Proclaiming the Good News
6 Aug
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” ~ Luke 24:45-49 (ESV)
I have always admired missionaries; short-term and long-term. Laced with Grace team-members Angie, Kathy, and Laurie went on short-term mission trips this year. Marsha’s daughter and her family are long-term missionaries in Africa. I have a close friend who served many years in Taiwan…Oh what adventures to share the Good News of God’s redemption through Christ Jesus with the ones who do not know Him.
As I was reading about the adventures of my friends I thought about my own mission. What is my mission field? Where does God want me to go? Maybe it is not far away like Kenya, Honduras, or Taiwan. Maybe my mission is just around the corner; in my own backyard.
When Jesus appeared to His disciples in Jerusalem, He first offered peace to them (Luke 24:36). After He explained again that He had to suffer in order to free every soul from sin, He commissioned His disciples to proclaim the Good News to all nations. What encourages me though is that Christ said to “begin in Jerusalem.”
Yes, my heart longs to go on a mission trip (maybe the Far East). Right now I admire and support my missionary friends, but I will share the Good News in this place where I live. My mission is my next door neighbor, my struggling co-worker, the clerk at my local grocery store, my hurting friend in town. And maybe one day God will see it fit to send me across the ocean.
“I’ll be a carrier of love and compassion – I’ll be the carrier of light to the world. I’ll be a carrier of hope and salvation – I will go shine Your light to the world. I will go shine Your light to the world” ~ Jared Anderson
Lord of Heaven and Earth, You give us all a mission field; some are near and some are far. Lord, help us to be a light to the world. May we carry Your hope to the ones that are hurting, physically or emotionally. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.
Photo & Content Copyright © Iris Nelson



























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