Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the group Acoustified Worship singing … People Need the Lord … poignantly singing of God’s charge to all Christians to take the good news of salvation to all who will hear and be reconciled to the Lord.
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Highlight Verse[s]: 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 [NLT] …
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
… As God’s saved ones, we have been given the banner of carrying the good news of God’s saving grace to all who will hear and receive it.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 2 Corinthians 5:11-19 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Paul describes the urgency of being God’s ambassadors of reconciliation.
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Reference Passage [NLT] : … Acts 1:8 [NLT] …
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
… At His ascension Jesus charges His true disciples (all) to be His witness of redemption and reconciliation to the world.
Reference Passage [NLT] : … 1 Peter 3:15 [NLT] …
15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.
… Peter exhorts all Christians to be ready to give an answer (i.e., a testimony) to those who question us about our salvation.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Poh Fang Chia, relates a story of a friend who was led to find Christ. The ODB author wrote: Tham Dashu sensed something was missing in his life. So he started going to church—the same church his daughter attended. But they never went together. In earlier days, he had offended her, which drove a wedge between them. So, Tham would slip in when the singing started and leave promptly after the service ended. …
One day Tham fell gravely ill. His daughter plucked up the courage and wrote him a letter. She shared how Christ had changed her life, and she sought reconciliation with her dad. That night, Tham put his faith in Jesus and the family was reconciled. A few days later, Tham died and entered into the presence of Jesus—at peace with God and his loved ones.
I totally identify with this story, because some years after I was born-again in Christ, I discovered that my parents, at age 70+, didn’t have a clue about the reality of salvation. So, … I began to witness to them, first to my Dad via letter. And one day I got a letter from him (see photo of that letter, laminated for safe keeping) explaining that he had gone to church one Sunday and prayed a prayer that I had sent him in one of my letters (it was a model of a “sinner’s prayer” surrendering to Christ as Lord). And then some years later, literally on her death bed, my mother declared to me that she wanted to go be with Jesus. And then I realized that God had used me to do what He charges all Christians to do (see Scriptures and Song above); and my witness had allowed His Spirit to reconcile my parents to Himself. And now I know that I will be with them in heaven.
Whom do you know, as readers here, that needs reconciliation, … maybe to yourself … but infinitely and eternally more importantly, … to God? Perhaps today we should go and do what Jesus charged us al to do … and witness our salvation to a dear one - or even a stranger - and let God’s Spirit use our testimony to reconcile that one to Himself.
My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Dear Lord, … show me whom I might share You with today. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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