Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 28:19
It was a surreal experience when I sat before a mic in the studio and put on the headphones. I was about to speak to more than a million people around the world. I was in the studio of HCJB in Quito Ecuador.
God called Clarence Jones to “Arise and go south with the Gospel… using Radio.” Clarence would start Radio Station HCJB.
HCJB stands for Heralding Christ Jesus Blessings, short wave ministry started in 1931.
The mission would grow into a global ministry that was guided by these two foundational verses:
“Call unto me and I will show you great and mighty things which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” Zachariah 4:6
The mission also recognized the need to demonstrate the Gospel in practical ways which led to the development of medical and community development ministries. Our goal was never to just present or demonstrate the Gospel, rather to obey Jesus’s command to go make disciples. Their 500-kw transmitter gives a total broadcast power of one million watts that goes all over the world, even in remote places not otherwise reached.
And they ask me to give my Christian testimony? To well over a million at one time? I was both honored and scared, but it went well. I will never know how many people heard me or where they were, and I will never know how many people responded to the Gospel. Only God knows, but some day in the life beyond this life, maybe I will know.
Maybe not all of us will have the opportunity to speak on our faith to millions at one time, but we can all start with one person one time. And maybe not all over the world, but to your next-door neighbor or the one who works in the cubicle next to yours. Maybe you were created just to lead one special person to salvation. Maybe, just maybe.
The time to start your faith teaching is now. Don’t go a day without it.
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
Have you ever noticed how “busy” has become the new “fine”? As in, when you used to ask somebody how they were doing, they would answer, “Fine.” But nowadays, everybody answers, “Busy.”
Sometimes, people say it just to sound important. But most of the time, the person legitimately means it. They’re busy. There are too many responsibilities and not enough time in the day nor energy in the body to accomplish everything they want to do.
Busy has become the default state for many of us. But is the state improving our lives? Certainly not.
Statistics indicate that 75% of parents are too busy to read to their children at night. A rising number of children are being placed in day cares and after-school activities. Americans are having a hard time finding opportunity for vacations these days. About 33% of Americans are living with extreme stress daily, and nearly 50% of people say they regularly lie awake at night because of stress.
This is a problem. Activity is good, but we can become too busy.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
While busyness seems to be the prevailing condition of the human spirit these days, it is not true of everyone. In other words, busyness is not inevitable.
Some people are not busy. They appear calm, collected, and in control… but still productive. They are enviable in the life they live. What do they understand about life that others do not? The Minimalist
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When people get wealthier, they experience greater happiness. However, there is a surprising and significant corollary in the report: people with less money view happiness as tied to a sense of meaning—the belief that their life has direction, purpose, and value. Stanford University marketing professor Jennifer Aaker
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Average cost for every American last year for prescription medication: $1,376
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around. Willie Nelson
It can feel lonely to stand for Biblical morality in our radically secular culture. Jim Denison
When what should be first place in our lives gets misplaced, before long it will be replaced. Ken Whitten
If you want to be more like Jesus, try giving help in both time and treasure without telling anyone about it. Jesus has answered your silent prayers for a long time and does not seek to take any credit for it…see the power that brings when you do the same. Dwight Short
Friendship… is not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything. Muhammad Ali
If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all. Michelangelo
We have to be open for God to transform us. Jomo Cousins
Just a little tolerated sin can permeate through the whole body, rotting it away from the inside out. Tim Tebow