If you didn’t read How To Be The Change Part 1, make sure you READ IT HERE.

In part one Coach Amber talks about Having the same mindset as Christ and Being in good company!

Today she is going to discuss:

  • Letting the Word Dwell Inside You
  • Letting Your Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Check it out below 👇🏼

3. LET THE WORD DWELL INSIDE YOU.

The B-I-B-L-E! Yes, that’s the book for me! I stand alone on the word of God. The B-I-B-L-E! Do you remember this song from Sunday school? It’s a simple children’s song, yet it can have such an impact on your life and those around you. I consider the Bible the book of life.  It can help you navigate life’s trials and tribulations. When life makes you doubtful, angry, fearful, jealous, prideful, selfish, depressed, stressed and anxious, the Bible teaches you hope, forgiveness, love, compassion, patience, empathy, healing and joy.

There is division surrounding us. Its on the street, in our schools, in our churches, in our communities and even inside our homes. Many of us walk around thinking we can navigate this life on our own. We think we have the “best” advice or the “right” answer to everything. Our words, our actions, and decisions are usually directly related to our own desires and wants. Often times we offer our own words of encouragement in hopes to fix the worlds ‘problems.

For example, let’s say your best friend is doing everything in her power to love and serve her husband. She cooks, cleans, runs the house all while being a taxi for her kid’s activities. Meanwhile her husband pays no attention to her. He comes home and eats dinner, leaving a mess for her to clean up. He goes about his night doing what he wants to do, with complete disregard for her feelings. He wants a divorce. What advice would you give your best friend? Would you tell her to get out while she can? Perhaps you would tell her to start doing what SHE wants to do. No man should treat his wife like that! What about continue loving and serving him, and pray for his heart every single day? Tell him how you feel but don’t stop being the kind hearted wife God created you to be. This isn’t the advice you would typically give because it isn’t what the world wants to hear. It’s a hard pill to swallow.

What does God have to say about this? We are so quick to spew out our own words, forgetting what God has to say. He has an answer to all of our life’s trials and tribulations. Our marriages, relationships, parenting, work, who to vote for, etc. The list goes on. It isn’t always crystal clear, but the holy spirit lives inside each of us to offer us guidance.  He sees the ENTIRE picture when we only can see part of it. He wants the best for us and wants to show us what is right. The solution is at our fingertips, yet we forget to seek his wisdom before our own.  

“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”. 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

It says it right there, plain as day. Open it up and look. Pray over your next response, decision, action and advice. It’s not always what people want to hear. Its sometimes hurts our pride. It sometimes looks weird and crazy to the world. It can be extremely difficult. In order to make the world a better place, we need to seek out his wisdom in every situation. We need to use that wisdom and put it into practice in our everyday lives.

4. LET YOUR ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN YOUR WORDS.

 This last piece. The most important piece of the puzzle, has taken me over 6 months to finalize. I’ve gone back and forth trying to figure out what to write. God kept nudging me to finish but I felt like I didn’t have the right words or the time. I literally had NOTHING. Then it hit me! God is writing this story, not me. I don’t need the right words because he will WRITE it for me. I’m just the messenger. He will use this blog to reach whoever he wants to. It is his purpose and RIGHT NOW is the RIGHT TIME! The right time to write and the right time to take action. We can’t just BE. We need to DO. We can no longer sit back and be lukewarm. We need to be ON FIRE for the Lord. Such incredible fire that becomes magnetic to people.

1 John 3:18 says, “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with action and in truth.”

Loving people with words and speech is necessary and something we should always aspire to do. However, loving people with ACTION and in TRUTH is ultimately going to lead people to CHRIST.

Leading people to Christ is one of the most important parts of the bible. THE GREAT COMMISSION. I’m sure many of you are familiar with it, but are we actually living this part out? Here is a refresher. 

"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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: 16-20

When Jesus says he has been given the authority from heaven, he is indicating this is a COMMAND not a suggestion. A command from our FATHER, yet as Christians we remain complacent, stagnant and lukewarm. We are caught up in so much day to day distraction, noise and privilege. We are more concerned with what is on our to do lists, what activity little Sue has to get to, what we will have for dinner, what color tie to wear for your dinner party. Things that ultimately are meaningless, but we put so much effort into them. Do you ever wake up and pray that God will help you make disciples of all nations? God asks us to do three things: love HIM, love his people and to go out and make disciples.

Its easy to love HIM. Its much harder to love people and make disciples. In society today, there are people who are broken, isolated, angry, depressed, unhealthy and empty. People are so hateful that they make it almost impossible to be liked. God says to love them and to pray blessings on them. There are people contemplating their life as I type. They are hurting and hungry for the gospel. Jesus is the only one who can restore them from the inside out. We can not lead them astray. It is our duty to serve them, bear their burdens, call out their sinful nature (while also recognizing the speck in your own eye), forgive them as Christ forgave us, pray for them, build them up in faith and make disciples out of them.

Making disciples involves going, baptizing and teaching. You may need to start adding THIS to your TO-DO list. There are several ways to do this. Some may be way out of your comfort zone. Jesus was never comfortable so why should we be?

First, PRAY. We need to seek his wisdom on how we should do this. Not everyone is gifted in the same way. Second, once you understand your gifts you can start utilizing them to disciple. Are you a writer? Are you good at public speaking? Are you comfortable talking to strangers? Do you relate well with children? Start there! Maybe it’s a letter or a phone call to a friend. Maybe you start a bible study. Maybe you start a family devotional at home for the first time. Or you could start walking the streets and praying for people like my dear friend Pastor John Jacobs.

Let’s rewind a bit. I have to laugh a little because 10 years ago when we met John, he was the manager at Brown Bag Burgers. Best place ever! Its not that his occupation was funny, but how much his life has transformed over the years. God has been so faithful to him. Even amidst the changes, he was discipling people however he could. I remember John opening up the restaurant before hours for people like Theo to come learn and talk Jesus. Ten years ago, Theo and I were basically just starting our faith journey. We had no idea what we were doing. If it weren’t for John’s obedience, investing his time and energy on Theo, I don’t think we would be where we are today. We are eternally grateful for his friendship.

Now fast forward to today. John is one of the pastors at Church of the Open Door in Vermillion. He went from flipping burgers to preaching the gospel. I just can’t get enough of stories like this. He lets the Holy Spirit guide him. If he feels God is asking him to pray for someone, even if that is a complete stranger, he will do it. It’s always been a gift of his. Going up to random strangers seems AWFUL to me. I am an introvert, so I would rather chew glass. Just being honest, its not my gift. So, I asked him if he had any bad experiences that he could share. Here is what he had to say:

For me, the hardest thing has been abandonment. This is something Jesus faced over and over. People get “ON FIRE”, or people coming out of a crisis want to turn to Jesus. They want to meet and they want to learn. They are really into it for a few weeks, maybe a month and then they ghost me. Or worse yet they turn on me and the church. Super hard not to let that discourage you or make you turn against them. In John 6, we see followers bail on Jesus. He asks his disciples this haunting question, “do you want to leave me too?” You can hear the pain in his voice. I’ve been there. I know you and Theo have had people leave FMU for being “too Jesusy”. Being faithful and being a true believer when you look like a jack weed (yes these are his exact words and we love him for it) because people keep saying PEACE OUT. 

But the last part of his text is what stuck with me and it should stick with you too. JESUS IS WORTH IT. HE IS SO WORTH IT. He sacrificed his life for us. It might not be what we want to do, it may be uncomfortable, it may be inconvenient, it may be the farthest thing from our mind. HE’S WORTH IT. That should be enough for us to start adding this to our to-do list.

In order to make this world a better place, we need to start telling people the good news of Jesus Christ. We need to have the same mindset as Jesus, surround ourselves with other believers who will help us grow, continue to seek the word out for wisdom, and take action by sharing the gospel.

As Coach Theo always says, don’t take our word for it. Try these steps for yourself today. And they may just be THE game changers for you and everyone in your life.

God Bless,

Coach Amber

➡️ Don’t forget to Read Part 1 Here