Page 26
WisconsinChristianNews.com
Volume 26, Issue 4
You’ve Been Made Worthy, Now Go Make Disciples
By Jane Isley August 2025
Acts 3:19.
Here’s a little of my story. I have inflicted horrible hurts with my mouth, I dabbled in drugs, stripped, dated women, had premarital sex, had a child out of wedlock, attempted suicide, self-mutilated, dove headfirst into the occult at one time, I have lied, stolen, been cruel, prideful, and hateful.
Recently, I had a conversation with a Christian gentleman who believed that his past sins held him back from minister- ing and evangelizing, even upon repenting. It broke my heart to hear this. He said he knew he was unworthy and had dis- qualified himself because he was divorced. For years, he has
carried the weight of this misbelief, and be- cause of this, he never pursued the men’s youth ministry he al- ways wanted to start. I wrote to him and am sharing my message for all who need to hear this. Tell me, truly, who better than the re- deemed in God to com- fort, teach, and spread His message? We are the living examples of the depth of God’s love, healing, and forgive- ness here on Earth for people to witness.
Did God look at that and disqualify me when I repented? Did He put a stop to my teaching, writing, or evangeliz- ing? Nope, in fact, He was the One who carved out this path for me. He knocked, I an- swered, and He led. God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the ones who answer His call. I repented, and my slate was cleaned. I came out with a heart and mind ready for re- newal. Granted, it took a while and a lot of life lessons from my first encounter with God to
This mindset, of un- worthiness and dis-
who I am now. Yet, here I am, and He was with me every step of the way. I am unashamedly open and honest about my past when I talk to people. We owe it to unbelievers to be real. We’re not going to be able to theologically debate everyone we meet into following God. We need to open up and share our struggles, what we’ve learned, and how God has sheltered us through every storm and over every rainbow. We need to be the light in the dark- ness. You’ve got some clout behind you; you do not need to have a Ph.D. to talk to people. You did it, lived it, and you re- pented; this makes you uniquely qualified to talk about it. How can you do that if you’re the one still holding onto your past? Jesus died a gruesome death and hung on that cross for you to have your sin wiped clean. Don’t sit there and let satan convince you that you are unworthy because it insults the sacrifice He made for you. Look at this list of names from the Bible. Paul, Samson, Moses, Abraham, Ruth, Rahab, David, Jonah, Noah, Elijah, Zacchaeus, Mary Magdalene, the Samaritan Woman, Peter, Sarah, Thomas. Every one of these people sinned, they messed up, back- tracked, and a few royally blew it. Yet, God wiped their slates clean and saw in them new hearts, not their past. God is a loving, and welcoming God, not a God who points fingers and holds our pasts against us; that is a human characteristic, not a characteristic of God.
qualification, is still too widely held by many Christians, and it grieves me every time I encounter it. They feel they are not worthy or have any right to share on a topic because in their own past, they either did it or have done worse. They feel al- most hypocritical in a way, because they are so busy looking backwards that they forget.
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12.
You have been wonderfully freed from your sins. If He can forgive Peter, who outright denied Jesus three times, and Paul, who persecuted Christians with a vengeance, and ap- point them to be some of the greatest early church leaders in the world, just imagine what He could do with you! “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.” Matthew 28:19.
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