Mission Devotional Day 25
READ: II Corinthians 5:16-21
In this marvelous statement of God’s mission, Paul describes how in Christ, God was reconciling the world unto himself, and he has entrusted to us a ministry of reconciliation. In Ephesians, Paul writes of how God is gathering up all things in Christ.
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READ: I Corinthians 12
In this well-known chapter, the Apostle Paul uses the body as a metaphor for the church. I have to admit that in the past I usually applied this metaphor to particular congregations. It was natural to think about different church members and the gifts that they bring to the life of the body of Christ.
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 23
READ: Acts 10
In this long story about Peter and the centurion named Cornelius, Luke describes the early church’s struggle to understand whether or not one first had to become a follower of Moses in order to follow Jesus. In other words, “Could a non-Jew become a Christian?” We know from Acts 9 that God is doing something new in his mission because Paul has been appointed an apostle to the gentiles. Still, this was something that the church struggled with. After Cornelius’ encounter at Caesarea shakes him to the core of all that he held dear, Peter concludes, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” When the Holy Spirit is poured out upon Cornelius and the others, Peter understands that there is nothing to prevent them from being baptized. Peter certainly is not going to stand in the way!
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 22
READ: Acts 1:6-11
Why should we be so concerned about the world?
Not only does Jesus tell us, “For God so loved the world,” but in his last words to the disciples, he tells them that they shall be his witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. As some have put it, Jesus sends his followers around the corner and around the world.
Read MoreDAY 21
READ: John 20:19-21
Each of the gospels have a section in which Jesus makes it clear that his followers are sent out into the world to continue his redeeming work. There is in the gospels an unmistakable agreement about the work of witness being the foundation of Christian mission.
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 20
READ: Mark 1:16-20
Jesus’ first encounter with the disciples in Mark’s gospel occurs along the shore of Galilee where they are tending their fishing nets. Jesus says, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” Those are his first words. In his last words to the disciples, he tells them that they shall be his “witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 19
READ: Matthew 28:16-20
This passage is known as the Great Commission, and it is Matthew’s statement of Jesus sending the disciples out into the world to continue his work. Note the “all’s” that fill this section: all authority, all of the nations, all that I have commanded you, I’ll all-ways be with you. One of the things that I find encouraging about this passage is that Matthew writes honestly about the disciples’ doubt. They are clearly still trying to figure out what all this means – Jesus’ actions and his words, his crucifixion, and resurrection. This one thing is clear: He says to them, “Go!”
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 18
READ: Matthew 25:31-46
There are several things that I find remarkable about this story Jesus tells. In the first place, there is the way that Jesus identifies with the last, the least, and the lost. In the second place, I find it significant that everyone is surprised. Those who didn’t reach out to the poor or are surprised, and those who did reach out are also surprised. Since everyone is surprised, I suppose that were we to place ourselves in the story, we’d likely be surprised, too.
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 17
READ: Matthew 22:34-39
The gospel of Matthew is known for its extended teaching passages, and some scholars see five major sections in Matthew that correspond to the Torah, the Five Books of Moses. Certainly, Matthew’s is the most Jewish of the gospels. Matthew records Jesus summarizing his instruction in the Great Commandment, the Great Judgment, and the Great Commission.
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 16
READ: Luke 4:16-30
Much of Jesus’ ministry took place in the region of Galilee in northern Israel not far from his boyhood home in Nazareth. Capernaum, which served as a kind of home base for the disciples after Jesus’ public ministry began, was only about 20 miles from Nazareth. Towns dotted the landscape and it is easy to see how word of his extraordinary teaching could quickly spread.
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 15
READ: Luke 4:1-15
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are often referred to as the synoptic gospels because they offer similar synopses of Jesus’ life and teaching. Probably the basic outline was provided by Mark’s gospel. The three synoptics each record that Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit for a time of testing or tempting by the evil one after he was baptized by John.
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 14
READ: John 3:16
God loved the world so much! David Bosch writes, “Mission has its origins in the fatherly heart of God. He is the fountain of sending love. This is the deepest source of mission. It is not possible to penetrate any deeper: there is mission because God loves [people].” Forty-six times in the Gospel of John alone Jesus says that the Father has sent him, often adding that it is for the sake of the salvation of the world.
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 13
READ: John 1:1-18
Matthew begins his gospel with a genealogy. Mark begins with the ministry of John the Baptist. Luke begins his gospel with a dedication to Theophilus. John begins in eternity – “in the beginning.” His soaring theology is reflected in the traditional symbol for John, the eagle. But it doesn’t take long for John, as the other gospel writers do, to ground his telling of the gospel story in history. He writes in verse 14: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” The Greek text could be translated “tabernacled” or “pitched his tent.” I love how Eugene Petersen renders this text: “And the Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.”
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 12
READ: Micah 6:8
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” God’s justice is his saving action on behalf of his people. Human justice is the effort that we make in response to God’s goodness as we carry out his will.
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 11
READ: Jonah 1-4
In the brief book of Jonah, we read the story of a reluctant prophet. God appointed Jonah to call the people of Nineveh to repent, but Jonah runs in the other direction. It becomes clear that God loves the Ninevites much more than Jonah does.
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 10
READ: Jeremiah 29:7
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 9
READ: Psalm 137
When the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s army in 586 B.C. and the people were taken as hostages to Babylon, they faced a tremendous crisis of faith. How could God have allowed this to happen to them? Well, they sort of knew what had transpired because the prophets had foretold their coming judgment. But how could they worship God in a strange land? How could they practice their faith without the temple?
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 8
READ: Isaiah 58
In this chapter, the prophet Isaiah speaks plainly about the disconnect between the religious actions of the people and their social responsibility. The people question why God has not paid attention to their fasting. Why has God not taken notice? Simply stated, God tells them that it is because they are not seeking him. They are seeking their own interest. As Jesus says of those who parade their piety before others, they have their reward.
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 7
READ: Isaiah 53
This portion of the book of the prophet Isaiah functions at different levels of meaning. Some see Israel as the suffering servant. Others identify the servant with the prophet. Nevertheless, it is easy to understand how the early Christians understood this text as pointing ahead to the Messiah, to Jesus. In fact, it is one of the Old Testament texts that the New Testament most often references.
Read MoreMission Devotional Day 6
READ: Isaiah 49:6-7
David Bosch, a famous South African mission scholar, points out, “There is, in the Old Testament, no indication of the believers of the old covenant being sent by God to cross geographical, religious, and social frontiers in order to win others to faith in Yahweh.” Yet in Isaiah 42 and 49, we read of Israel’s call to be “a light to the nations.” It is an echo of God’s covenant with Abram in which God said He would bless Abram and that in him all of the peoples of the earth would be blessed.
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