Isaiah 12:4
And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.
What of Today’s Verse…
It is wrong to think God’s love for the nations began only with Jesus and the Great Commission. Remember Jonah’s preaching to save Israel’s great enemy, Nineveh? Remember the precious story of Ruth? God loves all people and wants them to come to share in his grace. As Christians, we are his salt and light, here to touch all the people of the world and beckon them to come back to the Father who loves them.
Let us Pray:
Holy God, stir in my heart a greater passion to share your love with the world. May my life, my money, and my concerns be used to do more of your work throughout the world. Please bless the efforts of all those who share the Gospel of Jesus in a culture other than their own. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Words of Wisdom
The Relinquished Life
“I am crucified with Christ.” Galatians 2:20
No one is ever united with Jesus Christ until he is willing to relinquish not sin only, but his whole way of looking at things. To be born from above of the Spirit of God means that we must let go before we lay hold, and in the first stages it is the relinquishing of all pretence. What Our Lord wants us to present to Him is not goodness, nor honesty, nor endeavour, but real solid sin; that is all He can take from us. And what does He give in exchange for our sin? Real solid righteousness. But we must relinquish all pretence of being anything, all claim of being worthy of God’s consideration.
Then the Spirit of God will show us what further there is to relinquish. There will have to be the relinquishing of my claim to my right to myself in every phase. Am I willing to relinquish my hold on all I possess, my hold on my affections, and on everything, and to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?
There is always a sharp painful disillusionment to go through before we do relinquish. When a man really sees himself as the Lord sees him, it is not the abominable sins of the flesh that shock him, but the awful nature of the pride of his own heart against Jesus Christ. When he sees himself in the light of the Lord, the shame and the horror and the desperate conviction come home.
If you are up against the question of relinquishing, go through the crisis, relinquish all, and God will make you fit for all that He requires of you.
