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b'Few Christians throughout history have taken Jesus\\u2019 call to drop everything and follow Him as literally as St. Francis of Assisi. His faithful service to God was so influential that his way of living is still followed by one order of monks, the Franciscans, almost eight hundred years after his death.\\nSt. Francis was born in Italy in the year 1181. The son of a wealthy cloth merchant, Francis did not know God as a teenager. He threw wild parties, slept around, and dreamed of becoming a famous, wealthy knight. But, in the very first war he fought in, he was taken captive and was imprisoned for a year\\u2014where he first started hearing God\\u2019s voice.\\nGod spoke to Francis several times. Everything finally clicked for Francis when he was praying in a broken-down church and heard God say, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Francis, repair My church.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d At the time, Francis thought God meant the building around him, so he stole some cloth from his father, sold it (along with his horse), and tried to use the money to fix the church. His father sued him, so Francis gave his father the money and the clothes off his back, and then he gave up his inheritance. He walked away in rough clothes given to him by a priest and dedicated his life to living like Jesus.\\nBut why would Francis do this? Because of the gospel\\u2014or good news\\u2014of Jesus Christ, who, because of His great love, offers freedom from sin and death to all who trust in Him. Since Francis knew that love and freedom, he could not stop telling others about it. For him, that involved living a life of voluntary poverty and caring for the poor, all while preaching God\\u2019s Word.\\nBecause many church leaders at the time were obsessed with wealth, Francis even refused money in an effort to make the good news of Jesus clearer to those he ministered to. Instead, he worked for food and slept on the street, spending all his time sharing the gospel and tending to creation.\\nSt. Francis recognized that Jesus loves His people with a crazy love, and he wanted to share that love with everyone he met. His methods may have been wild and sometimes too extreme, yet God used him powerfully to spread the truth of the good news of Jesus. \\nIn your own life, what opportunities has God given you to spread the good news of Jesus? How does caring for the poor and for creation show Jesus\\u2019 love? \\nThen Jesus said to his disciples, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Matthew 16:24 (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nColossians 3:1-3, 16-17'