Since my trip to Ireland in 2014 I have had a stronger desire than ever before to reach the lost and grow in my faith, but not just while on a mission trip or at a conference, in every day life, right here in my own town.  God is raising up spiritual leaders in the Lansing area and it is our job/privileged to join them in their efforts to reach the lost.

Recently, I have come in contact with hundreds of college students who have been brought up in Christian families, but fall away as they move on in life or still call themselves Christian, but it is just a title and has no meaning to them. They'll say, "Yeah, I'm a Baptist", "I'm Catholic", "I went to ______ a denomination."  "Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?"-I Corinthians 1:13-14   What is the church?! The church of Christ is the people that make it up, people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and believe on Him. We must stand together to make an impact in our nation that so desperately needs God. Let's overlook some of the small things that make our denominations different and be followers of Christ together. 

I've been hit with the realization of how easy it is to grow apathetic in your faith when you aren't seeing people act on what they believe. If you're not seeing people saved and actively sharing your faith you can never understand fully what it means to be a follower of Christ. When there is no difference between you and non Christians, you're not losing a thing when you step away from church. If you just went because your family did, what will happen when you move out and don't have your mom to make sure you attend? We go to Church on Sundays to be built up, it isn't supposed to be the main part of the Christian walk, it is our training ground for every day life. When we begin to share our faith, we are faced with questions that force us to dig into God's word for answers.  Once you are out blessing people and serving the Lord, you want to do it more and suddenly your faith means much more than a denomination. 

What does it mean to be a follower of Christ? James 2:19 says: "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder."  Are you just a believer in Jesus or a follower of Him?  The life of Jesus is historically known to be true and as the Bible says, even the demons believe in God.  So, what is the difference in our knowledge of Jesus and historian's, or how is our belief different from the demons?  We are called to be the image of Christ and the means through which He reaches the lost. What a privileged to be a bearer of the Good News to our world! "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." 2 Corinthians 3:18