Why Me? Here I am Send Me.

 

Have you ever stopped to think why God chooses us?  I am a nobody.  I grew up in the middle of nowhere Mississippi, I made bad choices growing up, I wasn’t a stand out kid at anything, if anything I was average or below average at everything I did.  Now I don’t say this to try to stir emotions in you or to try to make you think I’m somehow above average now, I say that so that if you have a similar story you will listen to what I have to say.

Our God is great.  As I’ve shared in a past post I have seen God do amazing things in my life in the past four years through merely submitting to him.  In the past four years I have seen so much fruit of God in my life, teaching of a proper perspective of worship in my ministry, and in personal relationships the only word I can describe it as is a Holy Amazing.  One of the tools that I never have fully realized that God in my life is this blog.  I randomly repost newsletter articles that I write for my church or what God has placed on my mind at the time.  I never get many comments on the actual blog so one would think that it doesn’t get visited often.  I’ll get the occasional nod of approval from my pastor, the occasional email from a follower of encouragement, sometimes (only twice) I will even get a phone call of encouragement from someone who has stumbled upon my blog, and of course my own mother is constantly encouraging me (I praise God for her constant encouragement and prayers).  Even amidst all of that encouragement It has never really hit me how many people actually read this until just a few moments ago. 

When I redesigned my blog about six months ago I placed a great tracking tool called “Who’s Among Us” on here, so I could keep track of the traffic on my site.  When I looked at it a few moments ago I was overwhelmed by what I saw.  The words that I write have reached every Continent multiple times.  The words that I write have reached countries that are closed or skeptical of the Gospel.  It has reached farther then I could have ever imagined, reaching countries such as China, Ukraine, Romania, India, Pakistan, Dubai, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, and even as far as Fiji.  How careful should I choose my words?  A blog that I thought originally of as an online journal is reaching others with the Gospel and as encouragement to fellow believers.   

Knowing this what do I have to say?  I say this:  To those of you in countries where the Gospel is not open in your country, I pray for you daily that you will endure and fight the good fight.  I pray that God’s allowance of your suffering will strengthen the spread of the Gospel in your country and throughout the world.  Forsake everything else, for in the end you will have true freedom.  If you want to share how the Gospel is going forward in your country or just need prayer feel free to comment or to email me @ jonathanbcoleman@gmail.com. 

For those in countries who are free, including America:  I pray that we will not waste our lives chasing silly gadgets or temporary success.  Take every moment and every opportunity you are given to further the spread of the Gospel for the Glory of God.  As well if you need prayer or encouragement feel free to comment or to email me and I will never cease to pray for you as I am already when I do not even know you. 

My Christian Brothers and Sisters, let us be encouraged for God Alone Is Good.  Never feel as if you are alone in the fight, God is for you; Christians are praying for you.  Why does God choose to use us?  Because we respond as in Isaiah, “Here I am Send Me”.  

 

May God Be Glorified. 

 

A Sacrificial Gift

 

 

When I was a child one year for my birthday I got an awesome present, a sixteen speed bicycle.  With that bicycle there was a new freedom in my life, I was at that point not limited to only being at my house, nor was I dependent upon others for a ride to my friend’s house, and no longer did I have to walk everywhere I went, I could now ride all over my neighborhood and meet with all kind of friends to play and have fun together.

After I had had my bicycle for a while, it was no longer special.  I soon forgot how awesome of a present it was, the sacrifice that my parents had to make to buy it for me, and began to take for granted the freedom that was granted with the bicycle.  When my father and mother had presented the gift they expressed how valuable of a gift it was and the sacrifice it took for them to give it to me so I needed to take care of the gift.  However when the newness was worn off of the gift, I began to slack off in my care of it, instead of placing it in the garage after using it, I begin to leave it in the rain.  After a while this awesome sacrificial gift I had been given, was nothing but a rusted piece of metal that would no longer work.  The freedom that I had taken for granted was now gone, I could no longer go around the neighborhood play with friends, I was once again alone.

In America we have been given a gift as believers and it is the corporate gathering of the believers as the church.  There are so many who have sacrificed throughout the years for us to not only have this freedom, but to also have the bible in our language, to be able to practice believer's baptism, and to be able to have theological debate or differences. I thank God that He has used these men and women in the past so that we have the church that we have today where we are free to have theological debate, free to have not only an English translation but to have dozens of English translations, free to not only be able to sing in church but to be able to sing a variety psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs as commanded in scripture.  I praise God that we have the church we do today.

 

Because we have been given such a sacrificial gift, we must guard from not allowing our awesome sacrificial gift of the church become a rusted bicycle we left out in the rain. I pray that as we approach Reformation Sunday we will once again realize what a gift we have as the 21st Century Church, who knows maybe somewhere along the way God will choose us to sacrifice or take a stand for the future generations of the church.

 

Rebellion to Obedience

 

In the past five years my life has changed dramatically. I won’t go into great detail, but five years ago my life was in rebellion to God. I was a believer who was submersing myself in sin to the point of where I did not even understand where God was in my life, much less His leadership in my life. God had told me how to remove myself from sin, was calling me to repentance, and yet I refused. I had just graduated college and had no idea what my next step in life was, all I knew is I wanted to do it my way and not God’s way. My life was in rebellion to God.

I cannot fathom why God loves me so much. Even though I was in active rebellion to God, God being rich in love and mercy, brought brokenness into my life. Everything that I held close and in place of God, He broke away from me, and in a way that only God could, brought me to my knees where I said, “You are God, I cannot do it alone, I will do what you tell me, I will go where you send me.” God loved me so much He brought me out of a life of rebellion and into a life of obedience.

When we are in obedience to God, He leads us to places we never thought we would go, and does things we never could have imagined. Immediately after God calling me to obedience, God begin to restore relationships in my life, brought me through a period of discipleship, led me to Fort Worth to begin my seminary work, brought to me Godly men through Oak Crest to continue to disciple me and teach me what it was to be a man and not a boy, gave me a wife, and now has given me a daughter. Why does God love me so much, that He did not allow me to rot in my disobedience, but yet called me to obedience so that He could bless my life? He did it so I can proclaim, “God ALONE is Good”. He did it so I can proclaim, “I deserve nothing but death, but God alone has given me life and so much more”. He did it so I can proclaim, “Glory Be To God and God Alone”.

Do you remember a moment in your life when God called you out of rebellion and into obedience? Have you forgotten God’s work in your life? Have you forgotten how much God loves you? I pray that you haven’t forgotten, but if you have, take time today to reflect upon God’s hand on your life. How in your life can you say, “God ALONE is Good?” Take the time to share this with someone who is an unbeliever today. If you don’t know any unbelievers, take the time to go and get to know some today.

You Give and Take Away

 

God ALONE is good. Last Tuesday was the hardest and most emotional day of my life thus far. I will not go into great detail; however I will say, I found myself at the foot of the cross, fully dependent upon God for His Plan, His Grace, and His Mercy. This is not a place as Americans that we are familiar with. We are often not mentally aware that we are fully dependent upon God for everything. The breath that I have, the life that I have, the wife that I have, and the daughter that I now have, these are all gifts from God that are not promised to us nor is He required to give them to us to be good. God is good apart from His provision to us. We could have nothing and God would still be good.

Knowing this humbles me even more. I deserve nothing! God’s goodness is not dependent upon anything that I am given, but yet He has given me much! God blessed me with a wonderful and beautiful wife and now He has blessed me with a beautiful and wonderful daughter. God has given me so much, but He could have just as easily taken it away, and I would still declare that God is good.

I’m not sure what is going on in your life this week, or even this month, but I know that there will be good things and bad things. You may gain a child, meet your spouse, enjoy an anniversary, or get a new job, however you might also lose a child, continue a single life, loose a spouse, lose your job, or experience pain in many other forms. My prayer for you is that in the good times and in the bad times, we together as the body of Christ can declare that God Alone Is Good. We have NOTHING apart from God, we can do nothing apart from God, and nothing apart from God is good. God Alone Is Good.

You Give and Take Away, You Give and Take Away May My Heart Choose to Say: “Blessed Be Your Name”.