Influencers Weekly Devotional

You Are God's Plan

by

Rocky Fleming

I’ve been writing this devotional column since September of 2008. There have been over two hundred devotionals posted. During that time, there have also been devotionals written by Bryan Craig, and other special guest writers. You will be seeing more of Bryan’s writings in the days to come, for I have asked him to use his writing gift more prolifically in sharing the devotional column with me. We will also have special guest writers from time to time share their hearts and encourage you. You will also be receiving something new, a mid-week “Influencers Story,” which will be real life, transformational stories that will greatly encourage you. After 12 years of ministry to men around the world, we have thousands of these stories to call from. Most are exceptional. All of them deserve to be shared, although we will not be able to share them all. Some people have asked why we write these devotionals and send out the daily scriptures that you receive. What is our agenda for doing this? What’s in it for Influencers? The answer to these questions is simple. We are concerned about the spiritual health of Christian men in America, and we want to help them find their true identity in Christ. We are concerned about the health of churches in America and we want to lovingly help them learn how to disciple their men, rather than attack their lack of effort or misguided methods. We are concerned about faithful pastors who are discouraged and need to know there is a ministry that loves them and wants to be a resource for them. We are concerned about the Church in America, for she is unwell. She needs all hands on deck to nurture her, and to unite her so that she can become the major influence to the people of our Nation that we can be. This will happen when our family in Christ becomes the true disciples Christ intended us to be. If you know anything about Influencers, you will know that God has used ordinary Christian businessmen to miraculously form this ministry for the mission and purpose God has called us to. We are not professionally trained writers and visionaries, and yet we write profoundly relevant material, and we follow a great vision that we could not have created on our own. We are ordinary men who are not political, or who have great influence by the world’s standards. But, we see some things so clearly that we can only credit it to the fact that God is speaking to us, and we are listening. How can this be? It’s because we have asked God to take what He wants of our life, and to use it for His purpose. It is all about what He can do through us, rather than what we can do for Him. We know it must be His agenda we follow and His strength we rely on. Our passion and heart for doing this is born from God’s love for us and our love back to Him. It is within this intimate fellowship with Christ that we have discovered His heart and heard His voice. We feel burdened, for we feel His burden. He tells us to go after His men, and help them get close to Him, and it frustrates us that we aren’t doing more than we do. But, we do what we can do, and writing these devotionals and sending you the scriptures is a small way that we let you know someone cares for you, and that God is compelling you to come closer to Him. That is why we write. God has a message to give you, and we are doing our best to deliver it. So, listen closely: For the last ten years we have seen what happens when a Christian man begins to live in close proximity to Christ. We see that it is in this place of intimacy with Christ that a true disciple of His is formed. God is telling Influencers that what is needed in and for the Christian man in America is to show him how to be a true disciple of Christ, help him get there, and unleash him to impact his world. We know without a shadow of a doubt that a true disciple will impact his world as no program, or event, or man-made effort can ever match. This man becomes a powerful catalyst of change, as he simply lives out his relationship with Christ in front of his world. God has in this man or woman someone who doesn’t get in the way of what He can do through him, and God accomplishes through that man only what God can do. We feel God’s heart on this subject. We feel His burden. We hear His words, “Go after My men and show them how to become My disciples,” and we carry this burden. Maybe this is why Christ described the burden of a disciple of His as a cross to carry? We are to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him. Would it not make sense that His burden would also be our burden, and that the burden we have to make disciples is the burden of Christ as well? Many believers carry a burden to serve the Lord, but few seem to understand the burden Christ would have us support. Could it be that God is telling us something by the way we struggle in getting things done, and our frustrated efforts tell us that He may not be part of what we are doing? But, are we listening to Him? Look around. Can we not see more disillusionment than faithfulness? Can we not see more complacency than enthusiasm? Can we not see more sterile, institutional religious efforts by churches, rather than a Spiritual force running through them that cannot be harnessed, explained, promoted or orchestrated? When was the last time you’ve seen anything close to a miracle, or a movement of God, or a mountain moved by faith? Does this mean they do not happen anymore, as some would say to excuse the spiritual lifelessness around them? Or, have we forgotten Who we serve, and we no longer include Him in our efforts? Could it be the description of “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power”mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:5 that is in fact the negative religious influence that keeps the Christian man from becoming a true disciple, and the Church from being the powerful force it could become? I believe it is. I believe we are living in a glut of information about discipleship and about how to make a disciple, but we see few disciples being formed. We see theory and programs, but little fruit. We can no longer patiently wait and hope the religious establishment will catch up. They are much too slow. Now is the time to make true disciples of Christ. God is calling us out. We know what needs to be done and Influencers is moving out more aggressively than ever to make His disciples as He instructed in Matthew 28. In fact, we call it “The 28:19 Initiative”. Who is our target? Well brother, the laser beam is on you. We have you in our sights. You are God’s plan for changing this world, and we are committed to help you become the man that can do it. We write these devotionals and scriptures and life stories for you, to build you up and encourage you to become the man you have been created for. You are being summoned by the King of Kings to come and be His disciple. By His direction, we will pour into you what God has poured into us. We want you to then pour what has been poured into you, into other men. That is His plan for changing our world around us, and pointing it to Christ. But, this is a volunteer army. We are a small force. So was Gideon’s Army. So was David against Goliath. But they were a dangerous force to contend with. They fought in the strength of the Lord, and became victors because of it. Like them, we will be outnumbered and we will be seen as making an insignificant dent in the needs of the Church. So what! We do not seek credit, applause or fame. In fact, to keep from making it about us, we would rather be obscure and work out of sight, while undergirding the efforts of others. We are glad to make them heroes! But, we are clear about our identity. We know Who we serve. We know how we serve Him. We know Who really gets the credit. We know Whose strength we rely on. We know who we are. We are disciples of Christ, and that is what God is forming in Christian men for a time such as we are in. This is the man who will rock his world. We know, for we are seeing our world being rocked. Will you come and join us? …… Are you ready to be this man? Download file