"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Simple Prayer: Through your relentless love, change me and transform the world
Read for Context (What does it say? Read 3x): Acts 1:1-11
Read for Insight (What does it mean?):
His Relentless Love: Jesus completed step one of making the Kingdom of God available to humanity. Now, this beautiful way of life had to be delivered beyond Jerusalem's walls and beyond Judea's borders. Jesus vision was that every nook and cranny of the earth would have a gospel witness. Because the best way to pass on this vision of life is to embody it, he commissioned his people to act as ambassadors of this Kingdom.
Because the task seems daunting, he equipped the Church with all it needed to accomplish it. He empowered them by the Holy Spirit. He guided them through the Holy Scriptures. He surrounded them with like- minded Christians to spur one another on. This mission is straightforward. although not always easy. It really boils down to regular people walking through their day, asking the Lord how he is at work in the people they meet and responding to opportunities to serve with joy.
Simply put, this is Jesus' (only) plan to spread his relentless love to the ends of the earth.
Our Response: God leads all his people to be his ambassadors to those who live "across the street" in Jerusalem, so to speak. Others, he will call to strike out to another region to Judea. Some will go to a different culture that is just across town the modern equivalent of Samaria. Still others he will call to go far away. This is the EFM's role as a ministry of the Evangelical Friends Churches in North America. We facilitate the sending of Gospel ambassadors to the ends of the earth. (For more, go to our website, www.friendsmission.com.)
Bottom line, wherever Jesus' people are, that is where they are meant to be witnesses. In this, his relentless love changes us and transforms the world.
Read for Application (How should I respond?)
Say/write a short prayer of commitment. In a journal or in the comments below.
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