Follow Jesus by Taking Action, Not Just Talking

Christians desire to serve God. We read His word and seek His will. Maybe we even pray, “God, break our hearts for the things that break Your heart. Give our hearts joy for the things that give Your heart joy.”

But our guest on today’s program, Pastor Eugene Cho, wonders, “Are we more in love with the idea of following Jesus than actually following the teachings of Jesus?”

That question isn’t some thoughtless accusation he levels against the church. It’s born of personal experience.

Pastor Cho felt the Lord leading him to start a church plant in Seattle, WA. In the initial stages, he was broke with medical bills piling up from the birth of his children. He was having trouble finding work to get him by when a friend offered him a janitorial job, cleaning the bathrooms at a local Barnes & Nobles. It was a humbling experience.

But the Lord used the humility of that experience to break Pastor Cho’s heart for what broke His heart. And it all started on a missions trip to Burma.

He visited a number of ramshackle villages that didn’t even have names because they were constantly on the run from the government’s brutal military. The children’s school was a dilapidated, makeshift shelter with chairs and tables probably made by the villagers from wood scavenged from the jungle.

Pastor Cho asked what their biggest challenges was. One of the elders of the village said it was the teacher’s salary, which was only 40 American dollars. At first, Pastor Cho thought he meant per week. Then he realized he had meant per year.

It inspired Pastor Cho to begin an organization to alleviate global poverty called One Day’s Wages. It challenges Christians to sacrifice a day’s worth of their wages to help people in need throughout the world. Even further, the Lord challenged him and his wife to sacrifice a full year’s worth of their wages.

How is God asking you to serve Him? What is he asking you to do within your circle of influence to engage the culture, to love those around you, and to share the Gospel?

Those questions are often not easy to answer. And many times they’re even harder to live out. But I agree with Pastor Cho who says we as Christians must continually ask ourselves what it means to be faithful to Jesus each and every day.

I invite you to join us for our program today and tomorrow to hear Pastor Cho’s story. He’s the founding pastor of Crest Church in urban Seattle.

You might be convicted along the way about what God may be asking you to do, but you’ll also be inspired as we talk about living out our faith authentically.

You can hear the two-part broadcast, “Courageously Stepping Out to Change the World,” on your local radio station or anytime online or via our free, downloadable mobile phone app. Both part one and part two are available online.