Read: Matthew 8:5-13
Being slapped in the cheek is never fun and I’ve got the scars to prove it! But it’s not the slap that hurts! It’s the embarrassment and the ding to our dignity that really smarts. Imagine the pain of the Pharisees and proud religious leaders when Jesus used the Roman centurion’s faith to teach about the Kingdom of God. These religious leaders assumed that both they and nation would automatically enter that kingdom of God paradise.
But listen to Jesus’ words and feel the sting on their cheeks. Jesus begins in vs 11 by hinting that those who come will be from outside the promised land. They would be non Israelites! Then He slaps home the truth – the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside! OUCH! Jesus is directly challenging the accepted culture of the day, the thinking of the day and even the prevailing wisdom of the day. Everything the religious gurus accepted as kosher has been turned upside down by the Saviour.
When it comes to our own day we would do well to imitate Jesus. Our world’s culture, our world’s thinking and our world’s wisdom needs to be directly challenged. Christian teenagers need to challenge the mentality that it’s ok to goof off and to waste the teenage years drinking, partying and being totally silly. Christian mothers need to challenge the wisdom of the super mum syndrome – mothers who think they can run a multi-million dollar business, have a busy social life and raise wonderful children that love their parents and walk in obedience. Christian men need to challenge the “me, me, me” syndrome that is prevalent among so many men and the wisdom that says ‘you can look but not touch’. Christian churches have so many areas of our modern day culture that they need to challenge.
There are three avenues through which you can change the world. Firstly, as an individual you can challenge the culture as you come across areas that contradict the Word, be it at work, in your family, among friends or whatever. A wise man once said that evil triumphs when good men do nothing. Will you face the world, challenge the world, when you have the opportunity to speak up or to stand up for what Christ has said is right and true? Secondly, your cell group can take a stand as a group. You can write to the various levels of parliament, support the needy, raise justice for those who are unfairly treated and so on. A small group can make large inroads in any community if they persist. Is your cell ready and equipped to take on the world? Thirdly, your church can be challenging society and its accepted norms and cultures in a host of ways. Is your church mobilised and ready to fight the good fight?
Our culture needs to be challenged. But how do I determine which bits to challenge and which bits to accept? How do I determine when to raise my voice and stand up and when to sit down and shut up? It really is simple! Anything that contradicts the Word of God needs to be challenged. Obviously, there’ll be different degrees of challenge needed but we should never accept as truth anything that contradicts the Word.
Think about what aspects of culture you can challenge:-
a/. Personally.
b/. Through your cell
c/. Through your church.
Prayer Points:
> Praise God for the team from Australia who went on a project to Papua New Guinea. Please continue praying for those who gave their lives to Christ while they were on the PNG university campus, that they would continue to grow in their faith in Christ.
Friday, 7 October 2011
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Thursday October 6, 2011
Read: Matthew 8:5-12, Matthew 1:1, Matthew 28:18-20
To understand why Jesus was willing to go with the Roman Centurion we have to understand the context of Matthew’s entire gospel. The gospel begins with a genealogy that, realistically speaking, bores most people. Just try to remember the last time you were excited about reading Matthew 1. But had I a spare 2,000 words I could excite you with the truths of genealogies and how much information they give us. Let me share just one titbit to tantalise your appetite. The genealogy of Jesus is summarised as a genealogy of Jesus as the Son of David and Abraham. Abraham was the one to whom God made a wonderful promise. Through Abraham all the nations (or families) of the earth would be blessed. Through David a ruler would come who would shepherd not only Israel but the entire world. This ruler would rule for all eternity in a perfect paradise that covered all the nations. Can you hear the enormity of what the writer is saying about Jesus in just 1 single verse?
At the other end of the gospel we see it closing with a command to take the message of salvation to every nation under the sun. The gospel starts with the blessing going to all nations and finishes with the command to take it out to all the nations. In between, we see many snippets where Jesus deliberately goes out of His way to allow the gospel, the good news, to penetrate the nations or at least a representative of the nations.
So why does Jesus go with the Gentile? Simply because God’s plan has always been to fill the world, the entire world, with people who love Him and serve Him with their heart and soul and mind and strength.
Matthew’s gospel is written to Jews (and to us) to show us that Jesus is the anticipated Messiah and that He wants us to extend His kingdom and His rule to each and every square inch of land under the sun. When you turned to Christ in faith and repentance you too became a part of that wonderful plan. Now it’s your turn to take that wonderful blessing to others. Hallelujah and Hallelujah!!!
Read John 3:16. Spend the day meditating on your role in God’s plan to save the world.
Prayer Points:
> For doors of opportunity to open to share the gospel with those visiting the bookstores in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
To understand why Jesus was willing to go with the Roman Centurion we have to understand the context of Matthew’s entire gospel. The gospel begins with a genealogy that, realistically speaking, bores most people. Just try to remember the last time you were excited about reading Matthew 1. But had I a spare 2,000 words I could excite you with the truths of genealogies and how much information they give us. Let me share just one titbit to tantalise your appetite. The genealogy of Jesus is summarised as a genealogy of Jesus as the Son of David and Abraham. Abraham was the one to whom God made a wonderful promise. Through Abraham all the nations (or families) of the earth would be blessed. Through David a ruler would come who would shepherd not only Israel but the entire world. This ruler would rule for all eternity in a perfect paradise that covered all the nations. Can you hear the enormity of what the writer is saying about Jesus in just 1 single verse?
At the other end of the gospel we see it closing with a command to take the message of salvation to every nation under the sun. The gospel starts with the blessing going to all nations and finishes with the command to take it out to all the nations. In between, we see many snippets where Jesus deliberately goes out of His way to allow the gospel, the good news, to penetrate the nations or at least a representative of the nations.
So why does Jesus go with the Gentile? Simply because God’s plan has always been to fill the world, the entire world, with people who love Him and serve Him with their heart and soul and mind and strength.
Matthew’s gospel is written to Jews (and to us) to show us that Jesus is the anticipated Messiah and that He wants us to extend His kingdom and His rule to each and every square inch of land under the sun. When you turned to Christ in faith and repentance you too became a part of that wonderful plan. Now it’s your turn to take that wonderful blessing to others. Hallelujah and Hallelujah!!!
Read John 3:16. Spend the day meditating on your role in God’s plan to save the world.
Prayer Points:
> For doors of opportunity to open to share the gospel with those visiting the bookstores in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Wednesday October 5, 2011
Read: Matthew 8:5-10
I want you to think about the way you pray. Think of a time when you were in a desperate situation and prayed to the Lord. How did you pray? Did you seek to bargain with God? Did you offer to do something or to change something if only God would do something for you? Did you make great and grand promises? Did you petition God, praying over and over again? Did you cry in God’s presence and let the tears speak for themselves? Did you enlist others to pray for you and with you? How did you pray in that time of desperation?
The Roman centurion came to Jesus and effectively prayed. But look at how he prayed or spoke to Jesus. In vs 7 Jesus had already agreed to go with the Centurion to heal his servant. But the Centurion replies, ‘Lord I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word and my servant will be healed…’ The Centurion comes to Christ with two elements that are often lacking in our prayers – faith and humility.
In terms of humility we should never presume to think that God has to answer our prayers or give us what we demand of Him. The centurion knew that he didn’t even deserve to have Jesus step in his house, let alone bring any blessing of healing. I wonder how often we pray thinking that God is the steward on the plane and we are the customer, deserving of full attention and immediate action. As we know all too well, the Lord lifts up the humble but opposes the proud. Being humble does not mean hating ourselves or treating ourselves like dirt or putting ourselves down. Each of these is sinful. Being humble means recognising and accepting our place and position before God and acting accordingly.
In terms of faith, the centurion showed amazing faith. Jesus even commented that He has not found anyone in Israel (ie among God’s own people) with such great faith. The Centurion did not seek to give the Lord several reasons why he had to answer the prayer. He did not babble as the pagans do. He did not offer a bribe. He simply asked Jesus to say the word and trusted that healing would come. His faith was in Jesus’ authority and he trusted Jesus for the outcome.
I often wonder how many more of our prayers would be answered if we simply came to Jesus with humility and faith. I wonder how many more answered prayers we’d be blessed with if we stopped trying to bribe God or con Him with a dozen reasons or demanding things of Him as a master demands of a genie. Humility and faith are two hall marks of great prayers. Humility and faith are genuinely loved by the Lord and rewarded by Him.
Write out all your prayers this week. Study each one and see how you can change the ones that are not brought in humility and faith.
Prayer Points:
> For the outreach ministry to the large population of Sudanese refugees in Israel.
> That the Lord will provide the resources to produce more audio and video materials in Hebrew.
I want you to think about the way you pray. Think of a time when you were in a desperate situation and prayed to the Lord. How did you pray? Did you seek to bargain with God? Did you offer to do something or to change something if only God would do something for you? Did you make great and grand promises? Did you petition God, praying over and over again? Did you cry in God’s presence and let the tears speak for themselves? Did you enlist others to pray for you and with you? How did you pray in that time of desperation?
The Roman centurion came to Jesus and effectively prayed. But look at how he prayed or spoke to Jesus. In vs 7 Jesus had already agreed to go with the Centurion to heal his servant. But the Centurion replies, ‘Lord I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word and my servant will be healed…’ The Centurion comes to Christ with two elements that are often lacking in our prayers – faith and humility.
In terms of humility we should never presume to think that God has to answer our prayers or give us what we demand of Him. The centurion knew that he didn’t even deserve to have Jesus step in his house, let alone bring any blessing of healing. I wonder how often we pray thinking that God is the steward on the plane and we are the customer, deserving of full attention and immediate action. As we know all too well, the Lord lifts up the humble but opposes the proud. Being humble does not mean hating ourselves or treating ourselves like dirt or putting ourselves down. Each of these is sinful. Being humble means recognising and accepting our place and position before God and acting accordingly.
In terms of faith, the centurion showed amazing faith. Jesus even commented that He has not found anyone in Israel (ie among God’s own people) with such great faith. The Centurion did not seek to give the Lord several reasons why he had to answer the prayer. He did not babble as the pagans do. He did not offer a bribe. He simply asked Jesus to say the word and trusted that healing would come. His faith was in Jesus’ authority and he trusted Jesus for the outcome.
I often wonder how many more of our prayers would be answered if we simply came to Jesus with humility and faith. I wonder how many more answered prayers we’d be blessed with if we stopped trying to bribe God or con Him with a dozen reasons or demanding things of Him as a master demands of a genie. Humility and faith are two hall marks of great prayers. Humility and faith are genuinely loved by the Lord and rewarded by Him.
Write out all your prayers this week. Study each one and see how you can change the ones that are not brought in humility and faith.
Prayer Points:
> For the outreach ministry to the large population of Sudanese refugees in Israel.
> That the Lord will provide the resources to produce more audio and video materials in Hebrew.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Tuesday October 4, 2011
Read: Matthew 8:5-7. Acts 11:1-3
As I sat in a church leadership meeting, I saw many concerned faces. This body had the power to allow or to veto the ministry decision that I had presented to them. The idea was simple. As a church we could cook a weekly bbq in the park where many homeless people hung out each and every night. By feeding them we would be meeting their most pressing need and we would open doors for gospel sharing. We had the volunteers lined up and ready. We had the finances and goods donated already. We needed nothing but the approval of this body. But the leadership looked concerned.
The first question was fired, more as a statement than a question. ‘What if they come to our church?’ Then came another, ‘What if they are antagonistic?’ After a dozen what if’s I began to sense that the leadership were decidedly antagonistic towards the idea. A taboo area had been touched and raised.
Yesterday, we talked about being unclean and how this largely influenced all of Jewish thinking. In this week’s passage we see Jesus willingly interact with a centurion. A centurion was a Roman, a non-Jew, a Gentile and it was forbidden for a Jew to associate with a Gentile. Not only was he willing to associate with this man, he was willing to go with him to his home to heal the sick servant. If Jesus were an ordinary man He would have been made unclean by the contact with the gentile. Even so, Jesus was willing. We saw last week that Jesus was willing to touch a leper, the epitome of uncleanness. He was willing to reach out in love and compassion for the sake of the other person.
Paul the Apostle understood Jesus’ approach. In writing to the Corinthians he said, ‘I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the Gospel…’ ( 1 Cor 9:22-23). To those under the law Paul would become like one under the law. To those who were not under law he became like one not under law. Paul would do anything to win people over to Christ.
I dream of churches overflowing with such Spirit filled men and women and children. I dream of churches overflowing with the love of the Lord, the love of one’s neighbour so much so that they are willing to look unclean in the eyes of tradition and unwritten law. I dream of the communities around churches finding the love of Christ, because someone from within the church reached out with the love and compassion of Christ in real, practical terms. I dream of churches willingly setting up projects and programs to help those in dire need and willingly taking on ministries that the world has by and large neglected or abandoned.
What about you? Are you willing to become all things to all men? Are you willing to go without so that someone might come to know the love of Christ? Are you willing to give up your time to serve the poor and needy, to help the homeless, to be a father to the fatherless and a friend to the friendless? Are you willing to give up your time, your comfort and your treasures to be like Christ to the people around you in your community?
Get your cell to start planning a way to reach out to the local community with the love of Christ.
Prayer Points:
> That many people will be drawn to Christian bookstores where they can find salvation through the truth found in the Words of God.
As I sat in a church leadership meeting, I saw many concerned faces. This body had the power to allow or to veto the ministry decision that I had presented to them. The idea was simple. As a church we could cook a weekly bbq in the park where many homeless people hung out each and every night. By feeding them we would be meeting their most pressing need and we would open doors for gospel sharing. We had the volunteers lined up and ready. We had the finances and goods donated already. We needed nothing but the approval of this body. But the leadership looked concerned.
The first question was fired, more as a statement than a question. ‘What if they come to our church?’ Then came another, ‘What if they are antagonistic?’ After a dozen what if’s I began to sense that the leadership were decidedly antagonistic towards the idea. A taboo area had been touched and raised.
Yesterday, we talked about being unclean and how this largely influenced all of Jewish thinking. In this week’s passage we see Jesus willingly interact with a centurion. A centurion was a Roman, a non-Jew, a Gentile and it was forbidden for a Jew to associate with a Gentile. Not only was he willing to associate with this man, he was willing to go with him to his home to heal the sick servant. If Jesus were an ordinary man He would have been made unclean by the contact with the gentile. Even so, Jesus was willing. We saw last week that Jesus was willing to touch a leper, the epitome of uncleanness. He was willing to reach out in love and compassion for the sake of the other person.
Paul the Apostle understood Jesus’ approach. In writing to the Corinthians he said, ‘I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the Gospel…’ ( 1 Cor 9:22-23). To those under the law Paul would become like one under the law. To those who were not under law he became like one not under law. Paul would do anything to win people over to Christ.
I dream of churches overflowing with such Spirit filled men and women and children. I dream of churches overflowing with the love of the Lord, the love of one’s neighbour so much so that they are willing to look unclean in the eyes of tradition and unwritten law. I dream of the communities around churches finding the love of Christ, because someone from within the church reached out with the love and compassion of Christ in real, practical terms. I dream of churches willingly setting up projects and programs to help those in dire need and willingly taking on ministries that the world has by and large neglected or abandoned.
What about you? Are you willing to become all things to all men? Are you willing to go without so that someone might come to know the love of Christ? Are you willing to give up your time to serve the poor and needy, to help the homeless, to be a father to the fatherless and a friend to the friendless? Are you willing to give up your time, your comfort and your treasures to be like Christ to the people around you in your community?
Get your cell to start planning a way to reach out to the local community with the love of Christ.
Prayer Points:
> That many people will be drawn to Christian bookstores where they can find salvation through the truth found in the Words of God.
Monday, 3 October 2011
Monday October 3, 2011
Read: Luke 10:25-37; Acts 10
Being “unclean” for us means very little. We will often eat with unclean hands and sometimes even eat off unclean dishes. We cope (sometimes barely) with an unclean house and unclean yard. For a guy to not shower for a few days may seem a trifling affair, except for his wife!! But to a Jew “unclean” had a whole different world of connotations. Being unclean to a Jew was what spilling a beer is to many Aussies, and even worse! Unclean meant isolation from the temple, from worship of God and possibly from the entire nation of Israel!! Avoiding anything “unclean” became a source of identity and a past time for many in Israel, especially the religious hierarchy.
The Levite and the Priest in the Parable of the Good Samaritan would not help the injured man because it would have made them unclean and unfit for service in the temple. They willingly avoided touching anything or anyone unclean for the sake of ritual purity. Peter would not eat the meat in the vision of Acts 10 because the food was unclean and he had never eaten anything unclean.
Unfortunately, there are many taboos in our churches today that we avoid, thinking that they make us unclean. Such rules and regulations take on a greater significance than the Word of God and the greatest command to love the Lord wholeheartedly and to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. We entertain so many rules and regulations that are simply not from God, but are man-made inventions to help us feel religious and hence closer to God.
Let me encourage you to look around your church, even around your own personality and thinking, to make sure that there are no such taboos that are stopping you from reaching out in love and compassion to the needy. Let me encourage you to assess everything in the light of God’s Word and to be free to love, to serve and to give sacrificially.
Read and memorise Jeremiah 31:33. How does the writing of the law on our heart and mind correlate or fit with our freedom in Christ?
Prayer Points:
> For outreach ministry to the large population of foreign workers and refugees in Israel.
Being “unclean” for us means very little. We will often eat with unclean hands and sometimes even eat off unclean dishes. We cope (sometimes barely) with an unclean house and unclean yard. For a guy to not shower for a few days may seem a trifling affair, except for his wife!! But to a Jew “unclean” had a whole different world of connotations. Being unclean to a Jew was what spilling a beer is to many Aussies, and even worse! Unclean meant isolation from the temple, from worship of God and possibly from the entire nation of Israel!! Avoiding anything “unclean” became a source of identity and a past time for many in Israel, especially the religious hierarchy.
The Levite and the Priest in the Parable of the Good Samaritan would not help the injured man because it would have made them unclean and unfit for service in the temple. They willingly avoided touching anything or anyone unclean for the sake of ritual purity. Peter would not eat the meat in the vision of Acts 10 because the food was unclean and he had never eaten anything unclean.
Unfortunately, there are many taboos in our churches today that we avoid, thinking that they make us unclean. Such rules and regulations take on a greater significance than the Word of God and the greatest command to love the Lord wholeheartedly and to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. We entertain so many rules and regulations that are simply not from God, but are man-made inventions to help us feel religious and hence closer to God.
Let me encourage you to look around your church, even around your own personality and thinking, to make sure that there are no such taboos that are stopping you from reaching out in love and compassion to the needy. Let me encourage you to assess everything in the light of God’s Word and to be free to love, to serve and to give sacrificially.
Read and memorise Jeremiah 31:33. How does the writing of the law on our heart and mind correlate or fit with our freedom in Christ?
Prayer Points:
> For outreach ministry to the large population of foreign workers and refugees in Israel.
Saturday, 1 October 2011
Saturday October 1, 2011
Read: 1 Corinthians 12
A car without a door. A motorbike without one wheel. A pair of sunglasses with one lens missing. An aeroplane with one tyre missing. These are all illustrations of the body of Christ when one member refuses to be involved or to do the job that God has assigned to them. God makes it exceedingly clear that in the church there are no side line sitters. There are no pew warmers or reserves. To each one a manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. That means that you and I have a spiritual gift, a God given endowment by which we can be serving others for their good. That means that we have a vital role to play in the church, be it a church meeting tomorrow morning or evening or during the week when the church is not gathered.
But think about tomorrow. How will you serve God tomorrow? How will you bring benefit and blessing to others in church tomorrow? What can you do to activate your spiritual gift and to put it into practice?
These kinds of questions are the questions that really move a church from being great to being awesomely fantastic! As each and every individual gets involved in the church and ministers and serves with God’s gifts an unstoppable dynamic is created. People in the church are encouraged and blessed (rather than drained). People start praising God rather than complaining to Him about the lack of involvement. People start telling their friends and family about the church and that internal blessing flows outwards into the community. Pretty soon the community will start rolling through the doors to check out what’s happening. The church grows and through that each member is encouraged and blessed even further. The cycle grows and continues. More and more people stand together to sing the praises of the Lord God Almighty who has blessed them and worked so powerfully in their life.
And just think, it all started because you and I made a firm decision to obey God and to get involved.
Prayerfully consider what your spiritual gifts are and how you might be using them, not just tomorrow but each and every Lord’s day. Make plans to get active tomorrow.
Prayer Points:
> For the protection of our Bible Society and staff from persecution and harm.
> For Open Doors and for greater interest in our Bible Exhibition and Media Centre, and for opportunities to share with students, classes, and schools the origins of the Bible.
A car without a door. A motorbike without one wheel. A pair of sunglasses with one lens missing. An aeroplane with one tyre missing. These are all illustrations of the body of Christ when one member refuses to be involved or to do the job that God has assigned to them. God makes it exceedingly clear that in the church there are no side line sitters. There are no pew warmers or reserves. To each one a manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. That means that you and I have a spiritual gift, a God given endowment by which we can be serving others for their good. That means that we have a vital role to play in the church, be it a church meeting tomorrow morning or evening or during the week when the church is not gathered.
But think about tomorrow. How will you serve God tomorrow? How will you bring benefit and blessing to others in church tomorrow? What can you do to activate your spiritual gift and to put it into practice?
These kinds of questions are the questions that really move a church from being great to being awesomely fantastic! As each and every individual gets involved in the church and ministers and serves with God’s gifts an unstoppable dynamic is created. People in the church are encouraged and blessed (rather than drained). People start praising God rather than complaining to Him about the lack of involvement. People start telling their friends and family about the church and that internal blessing flows outwards into the community. Pretty soon the community will start rolling through the doors to check out what’s happening. The church grows and through that each member is encouraged and blessed even further. The cycle grows and continues. More and more people stand together to sing the praises of the Lord God Almighty who has blessed them and worked so powerfully in their life.
And just think, it all started because you and I made a firm decision to obey God and to get involved.
Prayerfully consider what your spiritual gifts are and how you might be using them, not just tomorrow but each and every Lord’s day. Make plans to get active tomorrow.
Prayer Points:
> For the protection of our Bible Society and staff from persecution and harm.
> For Open Doors and for greater interest in our Bible Exhibition and Media Centre, and for opportunities to share with students, classes, and schools the origins of the Bible.
Friday September 30, 2011
Read: Matthew 8:1-4 Colossians 4:5-6. Matthew 28:16-20
The word evangelism evokes fear into the hearts of many believers. I’ve even been told off and have had people leave church for suggesting that we should be constantly watching out for opportunities to evangelise. Colossians 4:5-6 tells us as much. We are to make the most of every single opportunity as it arises. We are to willingly and joyously take every and any opportunity to share the love of Christ, the words of Christ and the salvation of Christ whenever we can.
There is an interesting dichotomy between the leper and us. Read Matthew 8:4 again and notice Jesus’ command to him. He was told not to speak to anyone about Jesus but went and spoke to everyone. We are told to speak to everyone and yet we speak to no one. Something’s gone wrong hasn’t it? Something’s all mixed up and hay wire, isn’t it?
Making the most of every opportunity really isn’t as hard as it sounds. All we need to do is plunge in when the opportunity arises. When someone asks you about the weekend, you can talk about church and invite them along next weekend. When someone’s in pain, you can offer to pray for them. When someone needs help, you can be there to help with the love of Christ. Helping practically almost invariably opens doors to speak about the love of Jesus. You can do good works (see Ephesians 2:8-10) which again open the door for sharing the good news.
There are several reasons why we are afraid to speak up about Jesus. Sometimes, we fear mankind and the reaction more than we fear God. Sometimes, we are afraid to lose our comforts and blessings by speaking up. Sometimes we are afraid to upset the balance of a harmonious relationship. Speaking up about Jesus may have caused relational angst in the past and we’re weary of treading there again. Maybe we’re afraid that we will mumble the words up and not make any sense.
No matter what the fear is, we need to leave it with Jesus and learn to think differently. We need to realise that God is sovereign and will use whatever we say to His appointed ends. God’s plan will not be thwarted and no reaction, no loss of comfort, no threat or broken relationship will remove God’s love from us. He will walk by us and protect us. He will uphold you and honour you as you step out in faith to serve Him and to do the good works that He created in advance for you to do.
Meditate upon Titus 2:14 throughout the day and the implications for your life.
Prayer Points:
> Prayer for the Bible Society in Israel.
> For the recordings of the Hebrew Old Testament, that they will get the funds needed to complete the project, and that everything will go well, and that the Lord may be glorified.
>
The word evangelism evokes fear into the hearts of many believers. I’ve even been told off and have had people leave church for suggesting that we should be constantly watching out for opportunities to evangelise. Colossians 4:5-6 tells us as much. We are to make the most of every single opportunity as it arises. We are to willingly and joyously take every and any opportunity to share the love of Christ, the words of Christ and the salvation of Christ whenever we can.
There is an interesting dichotomy between the leper and us. Read Matthew 8:4 again and notice Jesus’ command to him. He was told not to speak to anyone about Jesus but went and spoke to everyone. We are told to speak to everyone and yet we speak to no one. Something’s gone wrong hasn’t it? Something’s all mixed up and hay wire, isn’t it?
Making the most of every opportunity really isn’t as hard as it sounds. All we need to do is plunge in when the opportunity arises. When someone asks you about the weekend, you can talk about church and invite them along next weekend. When someone’s in pain, you can offer to pray for them. When someone needs help, you can be there to help with the love of Christ. Helping practically almost invariably opens doors to speak about the love of Jesus. You can do good works (see Ephesians 2:8-10) which again open the door for sharing the good news.
There are several reasons why we are afraid to speak up about Jesus. Sometimes, we fear mankind and the reaction more than we fear God. Sometimes, we are afraid to lose our comforts and blessings by speaking up. Sometimes we are afraid to upset the balance of a harmonious relationship. Speaking up about Jesus may have caused relational angst in the past and we’re weary of treading there again. Maybe we’re afraid that we will mumble the words up and not make any sense.
No matter what the fear is, we need to leave it with Jesus and learn to think differently. We need to realise that God is sovereign and will use whatever we say to His appointed ends. God’s plan will not be thwarted and no reaction, no loss of comfort, no threat or broken relationship will remove God’s love from us. He will walk by us and protect us. He will uphold you and honour you as you step out in faith to serve Him and to do the good works that He created in advance for you to do.
Meditate upon Titus 2:14 throughout the day and the implications for your life.
Prayer Points:
> Prayer for the Bible Society in Israel.
> For the recordings of the Hebrew Old Testament, that they will get the funds needed to complete the project, and that everything will go well, and that the Lord may be glorified.
>
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