Are You All In For Jesus?!?

Last night Pastor King taught on being "all in" for Jesus out of Luke 9:57-62 (I am going to use The Message translation for this blog).  In this passage, Jesus spoke of 3 men who said "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go" but they each had some sort of excuse as to why they couldn't immediately follow Him.  The first man had the motive of thinking it is going to be an easy road but Jesus is quick to tell him in verse 58, "Are you ready to rough it? We're not staying in the best inns, you know". Through this Scripture, we learn that Jesus thrives in uncomfortable places, not the Ritz Carlton.  Are you willing to "rough it" for Jesus?  To go places that are NOT comfortable to reach His people?

The second man Jesus talks about has misplaced priorities.  He tells Jesus that he will follow him BUT "first excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements for my father's funeral (vs. 59)."  Jesus refused. "First things first. Your business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce God's kingdom (vs. 60)!"  So this man wanted to bury his father first, probably to inherit money, land, etc. that would be coming to him before he would follow Jesus. But what he didn't realize is Jesus is not going to be second to anyone or anything.  He is ALWAYS FIRST and He doesn't wait on anyone.  Nothing in your life should ever come before Jesus, not your family, money, work, worldly possessions, etc.  Those can be good things but they can also come between you and Jesus so you have to be careful how you prioritize the things in your life.  Are you willing to make Jesus FIRST in your life and to put everyone and everything second?  Do you live by the motto "I Am Second, Jesus is First"? Do people see this in your life?

The third man said "I'm ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home" (vs. 61).  And Jesus responded in verse 62 "No procrastination. No backward looks. You can't put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day."  So this guy was being hesitant, wanting to go home and probably say goodbye to his family but Jesus was quick to tell him NO because His call to us is more important than anything on our own agenda.  Are you willing to drop everything and follow the call Jesus has placed on your life?  How can you sow good seeds for Christ if you are constantly looking around and backwards at the things in your life (family, friends, job, etc.)? The purposes of God are more important than anything else in your life but are you willing to "deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23)"? 

So we can learn from these three men the following things that can keep us from being "All In" for Jesus:

1. Wrong Motives
2. Misplaced Priorities
3. Hesitation/ Procrastination

No matter what you lose, what others think about you, are you willing to be totally ALL In For JESUS?!?

Drought in East Africa

Please keep the people in East Africa in your prayers as they are dealing with one of the worst droughts in over 60 years.  According to the news, tens of thousands of people have already starved to death in Somalia and thousands are streaming across the borders to Ethiopia and Kenya daily.  Because there hasn't been any rain, produce is not growing and there is no water to drink.  Hopefully, we will be able to assist with some of these victims when we go to Kenya in August.  Not only do I pray that we can assist them with physical water needs, but also the thirsts of the Spirit that come from God's Word as He is our fountain of living water! 

I hope you have a blessed weekend!

Isaiah 6:8 Send Me!

As I was reading in the word for today devotional, the key verse yesterday was Isaiah 6:8 "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us? Then I said Here am I! Send me."  In this verse, Isaiah answered the call of God to go and tell the people and this really spoke to me as that is what I feel the call on my life is too.  One sentence that stuck to me like glue from this devotional was "God has only one reason for filling you with His Spirit, that's to pour you out in service to others."  God doesn't instruct us to just get filled with His Spirit and keep it all to ourselves.  He commands us to spread the gospel and to share what we learn and experience with others.  One thing I have learned over the last couple of years of growing with the Lord is that when something impacts me, changes me, blesses me, I want to share it and spread it so that others may be impacted, changed and blessed too!  It's like I get a fire inside of me, burning rapidly to be spread to others, if only they could catch a small spark that would start the flame burning inside of them!  That is part of the reason I want to share this blog with so many others...God is so amazing and has a purpose for each and everyone of us and if we seek Him, He will lead and guide you to fulfill the purpose He has empowered you for!  He will change you and make you into a new creation: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17!  All it takes is you believing in your heart that Jesus Christ died for YOU, to save you from your sins and that He was raised from the dead and is alive today in Heaven!  According to Romans 10:9-10 "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." We are ALL born into sin and given the choice to believe in Jesus or not but until we confess with our heart and our mouth that Jesus Christ is the Lord of our life, we will not experience the love and blessings God longs to give us.  Jesus died so that we could have a personal relationship with the Father, not a religion and it is so important that we take advantage of that relationship.  So if you haven't experienced that personal relationship with Jesus, I highly encourage you to start today!  It has changed my life (I am a new person created in His image) and you can be too!  And trust me, He has a purpose for you too and just maybe it will be to say "Send Me" too!

Update

Dear Family and Friends,

Just an update on where I am with the mission trip to Kenya.  The dates have been pushed back due to some unexpected circumstances but we are leaving on August 10^th returning on August 25^th.  I am going on this trip with a husband and wife team from my church who are natives of Kenya and who started the 501C ministry, Mission2Kenya.  We will be ministering to all age groups in several villages around Nairobi and I will be in charge of leading the youth group and single adults.  I plan on using the theme I Am Second to teach them that we are second, God is first!  We are also hosting a free medical and eye clinic which is something they host every year and is a lot of times the only medical treatment these people receive because it is free.

As my time nears for this trip, I am still in financial need to cover the cost of the trip and the supplies we need to carry over to these people.  Items that we will take with us include things like medications, bicycles for the ministers in far out villages, non-perishable items, Bibles, etc.  I am asking my family and friends to please pray and see what God would lay on your heart to sow into His kingdom works.  Any amount small or large would help greatly in spreading the gospel and God’s love to people in need.  I am trusting and believing that God is going to use me in a mighty way to minister to His people through my testimony and His living Word.  I know this is going to be a life changing experience and I can’t wait to share it with you!

 

In His Service,

Leslie Perkins

54 Ryles Road

Cartersville, GA 30120

770-655-6164

leszta5@yahoo.com

The Call

So on my first blog I thought I would tell you about the call God laid on my heart to go to Kenya.  I have always felt a desire in my heart to go to Africa and serve Him and the way this opportunity happened was def a God thing!  I had been looking around the Internet for a mission trip to Africa and I signed up to go on one with a group from GA but after investigating it, decided that was not the best option for me as I would have to travel alone.  So at the same time I was making that decision, my mom called me and told me that she had ran into a lady at church who just came up to her talking about a mission trip to Kenya that Pastor Mungai and his wife Penny were going to be taking.  They were opening it up to anybody who felt the call to go and since my mom knew of my desire to go to Africa, she and I both felt like this was God's perfect timing for me.  So in April I decided to join the Pastor and his wife on this mission trip.  Originally it was scheduled for May but due to some unexpected circumstances the trip was pushed back to August.  So here I am preparing to leave Aug 10 returning on Aug 25th.  I don't really know what all to expect out of this mission trip but from my past experience, I know I will go trying to be a blessing to others but in reality they will bless me!  Please keep me in your prayers as I seek God to prepare my heart, mind and soul for this trip.  I know that He has a great plan for me according to Jerm 29:11!

God Bless!
Les