Gathering Souls For Christ

Gathering souls for Christ should be the goal of every Christian. It is a joy to share the Good News of salvation and the power of the Holy Spirit.

“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”(Matt 12:30)

This verse shows us that we are either helping God advance His kingdom or we are allowing those in our circle of influence to be deceived by the devil and ruin their life. That thought process makes me want to have a conversation with my circle of influence, not only the atheists that I work with and live near, but those who are believers yet still don’t realize that the devil is deceiving them.

The World is owned by Satan and life here on earth is akin to what Las Vegas provides.  The bright lights, the lure of money and what it can buy, as well as constant entertainment.  The world provides enticement- so we work hard to enjoy what the advertising world says will bring us a great life.  The only problem with enjoying life to the exclusion of the Lord’s teachings, is when the years of vacations, buying sprees and restaurant meals are over, we are empty again, older, and just as unfulfilled.

Gathering Souls For Christ Requires Life Adjustments

Gathering souls for Christ requires that we adjust our life’s priorities. Surrendering to Christ and walking out what we have learned in the bible will give us contentment right where we are. We don’t need anything- and as we grow closer to Christ, we find that we need less to make us happy. The world becomes strangely dim.

The joy and peace we receive from the Holy Spirit empowers us with the desire to share what we have found. We are filled up. We don’t need to keep searching for something to look forward to. We have contentment even as we deal with our daily, weekly and monthly duties. This peace will be a witness to the world.

Psalm 23:1-3(NLT)

The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.

He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.

A life that gathers souls for Christ is both our duty and our joy as Christians. When our happiness and peace are on display, even when a tsunami of “bad breaks” comes our way- we become a powerful witness of the Holy Spirit.

What Are We Gathering- “treasure” or Souls?

There was an article in popular home magazine about a year ago, sharing stories of successful women. One particular story was lauding the effort of a woman who desired to start her own business.  The article went on to state that this woman and her husband took every dime out of their mortgage and retirement accounts and secured loans to finance the business.  They were “all in” as they say which was frightening as a couple with children.  Eventually, the business did succeed and the magazine praised her persistence and called her a success.  The end of the article stated that the couple divorced due to the stress, time and effort required to start the dream business. The author of the article minimized the divorce and focused on her key point – if you persist in anything it will work out!

When I read the ending of the article I was shocked that the writer used this woman’s story as an example of success. Where did she succeed?  Making her dreams come true?  What about her family? What about her kids and their broken home and the stress they will endure living in two homes now due to divorce?  Who really won in this? Who really lost? Would you consider her a success?

 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”(Matt 6:19-21)

Satan Opposes All Advancement Of The Kingdom

Satan opposes all advancement of the kingdom of Christ followers. Therefore he attempts to distract us from reading the Word, attending church and sharing in bible study with other like minded Christians. The last thing Satan wants to see, is that we find enjoyment in Christ and in the things of God.

Satan is crafty, he finds out what we are drawn towards and then works on us, luring us away from what God deems important. Trust me, if I didn’t get knocked off my feet by a tornado in my life, I wouldn’t have searched the Bible for comfort and peace nor would I understand the truth of God’s Word.  I too would have spent more time away from my children to collect money for trips, fun and retirement.

I can now say, that I was actually lucky to go through the terrible life storm I endured.  I was blessed with nothing but the Word of God to sustain me.  But when we are blessed with nothing but His Word, we have everything!

“If you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become my spokesperson.”(Jer 15:19b)

“I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…” (Phil 3:8)

When we stay in the Word of God, we know that we will always have enough of everything. God impressed upon my heart this thought: “My people will always have enough.”

And this impression is backed up by Scripture. The Israelites always had what they needed as they left Egypt. Even in famine a woman who’s story is in the Old Testament was close to dying, for lack of food. She only had enough flour and oil left to make her and her son a last meal in the famine. But a prophet of God came and told her what to do- share with him. She trusted God’s Word through the prophet and ended up seeing a miracle. Her flour bowl and oil flask never ran out until the famine lifted. (1 Kings 17:7-16)

“Give and it will be given to you a good measure pressed down shaken together and running out. For with the measure you use it will be measured unto you.”(Luke 6:38)

The Bible tells us that we will have more than enough- we will have enough to share.  Not only that, we will leave this world with a legacy of faith and dependence on the Lord for the next generation to emulate. Christ desires that we base our lives on gathering souls for Him not gathering money- He can easily take care of us and guide us to all that we need.

“The Lord’s eyes move to and fro throughout the earth to help those whose hearts are completely His.” (2 Chron 16:9)

“Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” (Matt 6:33 ESV)

When we seek what God deems important and mold our lives after His teachings, losing in the secular world is actually winning with God- He has blessings for obedience waiting for us.  When we depend on the Lord, we not only save our own life, we can save those who are in our circle of influence by our example.

Set a goal to gather souls for Christ. Dig into the Word of God, follow what you have learned and you will avoid faulty decisions and help others avoid them too. Once the people in your circle of influence are Christ followers you can encourage each other to expand your territory for Christ.

Music For Your Soul:

“How Great Thou Art” sung by Carrie Underwood.

Food For Thought,

Lisa