are you willing?

a short question, but it comes with such depth. the Christian lifestyle is all about being willing. are you willing to be kind to strangers today? are you willing to go out of your way today to serve others? are you willing to open your heart to God? are you willing to step into whatever it is that He is calling you to?

so, i ask you, are you willing?

to be willing means to be three things: prepared, eager, and ready.

are you prepared to share the good news of Jesus? another way of saying this is, are you able to share the good news of Jesus? being prepared is the work that you do prior to an event. as a student it is your obligation to be prepared for a test through studying, just as it is our obligation as Christians to know about Jesus’ death and resurrection. to know that Jesus walked this earth, in flesh and blood, and was crucified to the cross, bearing the weight of the sin of the world, to trample over hell, and rise again three days later. so that anyone of us who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. this is the good news, friend! that our Lord and Savior died for you and i while we were still sinners, that we aren’t condemned to hell, that we have an eternal home lined with streets of gold. you must spend time with Jesus if you wish to fulfill His great commission ‘therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ (Matthew 28:18-20). so, once again, i ask you, are you prepared to share the good news of Jesus?

are you eager to share the good news of Jesus? are you yearning for others to know of who Jesus is? are you longing for others to experience Jesus in their lives? if you answered yes then that is awesome! but before you can act on this eagerness, you must be prepared because it is made known in Proverbs 19:2 that ‘desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses the way.’ so, if desire without knowledge is not good, then neither is eagerness without preparedness. if running a half-marathon was something you aspired to do, would you not show up to the race prepared? if you had done no real training besides just a couple miles here and there throughout the time leading up to the race you would not run a good race! just as if you read a couple verses here and there, get your daily verse that comes across your phone, and not consistently in the word, you will not do well sharing the good news of Jesus because you do not know what to share! but, when you do know what to share you have to share it!

God is too good to keep to yourself!

the good news is the best news and the coolest story you will ever hear in this life. it gives you purpose, it gives you life, it gives you freedom. so, once again, i ask you, are you eager to share the good news of Jesus?

are you ready to share the good news of Jesus? you are prepared. you know what the good news is, and you know what Jesus has commissioned us all to do. you are eager. Jesus has given your life a whole new meaning, He changed your life around, He has prepared a place for you in Heaven if you call upon and believe in His name. you see, you can be prepared, and you can be eager, but when God gives you the opportunity to share the good news with others you can still not be ready. this is where having courageous faith comes into play. you have to have the courage, the strength, to take the step, to share the good news.

your bible could be highlighted all over and filled with detailed notes, but what good is it to be that prepared and still not be ready.

you know that He is the God that gave david the courage to walk into a battlefield and face goliath. you know that he is the God who gave daniel the strength to trust in Him when it came time for him to come face to face with lions. so, once again, i ask you, are you ready to share the good news of Jesus?

i pray that you would have a desire to be prepared, a desire to know your Heavenly Father. i pray that you would have a love for Jesus that makes you eager, a love that you cannot be contained to yourself. i pray that you would trust Jesus to be ready, a readiness that comes from a courageous faith.

be willing, friends.

-n0tbychance

also, stay tuned on our instagram this week to find out more on what it looks like to be willing. we'll be posting applicable ways on how you can be prepared, get eager, and be ready!