Christ. God is growing a kingdom among us and wants us to be involved in its growth. He is not limited by us, of course, but in his sometimes incomprehensible wisdom, he has chosen to work through human beings. I have written elsewhere about our having this responsibility (see post,Continue reading “Motivation for the Mission—1”
Cooperating with God’s Purpose as Per Ephesians – 10
Beneficial Behaviors in the Body. In addition to all the matters mentioned in previous posts, there are some specific behaviors that are needed and others that must be eliminated in order to have unity in the body of Christ, as God wills (Ephesians 4:25-5:2). All these behaviors are either good or bad in and ofContinue reading “Cooperating with God’s Purpose as Per Ephesians – 10”
Empowering Subjects 