Posted by Charlie on Aug 2, 2009 in
Devotions Scripture: 2 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 33; John 4
Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
John 4:35
Observation
Traveling through Samaria was the shorter route from Galilee to Jerusalem, but it meant going through territory that was less than welcoming. Jews and Samaritans, as John points out in verse 9, avoided dealing with each other, and a significant amount of racial and cultural prejudice existed between the two groups.
From God’s perspective, however, Samaria was a field ripe for spiritual harvest, and Jesus keyed in on it. In fact, Jesus recites a version of his personal mission statement as the disciples arrive and urge him to eat: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”
Application
In 21st century Portland, Oregon it could be easy to look across the postmodern landscape and miss the fact that, like Samaria in Jesus’ day, it is ripe for harvest. There is a God-sized vacuum in the hearts of men and women, and God looks at this city with a heart of compassion and redemption. The big question is, where does the harvest fit in Charlie’s personal mission statement?
Prayer
Father, please open my eyes to the harvest. Please let me see the fields the way you see them, and to have the heart for people that you do. Please send forth laborers into your harvest field. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Tags: Evangelism, harvest, personal mission statement
Posted by Charlie on Mar 24, 2009 in
Devotions Scripture: Joshua 18, 19, 20; 1 Corinthians 9
For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more…
1 Corinthians 9:19
Observation
In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul defends his apostleship and assures the Corinthians of his motives for serving among them. While it is appropriate for those who serve the church and preach the gospel to make their living from the gospel, Paul has reserved none of these rights for himself.
Paul then talks about the way he molds his life to match his audience so that they might understand the gospel. I think the key to this passage is in verse 19, where Paul says, “…I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more.” Paul doesn’t just throw caution to the wind and live the way the world does just so he can preach to the world. What he does is understand the context of the person he’s trying to reach and then he alters his approach so he serves that person’s best interest. It takes intentionality to pull that off in a genuine way, while staying close with Jesus in the process.
Application
My challenge is that most of my life is lived in a Christian bubble. Because I work either from home or my office at the church I can go days on end without interacting with a non-Christian unless I’m intentional about it. I confess I need to become better at understanding my post-modern neighbors. It’s going to take some work to be effective at Paul’s approach— “To my post-modern neighbors I became as a post-modern….”
Prayer
Father, you have placed people around me who don’t know you yet. Please help me to understand their world better and to be able to communicate truth to them in a way they can grasp. Please be at work in the hearts and lives of my neighbors and draw them to yourself. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Tags: Evangelism, gospel, post-modernism, servant
Posted by Charlie on Feb 7, 2009 in
Devotions Scripture: Leviticus 4, 5, 6; Acts 14
Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.
Acts 14:19
Observation
The conviction with which Paul proclaimed the gospel sets the standard for the church for all time. He was able to combine a well-crafted message that was appropriate for his audience with absolute certainty and a disregard for his own popularity or personal safety. Paul would share Christ with anyone, from peasants to kings.
In Acts 14 after Paul was stoned and left for dead in Lystra (some scholars believe he indeed died and was raised from the dead in verse 20), he continued undaunted with his missionary endeavor through Galatia, and then actually returned to Lystra to strengthen his converts on his way back home to Antioch.
Application
I fall short of Paul’s standard. I often struggle to know the best way to craft a message that will communicate the gospel clearly to the people in my culture. Paul would have adjusted his presentation to speak to a post-modern worldview, and would have been very effective. I need to spend time studying the mindset of the people who live around me so I can be more effective in sharing Christ with them.
I also am too concerned about what others think of me. That doesn’t mean I should be offensive in my communication of the gospel (a witless for Christ), but it means that it matters more what God thinks than what my neighbor does.
Finally, I think modern Christianity has watered down the implications of not having a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are clear that there will be a judgment, and there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved than the name of Jesus Christ. I need to recapture Paul’s conviction in 2 Cor. 5:11—“Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men….”
Prayer
Father, forgive me for my timidity in sharing the Good News that you have paid the price for sinners to belong to you. Please empower me to be a witness to those around me, and help me to be well prepared to speak to the hearts of this generation. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Tags: conviction, Evangelism
Posted by Charlie on Jan 19, 2009 in
Devotions Scripture: Genesis 47, 48; Psalm 10; Luke 19
“…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Luke 19:10
Observation
There is a striking juxtaposition between Jesus’ visit to Zacchaeus’ house and his parable of the ten minas which follows. During the visit by Jesus, Zacchaeus expresses repentance (a changed mind) by promising to be fair in his dealings. In his joy over the occasion Jesus sums up his mission statement by declaring, “…the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost!”
Not everyone in Jericho was as elated as Jesus. In verse 9 we learn that the onlookers grumbled that Jesus had gone to be the guest of a sinner. I have to imagine spectators leaning in the windows of Zacchaeus’ house, observing his dinner party with Jesus, and I can almost hear the unfavorable chatter going on in the peanut gallery. Following his above mission statement, Jesus directs a sobering parable toward the onlookers about a nobleman who goes to a far country to receive a kingdom, and entrusts his goods to stewards while he is away. In this parable we see the other reality of God’s character that modern American Christianity often seeks to overlook: God’s judgment. The sobering reminder is that God expects faithful stewardship from his servants, and that there really will be a judgment someday that will not go well for many people.
Application
This passage is rich with personal application. The truth of God’s judgment on sin is the very reality that prompted Jesus to seek and save the lost. The Bible is clear that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and the knowledge of the truth. He has entrusted the responsibility of that stewardship to his people, and he will ask an account of how I did in carrying it out. As I think of the people around me who do not have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, I find myself falling short of the passion Jesus had to see them in right relationship with God. Is it that I don’t really believe in the judgment to come, that I don’t care enough, or that my caring doesn’t outweigh my fear?
Prayer
Father, you went to the furthest extreme to provide your salvation to me. Please empower me to be a fitting ambassador of your kingdom to the people around me. Help me to be a steward of the things entrusted to me who truly reflect your heart for the lost. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Tags: Evangelism, Lost
