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you go.” That can be intimidating to anyone. What is the source for energy and power to accomplish such a huge task? Is this like expending my own effort to work my muscles so I can gain more power for the task at hand? Absolutely not. The Bible clearly tells us that God is the source of our power. He pours Himself into me. This passage is about being God’s vessel, so His power can flow through me. The apostle Paul told us that God’s power is shown to be perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). If you feel weak and timid when you think about being a witness for Jesus, that simply means God’s power can flow through you. The worst thing is having so much confidence, thinking you can “fix” that other guy. Don’t go there. Go to the Holy Spirit. Trust your weakness. Present yourself. Let the power of the Holy Spirit work in and through you.  MIMBS 9 49 Monday—September 11•Our Weakness and God’s Power “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Jesus articulated the mission He intended for His followers. He said, “Be my witnesses everywhere Describe a time when you felt God’s power working in you to touch another person. If you’ve never experienced that, spend some time asking God to reveal Himself through you to other people. Daily Reading: Isaiah 8:1–9:21, 2 Corinthians 12:1–10, Psalm 55:1–23, Proverbs 23:4–5 Tuesday—September 12•The Reason for Our Hope But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15) Many of us have read this verse and thought we could reduce “the reason for our hope” to an informative explanation. We thought if we could just bombard men with information about God and about His principles, then we had done everything possible to influence them toward Christ. The reality is, if that could work, we’d already be done with the task God gave us. Everybody in our sphere of influence would already be discipled, because information about God is already out there. We live in a culture where the gospel is still readily available; so clearly, something else needs to happen. We need Christians who will offer their answers in the context of relationships. That’s the only way to truly communicate that we desperately want men to have exactly what they so desperately desire: meaning and purpose in their lives. We know that can only be found in a relationship with Jesus. How do we pass on this reality? Step one is to just be a friend.  MIMBS 9 Are you prepared to give an answer for your hope? And if so, are you doing that in the context of relationship? Daily Reading: Isaiah 10:1–11:16, 2 Corinthians 12:11–21, Psalm 56:1–13, Proverbs 23:6–8


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