“Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
 
When we see green lights, we go. At track meets when the starting pistol is sounded runners go at the sound. There are moments that we know instantly to go. Those who do not have a green light sit idly until they see a green light and can go. Those in the next heat wait patiently until they are called forward and hear the starting pistol. However, we are all called to “Go”. We are called by Jesus not to sit idly by but to be apart of the great commission.

Before Jesus departed, he told the disciples to go make disciples of all nations. It wasn’t a suggestion but, a command to go be apart of the community and walk alongside people from all nations in their journey of grace. No one must be trained to make disciples just be willing to invest time in explaining scripture, praying, and helping others understand what it means to be a holy people.
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There is no one size fits all to make disciples. It all starts with an invite to know someone a simple hello, invitation to get coffee, and spending time with another person works perfectly. Faith is meant to be done within community. It can feel intimidating to make disciples, but the Holy Spirit is with you guiding you to the people who need a listening ear and want to learn about Jesus. He will give you the words to say even when you are unsure of what to say. Go.
 
Heavenly Father, give us eyes to see people who need to know about your love and grace.
 
Walking with you,
Stacy Watkins

“Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense:” (Acts 26:1)
 
Sometimes silence is powerful and it can be more powerful to stay silent in situations then speaking out. However, there is power in our words. Sometimes we can believe that our voice does not matter. While we continue to wait for others to speak up for us. Why wouldn’t we wait for someone else to speak up? They might appear more confident, are a great communicator, or even have more followers. This should not deter us from speaking out since we all have voice. We all are meant to be heard.

Many important decisions in our lives can only be decided once we have courage and speak for ourselves. Though we might want someone else to speak out for us because it would be easier. Unless we speak out for ourselves and let our voices be heard then sometimes our needs will go unmet. There are several things that we can speak out against; unfair treatment, professional goals, or even simple things that you need. The best person to advocate for you about what you need is yourself. Though we have friends that know us and might know our needs they can only truly know what we need unless we speak truth for ourselves and our needs.

Even when it is hard to speak out for us, we can take courage for the Holy Spirit guides us with the words that we need to speak. We might not know exactly how to say it or the right words but, the Holy Spirit knows what needs to be said. When we do not know what to say we can also pray to God to give us the courage to speak for ourselves and be heard.
 
Heavenly Father, may you continue to give us courage to speak out for ourselves. When we do not know what to say may the Holy Spirit continue to give us the words and help us to be heard.
 
Walking with you,
Stacy Watkins

“When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)
 
People sometimes say, “you are the company that you keep” and to “choose your friends wisely”. The people we spend time with play a vital role in our character development. Some people may be a great influence since they are encouragers and want to see their friends succeed while others might not be a great influence since they are bad apples always getting into trouble.  The bad apples are usually perceived as people who ditched school or did not get good grades while the good kids sat up front in class and got good grades.

Education is for some the American dream to get good grades in school later to further their education to college to be educated and trained in a profession. Boldness does not proceed from education it cannot be learned or taught but, comes from having courage to stand up and say what is right. Peter and John were uneducated and untrained fisherman they did not have fancy educations but, learned from the one that everything comes from Jesus. It showed not only how they spoke but, how they treated other people.  They saw people in need and did not turn them away but, had compassion on them and assisted them the best way they knew how.

​Boldness takes vulnerability and being brave. Courage the Cowardly Dog fears everything but, would step outside of his comfort zone and embrace the challenge that was in front of him. There is no perfect moment to start anything that we want or need to do but, the right time to start is now. Even when we fail at our goals, we can embrace it and shake it off and learn from our mistake. We can find out what are our strengths and abilities and focus on building those up. The Holy Spirit empowers us to be bold and step outside of our comfort zone, to believe in our abilities, and act.
                 
Heavenly Father, thank you for the Holy Spirit that empowers us to be bold and brave sharing the gospel to those who do not know Jesus.
 
Walking with you,
Stacy Watkins