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MISSION ARTICLES
This is a collection of articles that our missionary wishes to make available to you. If you find that our efforts are important and worthwhile, perhaps you would consider supporting us financially. If so, Please Click Here and in Preference, please enter "Elizabeth Ratliff"
Or, perhaps you would like to come to our mission and participate with us in this very fulfilling work. To find out more about how you can organize your own team, Please Click Here. Or if you would like to find out about how to join a team that may be looking for additional members, Please Click Here.
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Hey friend! How are you? After reading this, please leave me a comment and let me know how I can pray for you because I miss you!
Today I want to motivate you to make a difference. Are you breathing? Yes I am referring to you… You can make a difference. Think about how amazing that simple fact is. You can make a difference. You can be the spark that ignites change. How? Let’s look at the best place to guide our lives in this endeavor; the Bible.
So how can you make a difference as a follower of Jesus?
Talk about Him! Really? Yes, it really can be that simple. Study the Bible, pour over it, and analyze it. God’s Word is rich and deep just like dark chocolate. Pray that God would reveal Himself through His written word and talk about it with the people that you see. Do you go to the grocery store? That person right there, needs to hear about Jesus. Those people who serves your coffee, helps you at work, totals your snacks at the gas station… Does God love them? Don’t they deserve your time? At the grocery store, say “Hi, how are you?” They will likely respond with, “I’m good. How are you?” Don’t let that opportunity pass you by! Let your eyes light up and invest some emotion into telling them about what you read in the Bible and how amazing it is that we have God’s written word! Allow the light of the Holy Spirit to shine through you. That joy is contagious! Think about it… When someone is smiling and laughing it’s hard to not smile and giggle a little too… In my family, when someone is grumpy, we make them say “pickle, pickle, pickle…”, while smiling at them, inevitably we all wind up smiling! Try it! I mean seriously guys! How amazing is it that the Lord of Lords has given us His Word! Let’s all share that zeal for the Lord!
How else can you make a difference? Yes… Financially of course! Tom and I are living here in Nicaragua. The second poorest country in the entire Western hemisphere. I am passionate about showing God’s love to the people here through irrational generosity. And there are even more ways that you can invest into growing God’s kingdom with Missionary Ventures! Look for one! Please do not misunderstand, I am not trying to toot my own horn and make a financial profit with your time. Find a country that calls to you to make a difference. Be passionate about telling the world about Jesus!
While we are on the subject of money, I want to expound on this for just a moment. I know that our natural inclination is to hold our money tight. But what did Jesus say in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-28? There were three men given money. Two invested the money and one hid the money in the ground because he was afraid. He let the fear of losing his money stop him from investing it. In the story the servant who hid the money was called wicked and lazy! He had the servant thrown into darkness. Please don’t let fear stop you from investing your finances into the kingdom of God. Live. Live passionately!
When?
James 5:13-17
Anyone who knows the good that he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
NOW is your time to make a difference. Right now! Put your phone down, turn off the TV, throw out the unhealthy snacks, and focus on making a difference for the Lord. Talk about Him. Talk about His Word and what you are learning. Talk about the ways that God has poured out His grace in your life. Talk about missions. Talk about the difference that you are making by investing your time into the kingdom of God. Talk about the missionaries that you know and the work that they are doing! Be the light that shines in the darkness! Shine brightly!
