"I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." (Acts 26:17-18)
Missions is not an add-on to God's agenda or a line item in his budget. It is the agenda, and he's prepared to spend it all. God's mission is an urgent rescue operation to deliver his lost children from the hands of someone who makes Hitler look like a nice guy. Everyone outside of Christ is in darkness. Everyone. It doesn't matter how they may look on the outside--the beautiful model, the successful business man, the smiling monk. Without Jesus they are hopelessly lost. There is no middle ground. You are either in God's kingdom or under the control of the evil one. When Paul met Jesus, on day one, he learned this reality. He learned it first about himself. He was a religious zealot who was determined to arrest every Christian he could find as a service to God. But he was deceived. Jesus told him, "You are persecuting me" (Acts 26:15). To God, it's personal. What happens to his kids matters to him. Paul was one such kid and he was lost. All his life he strove to follow God's rules. On the outside he was perfect--a pharisee of pharisees. But that was the problem. His faith was in himself. His trust was in self-righteousness. He needed the gospel of grace desperately, and so do you and I, and so does the whole world. We must never forget this. God's grace in Christ is the only answer to the spiritual darkness of this planet. The United Nations can't solve it. The World Health Organization can't manufacture it. We alone have been chosen to carry this light into every home, of every community, in every nation. There is no higher calling or purpose than this eternal priority.
Heavenly Father, use us to make your agenda the only agenda that matters.
#lightbearers
Missions is not an add-on to God's agenda or a line item in his budget. It is the agenda, and he's prepared to spend it all. God's mission is an urgent rescue operation to deliver his lost children from the hands of someone who makes Hitler look like a nice guy. Everyone outside of Christ is in darkness. Everyone. It doesn't matter how they may look on the outside--the beautiful model, the successful business man, the smiling monk. Without Jesus they are hopelessly lost. There is no middle ground. You are either in God's kingdom or under the control of the evil one. When Paul met Jesus, on day one, he learned this reality. He learned it first about himself. He was a religious zealot who was determined to arrest every Christian he could find as a service to God. But he was deceived. Jesus told him, "You are persecuting me" (Acts 26:15). To God, it's personal. What happens to his kids matters to him. Paul was one such kid and he was lost. All his life he strove to follow God's rules. On the outside he was perfect--a pharisee of pharisees. But that was the problem. His faith was in himself. His trust was in self-righteousness. He needed the gospel of grace desperately, and so do you and I, and so does the whole world. We must never forget this. God's grace in Christ is the only answer to the spiritual darkness of this planet. The United Nations can't solve it. The World Health Organization can't manufacture it. We alone have been chosen to carry this light into every home, of every community, in every nation. There is no higher calling or purpose than this eternal priority.
Heavenly Father, use us to make your agenda the only agenda that matters.
#lightbearers