"Lighting the Fire"
Jotting – Week 52

Persist and Never Give Up

[Jesus said,] “‘Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops’” (Matthew 10:27).

So much of the world sits in the darkness and the burden of sin. So many people long for the Light of the world and the love that only God gives to release them from their sins. Who do you know that needs to be told of Jesus, of His life, death, and resurrection? What can you say to them about the great love of God? How long will you wait?

Then [Jesus] said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest’” (Matthew 9:37-38).

We may not have the opportunity to preach from a pulpit, teach from the Word of God in a classroom, travel to a foreign country to proclaim God’s love, but we can support others who do. We can support them with our prayers, our offerings, our encouragement, our letters. Pray for more workers. Pray for more opportunities. Pray that God will open up your heart and your hands to give.

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and tell John the things which you hear and see. The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them’” (Matthew 11:4-5).

Tell what you see God doing in your life, in the lives of others. God is at work in His world and He wants the world to know.

“Jesus ... said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you. And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled’” (Mark 5:19-20).

Start at home, with your own family, your friends and neighbors. Tell them how God has had compassion on you, how He has healed you of the leprosy of sin, how He strengthens you for the tasks He gives He, how He brings about the results to make His Kingdom grow.

“[Peter] declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, "Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren’” (Acts 12:17).

Tell congregation members. Give a witness to all God is doing in your life. Then they may be encouraged to do the same, to seek God’s wisdom, to seek opportunities for witnessing, to tell others of what God is doing for them.

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).

Let the whole world know. You have been called. You are God’s chosen generation, His royal priesthood, His holy nation, His own special people. He calls you to proclaim His praises to those who need His mercy, who also have the need to be called His people.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1).

Love so amazing, so lavish, so overwhelming that we can only tell others, share His abundant grace and blessings with those around us.

Keep learning more about God through the study of His Word, through worship, through fellowship with others; about God’s heart in searching for and reaching the lost; about His love for all people.

Keep praying that the Lord of the harvest will send workers into the harvest fields, that the Lord will give you opportunities to witness, for the souls of those who will perish eternally without knowing the love of Jesus.

Keep giving to support the mission work of the church in your congregation, your district, the synod; to honor and obey God, to give back to God a portion of what has been given to you.

Keep telling others of God’s great love; of the work God is doing through you, through your congregation and the church at large; of how God is showing His love and care in your everyday life.

Keep sending missionaries where you yourself cannot go; where congregations can be established for the sake of proclaiming the Good News; where native missionaries can be trained and supported as they go to their own people with the love of Jesus.

Keep going yourself to your family members, neighbors, coworkers, to the community to share what God has done in Christ for them, to shine a light in the darkness of their world, to lift a burden of sin and despair through the grace and love of their Lord.
Keep celebrating as lives are touched and renewed by the Good News of the Gospel, as people come into the Light of God’s grace, as hearts and lives are transformed by the great love of God in Christ Jesus.

Pray: Dear God of Glory and Grace, You have lavished so much love upon us that, if we stop to think about it, we are overwhelmed. Lord, You desire all people to come to a knowledge of the truth–the truth of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Forgive our missed opportunities, our stubborn refusal to share and give away that love to others. Renew us by Your Spirit. Pour Your love and joy into our hearts that we can’t wait to tell. Open our eyes to see the opportunities You give us, then move us forward with open hearts and open mouths to sing Your praises, to tell what You have done, to tell what You can do for them. In the strong name of Jesus we pray. Amen.