Tag: Missions

How can we go “on mission” without leaving the community?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.” (3 Jn 1:8)

How is it possible for us to go on mission without leaving our job, home, or family? Besides the fact that we are all called to be missionaries in our own communities by living life “on mission”, we do so through our giving.

When we give to support the work of missionaries around the world, we participate in their mission. Our giving provides them the opportunity to remain on the mission field to do the work of ministry, seeking to reach others for Christ.

It is important we support missionaries.

God has gifted and called each of us to a certain task. We each have a part in furthering the kingdom of God. Those called to domestic and foreign missions are the front line workers whom God has gifted in such a way that they are able to start ministries and reach the people to whom the Lord has given them a heart.

The Lord has also gifted you in certain ways so that you can participate in those ministries. He has not only given you spiritual gifts you are to employee, but he has also provided your current job and finances. In fact, everything we have is a gift of God. We are called to be good stewards of God’s gifts. Investing them in the kingdom. When we serve and give to support kingdom ministry, we are stewarding our resources well.

Be a good steward of the resources the Lord has provided, support your local ministry, as well as international missionaries.

Be ready to provide a defense of your hope in Jesus

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Evangelism, PracticalLeave a comment

“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” (1 Pe 3:15–16)

Our world is increasingly growing hostile to Christianity. I’m not talking about cultural or progressive Christianity, rather, I’m referring to gospel-centered evangelicals who stand firm on God’s Word. The world in which we live is growing more hostile each and every day towards our message and values. Instead of assimilating or disassociating from the culture around us, we should engage. 

Peter tells us that we should be ready to provide a defense to the hope we have in Christ. It is that hope that keeps us going and it is that hope we should be ready to share with others. But we must not share the hope of the gospel in combative harsh ways. Instead, we must be gentle in the way in which we share. As well as we must share with a good conscience. We are not out to attack or one-up someone. We are not out to be harsh and disrespectful to other human beings. Instead, we must be gentle and loving in the way in which we share. That doesn’t mean we shy away from sharing the truth. We must continue to share the truth because it is the truth that sets us free. It is the good news from ages past that is still good news today, so we must not and cannot alter the gospel message. Instead, we must share it with others so that they might experience the same hope we experience. 

One book that has been helpful for me lately is Sam Chan’s book Evangelism in a Skeptical World: How to Make the Unbelievable News about Jesus More Believable. He does an excellent job of walking you through how to share the gospel with others in today’s culture. If you are looking for a way to reach the world in which we live, give Chan’s book a read. 

You are God’s Fellow Worker

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Cor 3:9)

What a privilege it is to be called God’s fellow workers. As believers, we have not only experienced salvation but we are also used as God’s instruments to bring others to faith in Christ as well as to help others grow as disciples of Christ. We are His fellow workers.

If God thinks of us as His fellow workers, we must think of ourselves in the same way. We must not shrink back from Jesus’ command to make disciple-making disciples. We must get to work.

While we must get to work, seeking to accomplish the mission Jesus has set before us, as God’s fellow workers, we don’t work alone. The God of the universe, the All-Sovereign, Creator, and Sustainer of all things works alongside us as we seek to work for Him. We work with the power provided us by God Himself.

Do you recognize you are counted as God’s fellow worker? Do you trust God to empower you for the task of making disciple-making disciples?

God is doing an amazing work in our day!

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.'” (Acts 13:41)

Paul, preaching to the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia, tells the Jews that they should expect the Lord to do a work that they would not believe. The work is that their wise men will perish (Is 29:14). In other words, God will do something among the people that will astound them – He will save the Gentiles. He bring those who they thought could not experience salvation to Himself. He will do it through their belief in a crucified Messiah. While at the same time, He will give the Jews over to their enemies (Hab 1:5-6).

After the Jews rejected their teaching, Paul explicitly tells them the work God is dong in verse 47 when he says,

“For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'” (Acts 13:47)

Again quoting from the prophet Isaiah to show that this has always been God’s plan. A plan that was hidden but is now revealed (Col 1:26-27). Salvation has come to the Gentiles. God’s plan has always been to unite them as one man in Christ (Eph 2:11-22).

Through Jesus we are all united to one another – Jew and Gentile, poor and rich, slave and free. In Christ, we are all equal. We are all brothers and sisters. We are adopted into the same family through the death of Jesus for our sins and the forgiveness extended by the Father and the work done by the Spirit to draw and regenerate. Because of the Work of God, an amazing work we cannot even fathom, we all experience salvation in Jesus alone.

God is doing a work in our day. A work no one would believe if told beforehand. God is uniting us all in Christ. He breaks down divisions. If we want to experience unity, we must turn to Christ. We must recognize that at the foot of the cross all men and women are equal. No one is greater than another. No one is loved by God more than another. We are all one, a new humanity, a new people in Christ.

Reach the nations in your backyard

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Evangelism, PracticalLeave a comment

“And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.””(Acts 10:15)

In a vision, God makes it clear to Peter that the gospel is for the nations. Peter is sent to Cornelius, who was a centurion, a Gentile. He was not a part of the nation of Israel by birth, but Peter was sent to fellowship with and present the good news of Jesus to him and those who were with him.

In this instance, God shows that He is for the nations. The good news that Jesus provides forgiveness of sins is not solely a message for Israel. Rather it is a message for the entire world. As Peter says in verse 43,

“To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43)

Everyone who believes in Jesus, no matter what background or nationality, can experience salvation. They can be forgiven of their sins and experience peace with God.

We are a testimony to God’s plan for the nations. Most of you who are reading this post are Gentiles who have been grafted into Israel. We are the nations. In order to continue to reach the nations, we don’t have to go much further than our own community. That is not to say we shouldn’t send missionaries overseas, we certainly should. But we must not forget that the nations to whom Jesus directs the disciples are you and me. We have the nations in our own backyard.

Part of living life “on mission” for Jesus is to reach the nations. We have an opportunity to do that each and everyday. Will you begin building relationships with your neighbors and co-workers in an attempt to reach the nations? Will you have someone over to your home for dinner in an attempt to reach the nations? Will you walk across the ball field and talk to another parent on the sidelines in an attempt to reach the nations? Will you have lunch with a co-worker in an attempt to reach the nations?

The nations are right here in our own backyard will you make an attempt to reach them?

Are you prayerfully depending on the Spirit to build your church?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, EvangelismLeave a comment

“And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”” (Acts 8:29)

The book of Acts follows directly from the gospel of Luke. It is a continuation of the story. One of Luke’s purposes is to show how the promised Spirit guides and directs Jesus’ disciples so that the church is built.

In Acts 8, the church is scattered as Paul begins his reign of persecution. Philip finds himself on the way to Gaza. As he travels, there is a man, a Eunuch, who worked in the Ethiopian queen’s court. Traveling in a chariot, he was reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit directs Philip to join the Ethiopian in his chariot. He has the opportunity to explain the passage he was reading, connect it to Jesus and the good news of Jesus life and death for us. The man believed and was promptly baptized as a public profession of faith. After baptizing the Ethiopian, Philip was directed once again by the Spirit to another place.

Today’s passage teaches us to rely on the Spirit. He is the One directing and guiding us as we live “on mission” for Jesus. If we are going to be disciples who make disciples, we need to prayerfully depend on the Spirit to guide and direct us to those in whom the Lord is at work. We are Jesus’ instruments used by Him to build His church.

Are you prayerfully depending on the Spirit to build your church? Are you praying that the Spirit would provide you an opportunity to minister to someone today? Are you hopeful that the Spirit is at work in your life, your family, and your community, drawing people to Christ? Do you long to be a part of the work the Spirit is doing?

To whom is He directing you today?