“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
From a speaker at a Christian Fellowship event: If I had the privilege of writing a news story about he greatest events of all the centuries, one of the most important would be a meeting on a mountain near Galilee, where a small group of men were given a global strategy for carrying God’s love and forgiveness to a lost and dying world. On this mountain, these men received the greatest challenge ever given to mankind, by the greatest person who ever lived, concerning the greatest power ever revealed and the greatest promise ever recorded”.
Everyone, Everywhere by Erick Schenkel reminded me how much I love reading missionary biologies, I have been on more of a fiction/historical kick lately and have, therefore, not read many missionary stories. However, after reading story after story of people miraculously turning from evil and coming to faith in Christ, I feel a renewed eagerness to pick up some books that have been sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read. Books like Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot and Eternity In Their Hearts: Startling Evidence of Belief in the One True God in Hundreds of Cultures Throughout the World.
These stories always seem so radical and sometimes downright terrifying, but these missionaries did not set out on their journeys looking to get themselves caught up in situations that would be worthy of writing a book about later. They simply answered God’s call to take his word to the ends of the earth and the result was some pretty awe-inspiring stories. The truth is that any life lived completely surrendered to God will be a radical one,
I have been feeling a bit discouraged lately in this area. Working from home and only having been in Idaho a year, I am not doing much in terms of advancing God’s mission, However, I am determined to pray for more opportunities to share my faith and, when those opportunities come, that I would not let them pass by as can so easily happen.
Every missionary book I have ever read has been about international missions and typically in areas that are not what you would think of as vacation spots. Sometimes this can be discouraging as well if you are not in the position or have the financial means to go abroad. Also, maybe international travel just isn’t your thing. Take heart! There are opportunities right where you live to share the gospel of Jesus! Whether it be neighbors, coworkers, friends, classmates, teammates, family members, your kids friends parents, I guarantee that someone within your sphere of influence hasn’t yet been introduced to a relationship with Jesus.
“The most radical thing we can do is introduce someone to Jesus Christ. She or he immediately becomes our sister or brother, a full-fledged co-heir of all the riches of God in Christ. The same spirit that moved us to love no lives in her or him. The same power to call on Almighty God for help, for oneself or for others, is at her or his disposal. We become fellow sojourners in the path of Jesus. And, I ask you: What could be more radical than that?”