Making Disciples of All Nations
Good Morning Friends,
The squirrels at the Lawson are a bit agitated this morning. They have been eating the Starbucks coffee grounds I put in the garden. And it makes me think that maybe we also are going too fast. Maybe the great disconnect between church and religion and spirituality is a confusion about Jesus and exactly what he has commissioned us to do and we respond in haste without really knowing what we are doing.
So today, as I think about the squirrels are running up and down the trees so fanatically, I thought we might pause for a moment and explore a slower pace of how we are to go about Making Disciples of All Nations.
Scripture: Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
Exodus 3:1-4 (NIV)” The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good new to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,
Luke 4:18 (NIV)
Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
John 18:37 (NRSV)
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,
Matthew 28:19 (NRSV)
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
John 20:21 (NRSV)
Message: The Great Commission is about Kingdom Building. Not our kingdom but His. And to follow Jesus in this way is to show forth the light of a burning bush. That is how it happened to Moses and that is why Jesus quotes Isaiah to open his ministry. You see people are drawn to the light of God. Compelled in a way to meet God and then with a purpose be sent out. So too our method in His Kingdom should be more of an invitation than intimidation. Friends, this is not about jumping on a plane to tell others to repent or die in a culture that is not our own. Our character and way of life must attract others. If we seriously look at the why and how of Jesus being sent that should give us a clue. Here we see that God sent Jesus as a full participant in the culture to continue His creation. It is so much better if we are like a baby, gentle and unassuming. That is the way Jesus came into the world as all man, a fellow traveler in life who heard and obeyed and who understood his purpose. He prayed with passion to establish a kingdom on earth so we might be at peace with God. Friends, we can only preach what we live in His righteousness. Friends, there is no peace outside our Lord’s purpose.
Pray that God rule over all creation. Pray we have peace on earth. Pray we live a life that attracts others to God. Pray we go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is King of Kings. Pray we too say, “Here I am Lord, send me.” Pray we realize that God may ask us to be immersed in the culture of another so that His new culture might be established. Pray we also know that there is a mission field in the culture in which we live and work much closer to home. Pray we slow down for a moment before our next cup of coffee.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 