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Scripture for the day: John 6:37,40 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away …. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Thought for the day: A winner in God’s book is prayerful, positive and purposeful; at least that’s what the Bible tells us. I think that may be the only argument we need, don’t you? But let’s take a look at what else it means. A winner in God’s book is also persuasive. That is, we’re called to help convince the world of its need of a Savior. Now we can hedge that call and rationalize away God’s commands in any number of ways but nothing negates the admonition to “go into all the world and make disciples.” A friend of mine recently reminded me of the statement Jesus made to Peter and Andrew as he called them into his service. He said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Then my friend said, “That means that if I’m not fishing for the lost, then I’m not really following Jesus.” Ouch! Now, I know there are many things we do that don’t seem to fall into the category of soul winning, but many of them contribute to the harvest, at least indirectly.
Proverbs 11:30 tells us, “He that wins souls is wise.” And isn’t it true that the entire Bible is an account of God’s plan to reconcile a fallen world to Himself? Of course it is and everything Jesus taught points to the need to reach our world. In spite of popular opinion, not everyone goes to heaven, but only those who have repented and believed on the name of the Lord. Look at the context of today’s verse; read that context when you get a chance. Jesus had been teaching his disciples about humility and greatness in the Kingdom of God. He’d likened the true believer to a little child who simply trusts, and had unquestioning faith in the father. Using that analogy as a foundation, Jesus then went on to speak of the need for purity in our own lives, of the ways in which we should guard our hearts lest Satan tempt us to unbelief, and how we must seek reconciliation with those all around us. Finally Jesus talked to them about the fact that forgiven people forgive. To be forgiven by the Lord and then refuse to forgive those who have wronged us may be one of the greatest insults to our Lord. But what does it all come down to, this teaching on forgiveness and reconciliation? “Go into all the world and make disciples.”
Whether we want to believe it or not, there is only one purpose for our being on this earth once we’ve been born again. As one wise person put it, there are only two things we can do here that we can’t do in heaven; we can sin and we can tell others about Jesus. Now, given the choices, which do you think the Lord has left you here to do? Do you know someone who doesn’t know Jesus? Do you know why you know them? When it comes right down to it, the Lord isn’t going to ask us about how long we spent reading the Bible or how many commentaries we studied, or how much money we gave to the church, or how secure our doctrine was. He’s going to ask, “What did you do with what I left you?”
What have you and I done with the talents he’s left us? What have we done with the resources he’s left us? What have we done with the message he’s left us? What will you answer? Will it be, “See Lord, you left me with this much and I’ve invested it in the lives of others and here are the souls that have been added.” Or will your reply sound like the wicked servant, “Lord, I knew how much you wanted me to be sound in doctrine, set apart from the world, and orthodox in my beliefs so I applied all the talents, treasure and time you gave me to making sure I was all right.”
Think on these things for a few minutes and then…
Go take on your world. - Bill