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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion January 11, 2005 The Great Commission |
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Frontline Devotion for Tuesday, January 11, 2005 By Don
Kress
Text for the Day: Matthew
28:16-20
I suspect that Vinnie, the salesperson from whom I buy my suits, views his
occasional phone calls to me, alerting me of an up-coming sale, as his
opportunity to make the great commission! I do my best not to disappoint
him! But in today’s text, Jesus is interested in a different kind of
commission. Today he gives us a charge – an authoritative order from the
King – to “go and make followers of all people in the world.” He
tells us to “Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you.” The
message here seems pretty clear to me: Jesus has communicated His
expectation that we are to be His witnesses to all parts of the earth, and He
has endued us with the power to do so.
The essential message in today’s text is, I believe, very well communicated in
a writing by Richard Halverson, who was, until his death a few years ago, the
chaplain to the United States Congress. For many years I received by mail
a weekly devotion, called “Perspective,” from Pastor Halverson. While
I usually try to be original in my writings, I believe the Pastor Halverson’s
message on today’s text is one of the best I’ve ever encountered, so I’ve
decided to share it with you.
Halverson writes: “For the New Testament Christians, witness was not a
sales pitch. They simply shared, each in his own way, what they had
received. Theirs was not a formally prepared, carefully worked-out
presentation with a gimmick to manipulate conversation, and a ‘closer’ for
an on-the spot decision, but the spontaneous, irrepressible, effervescent
enthusiasm of those who had met the most fascinating Person who ever lived.”
“The gospel is not theology. It’s a Person. Theology doesn’t
save. Jesus Christ saves. The first-century disciples were totally
involved with a Person. They were followers of Jesus. They were
learners of Jesus. They were committed to Jesus. They were filled
with Jesus. They had encountered Jesus Christ and it simply could not be
concealed. They witnessed not because they had to, but because they could
not help it.”
“Their school of witnessing was the school of the Spirit where they learned
continuously. Authentic Christian witness is born of the spirit.
Madison Avenue, with all its sophisticated know-how, can’t improve on the
strategy. Nothing is more convincing than the simple, unembellished word
of a satisfied customer.”
If you were to ask me about a good place to buy a suit, I would refer you to
Vinnie, because I am a satisfied customer. Jesus Christ calls us to share
our satisfaction in Him with others around the world. That is easy for
some of us, and very difficult for others of us. But we’re each called
to do it. Perhaps one of the beneficial outcomes of the terrible tragedy
in Indonesian is that it provides us with an opportunity to share Christ’s
love with those who don’t know Him. Perhaps that could be your first
step. Christ expects us to be His witnesses to all parts of the earth, and
He has endued us with the power to do so. What are you waiting for?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, may your salvation be so real to me that I can’t
help but tell others. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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