Lasting Impression.

⁴Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 2 Thessalonians 1:4
How are you known? This verse if part of Paul's second letter to the church of Thessalonica and Paul is encouraging them, telling them that they boast about them to all of God's churches because of their faith and perseverance. Is this how you are known? When people talk about you do they have good things to say about you? I was listening to Pastor J Vernon Mcgee this morning and he made a statement that triggered this entry. He said " How long will you be remembered? Will you be remembered 10 years from now, 20, 50, 100 years from now?" He wasn't saying this in reference to personal achievements. He was talking about things people have done for the Lord. There are many men and women who are still relevant today that haven't been around for hundreds and even thousands of years.(Bible people, find out who they are:-) I believe that there are people right now making an impact for the Kingdom who will be remembered way after they are long gone. Perfect example of this is the man I listened to this morning. I've been listening to him on 107.9fm for a couple years now and his messages and ministry is amazing. The funny thing is he's been dead for 22years now. His radio show is still thriving and touching the hearts of God's people and the man is with the Lord. How do you stack up? I know that seems like an unfair question but it's a question that should always be asked of ourselves. To answer that question, me personally, I'm no where near that level. But I hope and pray and I've given my life to the Lord and asked him to use me in any way shape or form. I know that I have been called to represent Jesus (you have too) so I'm doing whatever I can to see that through.
God calls people to have gnarly ministries and generational changing ministries, and to be honest I don't think that there are many of us who are called to do that. Don't let that effect you, just know that you represent Jesus and that you should do your very best to make an impression on people that will reflect the Lord. If you are remembered only for being the happy person at work, the person that people can always come to for help, a great friend, a mentor, whatever the Lord has asked from you do all that you can to leave that lasting impression to those people for the Lord. I want to close with this, make sure that whatever it is you do that you do it for the Lord. If you do it to lift yourself up you wont go that high. But if you do it for the Lord, you will be lifted to a place that you could never have imagined, who knows you might be remembered for ages to come.
So my prayer for us today is that say yes to the Lord, no matter what he asks of us. I pray that God would give us his love and heart for his people. I pray that we would be opened to be a vessel to allow God to work through and that people would see Christ in us and that his impression would be made in his people through us. I pray for the strenght and faith for us to let God be God.