Have you made a difference for God today?

Have you made a difference for God today? A simple 8 word question, yet when it is really looked at, can completely change your outlook on how you're living your life. Our Preacher at Carolina's Cornerstone Baptist Church gave us this question, and told us to ask this of ourselves before we lay our heads down to sleep each night. How you answer it makes all the difference in our Creator's eyes. In the grand scheme of things, which is to say in God's plan, not our laughable plans for what we should be doing, the only things you can do each day of your life that have any significant meaning are things that will outlast you when you are gone. Earning extra money to buy earthly possessions, or playing softball games, or anything you do for fun, entertainment, etc. are ultimately meaningless if you are not doing them to glorify God and make disciples out of nonbelievers. If you are not living your life to glorify God in everything you do, then you are not living the way the Bible tells us we are supposed to be. In everything we do as Christians, we should be striving to show the people around us that there is something different about us, and so they may open the door to ask, "Why do you live this way? Why do you have such joy in your life? How do you deal with problems that arise with such calmness and confidence?" Questions such as these give us the opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They give us the opportunity to tell others about how we were saved, why we know and believe everything will be ok because it is all a part of a true Loving God's plan. But if we live like hypocrites, by going to church on Sunday, and saying the right things, and praising God, and assuming that that is enough, and then putting God away in his box we keep him in Monday-Saturday, then we are robbing the people around us of the greatest gift a human being can ever recieve- Grace! The Bible says that we as Christians are responsible for the non-believers that we come in contact with every single day. And one day we will be asked why we didnt help the people around us, why we didnt spread the Gospel, why we didnt do as we were commanded to do. Now, I know you may be thinking, "Im not the right person for that. There are better people for that job, who will know what to say, how to say it, or are more qualified than I am." But God never calls on qualified people to do a job. He calls upon the unqualified, and qualifies them! I went on a mission trip with 101 other people from our church to Savannah, Ga. a few weeks ago. I wanted to go because my Mother and Stepdad told me i was going, and talked about it for months afterwards. I decided pretty quickly I was going, because they seemed to really help people fix up their homes and such, and Ive always been a hard worker, and figured I could do some good down there with them. I didn't plan on doing and of the "God" stuff. I was going to work hard, fix some stuff in houses, and let other more "qualified" people take care of the "God" stuff. But I learned what Preacher Barry has been  telling us for a while, which is you just have to be available when God calls, invest time in people's lives, and God will take care of the "God" stuff! He's the only one who can! He will give you the words when you need them, he will show you the open door to step into, and when you listen, it becomes so simple, and feels so easy that you forget all about those silly thoughts you had about "Someone else doing it." The other thing I learned was more of a decision at a crossroad. During our devotions one night, Barry gave us all a rock. He asked us to bow our heads, close our eyes, and ask ourselves, "What is holding you back, and keeping you from being the Christian you are supposed to be?" He then said "This rock in your hands represents whatever it is holding you back, if you feel moved to do so, I call you to bring your rock forward, put whatever is holding you back in that rock, and drop it in this washtub, and free yourself to be the Christian God designed you to be!" For me it was very simple. Pride! I am always too proud to stand up and speak for the Lord, or in the name of the Lord. I didnt want people to look at me like one of those "weird Godly people" or something. Typing this now, it seems so silly. But I dropped my rock in that bucket. A little while later our 13 person Mission Team was meeting, and I felt moved to say what I had learned in the last few days, and thank them for allowing me to be a part. Before, I would have just let other people talk, because i do not like talking in front of people at all! A step in the right direction I thought! The next day we were doing devotionals again, and Barry left a microphone in front of the church for people to tell what the trip meant to them so far. A hundred people? No way Im talking to that many people! But I felt moved to tell them what I had learned, and I had just told God I wasnt going to be too proud to speak about him, so nervously, I walked in front of all those people, and spoke my peace. And felt amazing afterwards! Another stepping stone came on Sunday, when Preacher Barry called me in front of the entire church congregation to say what I said on that day in Savannah. I was looking around, surely he's talking to a different Rick, right? But one more time, I put my pride down, walked to the front, and spoke. And the latest step on my journey is starting this blog. Ive always got things on my mind that Id like to share, but never do. This blog is going to be just one more way for me to try to tell my stories, talk about what our Lord Jesus has done for me and my family. My hope is, that someone will hear or read what Ive had to say, and think to themselves, maybe I need to look at my relationship with God. Maybe I need to make some changes in my life as well. Maybe Im not living my life the way God has commanded me to. Or the big one, I dont know Jesus, but I want to know him! And if they make a decision to make a change in their life, then they will be able to lay their head down on their pillow to rest that day, as I am able to do now, and proclaim, "Yes, I did make a difference for God today!"
-Rick