Skip to main content

Closing the Gap 9.26.18

By September 26, 2018Daily Devotional

Week 38 Day 3

Pray:

Ask God to reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.

Read:

Matt. 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Reflect:

To become a “disciple” is to come into a relationship with Jesus where he is the authority, the “boss” of your life.  You accept what he says is right because he has said it. You value what he values because he knows what is valuable and you also do what he has said to do because he knows how life is to be lived.  All people, everywhere, at all times are to be taught what it means to obey what Jesus has commanded. He summed up all of his commands in these words: “Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  There is no time limit on these commands; his authority has no term limits. His teachings are relevant to the “very end of the age.” There are many teachings that become outdated. They lose relevance and cease to apply as human history marches on. The teachings of Jesus will never fail to be what humanity most needs to hear.  His teachings are timeless because he is timeless. His teachings are universally authoritative because his authority is universal. His teachings are always practical because he designed us and he knows what our design parameters are. When you invite someone to become a follower of Christ, you are not trying to convince them to join your “religion” rather you are inviting them to live fully in reality as it.  If this seems arrogant, then you need to read this passage again, carefully. Jesus is the one declaring his supreme authority. Some can call him arrogant, but there was nothing about his life that demonstrated he was anything but humble. In addition, it is not arrogant for God to declare his own authority. This is exactly what God the Son, Jesus, is doing here. Invite others into a relationship with Jesus. There is no hubris in this invitation because the gospel is about the wisdom of Christ, not our own. “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5).

Pray:

(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)

Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today.

Leave a Reply