Obligations To Share, Hear, Believe And Ask

The Bible – The New Living Translation

Romans10:13-14

¹³ For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Joel 2:32)

¹⁴ But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?

Thoughts:

This is a power-packed couple of verses, for anyone meditating on these words will find themselves obligated in one way or another. Think about where your obligation is today and be obedient to God. For example:

·         Share – I got the impression that for those of us that know the Lord, our involvement in helping a lost person come to a saving knowledge in Jesus Christ, is that we share with them. Now before you try to correct me and tell me that you are not a preacher, I want to remind you that there are many times in God’s Word where we, who already know Him, are told/obligated to share with those who do not. Sharing is not necessarily ‘preaching’, it is telling of the Good News, the Savior that got hold of your life and saved you from your self-destructing, evil trip to Hell. In fact, you are the only one that could share that with a friend who may not know the Lord – it’s your story!

·         Hear, Believe & Ask – I believe that vs 14 is telling the lost person that if the Word of God is explained to them, or if someone shares their story with them, know that it is God-sent and give it your undivided attention, as you are expected to accept/believe in Jesus Christ and ask/receive/invite Him as God’s precious gift of eternal life.

Friends, Paul was careful to explain that God’s gift is offered to all. In his day Paul had to clarify that the gift was offered to both the Jew and the Gentile. In our society today, I believe that we need to be reminded that God’s gift is offered to folk inside of the church worshipping, and to the ones who have never entered the doors of a church before. To the one who is looked up to in the community, or to the murderer. In fact, in another Bible verse, it is clear that God’s gift is available to ALL - whoever calls on His name (John 3:16). That includes you brother and sister! If you hear it, believe it and ask Jesus to come into your heart.

Prayer:

Thank You Father for those who leave our churches and travel overseas to spread the name of the Lord – our missionaries. Also, thank You for our pastors and evangelists who sacrifices hour after hour in sharing the love and saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus. Please be especially encouraging to those of us that cross paths with friends, family and coworkers every day that so desperately need You. Lord, may we never leave an opportunity unattended. May we never have to feel the guilt of disobedience in not sharing Your love and Your Word with those who need You. Father, I especially pray for the unsaved today. You have told us in Your Word that You are coming back soon to take us with You so that we may live with You throughout eternity. In the light of this promise, please help our unsaved ones to grasp the importance of really listening to Your Word, and may they not only hear, but also respond without reservation to Your call on their life. TODAY is the day of salvation! Lord, may it be so for all those I know, love and care about. For I ask all this in the name of Your precious Son, Jesus, believing that it will be done. AMEN!

NOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray.

The Stain of our Sins

The Bible – The New Living Translation

Psalm 51:1-2

¹ Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.

² Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.

Thoughts:

I believe that David was so sorry for his acts of sin against Bathsheba and her husband that he was not only asking for forgiveness of his sin, but also that God might erase it from his memory – blot out the ‘stain’ of my sin he asked. Friends, although God forgives us of our sin, it seems like the impact of that sin, or its stain, appears to always be in the back of our minds, and will ultimately haunt us from time to time. While this may serve the purpose of reminding us of our sin, or especially to help us appreciate where God has truly brought us from, yet our inner man would just as soon forget the sinful acts. Therefore I can appreciate where David was coming from in this request. However, I believe that the biggest lesson for us to learn from this today is that God is our mediator. He knows what is bugging us, but I believe that He really wants us to seek Him, humble ourselves to ask for help and to seek His help in every aspect of our lives. As we live in this sinful world, we get dirty or stained from its impact, so keeping ourselves before our Maker in prayer is healthy for our spiritual well-being. Our physical bodies become dirty and we take daily showers, how much more should we seek a daily spiritual cleansing of our sin. This will not only help in keeping us clean from guilt, but it will keep the lines of communication open between us and our heavenly Father.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I repeat the words of Your servant David, please wash me clean from my guilt, and purify me from my sin. I want to be used by You in reaching those around me who are lost in sin. Please wash me white as snow so that I may represent You well as I share a witness for You. Please have Your will and way in my life is my humble prayer before the only One who can make a true difference in the hearts of mankind, for I ask this in Your worthy and all powerful name, Lord Jesus, my Savior and King, AMEN!

NOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray.

Too Busy

The Bible – The Message

Romans9:30-32

…. All those people who didn’t seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling.

Thoughts:

Friends I know that we have our secular jobs, and many of us also have volunteered for jobs in the church, but are we capable of knowing when we are too busy to really see God at work in and around us? Paul, in addressing his fellow Jews, tried to bring to their attention that in his ministry to the gentiles (those who were despised by the Jews), he had discovered such an appreciation for God and His wonderful work/miracles, compared to what he saw in his own people, who appeared sold out to God. This sounds so much like us sometimes. It is known around churches that if you need someone to do something, ask a busy person. And although this means that you can often trust them to get the job done, what it also means is that you are giving them yet another ‘job’, and before you realize it, that person is coming to church thinking of it as just another job, like they are obligated to all other days of the week. Friends, I realize that it takes people to get the total job done around church, but when we lose sight of the reason for us going to church, to offer up praise and worship to our heavenly Father, then we have just personally taken on too much. We must find time in our busy lives for personal worship – time alone with God, and for corporate worship – time corporately with God and others of like faith. I believe that I coined a phrase that I encourage all those that I have opportunity to mentor, to use: instead of ever saying that you didn’t have time for something, always say it was not a priority! I especially encourage you to use this when you have neglected your time alone with God or your corporate worship time. In fact I encourage you to use this phrase in your conversation (prayer) with God as you talk to him about missed opportunities. It will help you to regain the priorities in your life! Keeping busy will keep us out of trouble, but if we are not careful, it could also keep us out of a sweet relationship with our heavenly Father. Why not step back and honestly evaluate your life today? Are you too busy?

Prayer:

Thank You Father for blessing us with talents that we may use for You in and around the local church. Please help us to know when we have enough to do, and especially when church work is preventing us from spending the time with You that we so badly need for our spiritual enrichment. Without You in the forefront of our day, we will reflect too much of this world to those who especially need to know You and see Your qualities in us. We were created to glorify You dear God. When we fail to do that because we are too busy, especially with ‘church jobs’ or as Paul said, “God projects”, then we ask that You please get our attention and pull us back to You. Most of us have family and loved ones who need the Lord, Father I pray that they may first of all see Jesus in everything that we do or say so that we may influence them to seek You and the wonder of Your grace, mercy and love. I ask all this in the wonderful name of Your Son, Jesus the Christ, my Lord and Savior, AMEN!

**If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray.