Matthew 28:18-20
And
Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the
end of the age.” (ESV)
Acts 1:8
But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the
earth.” (ESV)
People go on mission trips for various
reasons. Some go for humanitarian
reasons, seeking to make some difference in the life of others less fortunate
than themselves. Some go for altruistic
reasons, seeking to make themselves feel better about themselves or to sooth
their conscious in some way. Some go
because they genuinely desire to serve God and wish to be obedient to his
commands to tell the world about the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Great Commission tells us that we go to
make disciples. Whatever our reasons for
going may be, if it is not in line with the Great Commission, then we are no
different than any other humanitarian effort.
Designs For Hope's mission is
unique. We are going specifically to
minister and serve those who are already ministering and serving God. We will be giving the opportunity for a more
productive life to those who are already proclaiming the good news of
salvation. Despite that, our primary
goal still remains The Great Commission - making disciples for Jesus
Christ.
Uganda is a highly evangelized nation,
but there will still be numerous opportunities for making disciples. While we
are there, we should all be looking out for those opportunities and act upon
them when they present themselves. That
means you need to be ready at any time to share your story.
While he was on the earth, whenever
Jesus did something amazing, the people told everyone they could about what
Jesus did for them. Each of us that has
accepted the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ has a story about what
Jesus has done for him/her. Jesus says
we will be his witnesses to all the earth, and our story is the testimony of
that witness. Your story is easy to
tell and you know it well. It has, at minimum, three components
1. Your
life before Jesus
2. How
you met Jesus
3. Your
life after Meeting Jesus
Your story is an incredible testimony
to the power of Jesus Christ to change lives – because he has changed yours! There is no such thing as a boring
testimony. To believe this is to believe
the lie that Satan has planted in your heart to keep you from being an
effective witness for Jesus Christ. If
Jesus can save you, he can save others as well and that alone is a powerful and
effective message. After your quiet time
today, find some time to sit down and write out your story on paper. Over the next few weeks, pull out your story
on a regular basis. Read it and
familiarize yourself with it so that as opportunity arises to share your story
you will be comfortable sharing it.
In your quiet time today, take time to
think and pray about your story. Thank
God for saving you and changing you.
Praise him for the power that the gospel has to transform lives. Pray
that God would help you see the value of your testimony in being a witness for
Christ. Pray that he will help you write
down your story in such a way that you will be able to use it to share the
gospel. Pray that God will begin opening doors for you to share your story even
before you leave.
Heavenly Father, I pray right now for
all of the members of this trip that they would see how infinitely powerful
their stories are and that they would be able to use that story as a powerful
witness for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment