Keeping The Main Thing The Main Thing

I've written about the mission statement of Jesus more than once, mainly because Jesus consistently had it in mind. (click here and here for those previous articles)

We have a well-rounded, meet-every-need Savior. 

In a very real way, He actively "kept the main thing the main thing." Jesus had a teaching/preaching ministry, healing ministry, feeding ministry, deliverance ministry, and a prayer ministry. He did it all, but not necessarily all on the same day. 

Early in His ministry, Jesus was in Capernaum. He taught in the synagogue there, then healed the sick and cast out demons. 

At the end of a very long, hard day, He went to "a lonely place" to pray, but the multitude crowded in. "Please don't leave. We want you to do some more exciting things. We have more people who need healing. We need more miracles." (That's the Leanna paraphrase, but it seems, from Scripture, as if that's what they meant.) 

Jesus declined their invitation. What He told them is interesting in light of all He'd done in their town.

"I didn't come just to dazzle you with miracles. I came to preach the Kingdom of God in as many places as possible." (This is the Leanna paraphrase of Luke 4:43) 

His objective was not a healed body, but a healed soul.

That's it. The Kingdom of God is the "main thing," and Jesus kept that in mind. He did many other types of ministry, but all were done with the purpose of sharing the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

It should be our "main thing," too. Every act of mercy, bit of food handed to the hungry, shelter for the homeless, bit of clothing for the naked, and every visit to the imprisoned should be done with one objective in mind. Sharing the gospel of Christ. 

His mission statement should also be ours. We, too, should have as our objective to preach the gospel in as many places as possible.

Today, no matter what "job" we do, let's make the most important work a priority. Preach the gospel of Christ to all, whether in word or deed. 

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I'm interested in the creative ways in which the Kingdom message is being preached.  How have you shared the gospel? What ministry efforts have you used to accomplish gospel-sharing? 
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post:  Taking the Long View

As you consider your year-end giving, please consider including support for this ministry, which is totally dependent upon the support of those who partner with us. We need your prayers, your hands to help, and your financial gifts to continue.

Here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841 If you'd rather use a check or money order, make it out to Global Outreach. Remember to put "Account 4841" on the "for" line. Mail it to: Global Outreach, PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802

#Christian #devotional

The Battle Plan of Jesus: Fighting with Love

I started November with a plan to write about something for which I was thankful every day. The turmoil of the election derailed that plan. It has felt as if  we are in a battle of anger and words. 

Today, I'm turning my attention away from the Great Divide and toward the battle plan of God. Admittedly, it's not a typical battle plan, but it's no less effective for it's unusual nature. We'd do well to adopt the strategy for our own.

Jesus was in Capernaum, just starting out his public ministry. He had been invited to read from the Scriptures. The book of Isaiah was handed to Him, and He chose to read from Isaiah 61. The passage was His mission statement, He told the listeners. It was the reason He came.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor... " (Luke 4:18 NASB)

Matthew Henry, a late 1600's theologian, wrote: "having defended himself against the devil’s assaults, he now begins to act offensively, and to make those attacks upon him, by his preaching and miracles, which he could not resist or repel." 

Jesus defended himself successfully against the devil's temptations, but a battle is not won with defense alone. Defeating an enemy requires a strong and effective offense as well. 

In this passage, we see Jesus' offensive plan against the kingdom of darkness begin to unfold. His five-pronged approach was one of the most unlikely offenses imaginable.

The first prong was to preach the gospel to the poor.  It's not likely Jesus meant only the poor in money. He is also poor who has mountains of money but is estranged from our Lord. Jesus came for those who are poor spiritually, as well as those who are financially poor.

Jesus came to release those held captive to sin, held in bondage from poor choices and the power of evil. He offered freedom for all those who would accept Him as Savior. 

In order to accept that freedom, a recognition of the need for a Savior must come first, so Jesus included an attack against spiritual blindness in His battle plan. 

Jesus came for sinners, of which I am chief. It's what the apostle Paul said, and it's true of me. If we're honest, it's true of all of us. 

Today, let's turn our eyes away from the turmoil, away from the Great Divide, and toward our Savior. Ask Him for the sight to see our own hearts as He sees them, then allow Him to make whatever changes are necessary. 

If we're going to fight, let fight as Jesus did, who chose love as His weapon and freedom from sin as His objective. He out-loved His enemy, and we should, too.
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In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: If We Know Better, We Should Do Better
If you'd like to help support this ministry outreach, here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841
photo above is sunrise over the Sea of Galilee
#Jesus #loveothers

Finding Christmas: The Mission Statement

It was Chicago, October, 2003. I was attending a conference for Christian healthcare workers. One of the speakers used Isaiah 61 as the basis for his talk, and it changed how I saw Jesus and my obedience to Him. 

In a subtle way, I had begun to think of Jesus as mostly a healer of physical ills. He healed everywhere He went. He's the Great Physician. I saw the miraculous healings and, in a subtle way, mistakenly thought they were the "main thing", but they were not. Jesus made that clear from the start.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

Because the Lord has anointed me

To bring good news to the afflicted;

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to aptives,

And freedom to prisoners;

To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord...

                                     Isaiah 51:1-2 nasb

You probably remember this passage. It's Jesus' "mission statement." Hundreds of years after it was written, Jesus stood in the synagogue in Nazareth and read Isaiah 61:1-2. "Today, this is fulfilled in your presence," He told those listening. 

It didn't go well. Before he was through talking, the men there that day tried to throw him off a cliff. 

They wanted Jesus' miraculous healings. They wanted His water-into-wine trick. They didn't want to hear His good news or His proclamation of liberty.

He came to spread the good news of freedom in Christ. 

Christ did not come to tout a set of rules or beat us into submission.

He came to set us free. 

He did not come to heal all our sickness or remove all our sorrow.

He came to proclaim liberty to those bound by sin and its consequences.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus this year, let's also celebrate the work He came to do... proclaiming, declaring, offering freedom, providing balm and binding hurt.

If we are to follow Him, we, too, must embrace the work He came to do. We, too, must make bringing the good news of Christ to a dark and perishing world our highest priority. Every other action must be made with the proclamation of truth as its objective.

My pastor said something yesterday that pretty much sums this up. "God was so excited about His plan to send Jesus that He couldn't wait to tell it. He announced it seven hundred years before He did it. If God was that excited about the coming of Christ, shouldn't we also be excited to tell the world?" 

We have good news and it's worth sharing. This Christmas, let's be sure to proclaim the best news of all. 

Christ has come. Christ has risen. Christ is coming again. Hallelujah.

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: Finding Christmas: Sustenance for the Weary, Finding Christmas: Remembering the Stripes,  Finding Christmas: Look to the Rock, Finding Christmas: The Rear Guard, Finding Christmas: Prosperity and Success,  Finding Christmas: Prophecy Fulfilled, Finding Christmas: The Good Husband, Finding Christmas: The Sin Fast.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: The Good Husband.

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#GoodNews #Advent #keepChristinChristmas #MerryChristmas #JesusChrist #disciple,#Wordbecameflesh #

The Five Pronged Plan (Luke 4:18)

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor...  (Luke 4:18 NASB)

The mission statement of Christ is so important that we are likely to spend several days here. Matthew Henry was a late 1600's theologian whose commentary on the entire Bible is still used today. He says about this first action out of the wilderness:"having defended himself against the devil’s assaults, he now begins to act offensively, and to make those attacks upon him, by his preaching and miracles, which he could not resist or repel." Jesus had defended himself successfully but the battle is not won with defense along. Defeating an enemy requires a strong and effective offense as well. 

We see here the offensive plan begin to unfold. What a plan is it! Jesus has come with an unlimited measure of the Holy Spirit (John 3:34) and has a five-pronged plan of attack. The first prong is to preach the gospel to the poor.  It is not likely Jesus meant only the poor in money. He is also poor who has mountains of money but is estranged from our Lord. Poverty of spirit involves not only meekness and humility, but also a repentant heart. 

Jesus came for sinners, of which I am chief. It's what the apostle Paul said, and it is true of me. It's probably true of you, too, isn't it? While we are still reveling in sin, we may be in pitiful shape spiritually, but that is not the same as being repentant. Jesus came to preach the gospel to the poor in spirit, but it requires recognition of the need for a Savior to actually accept Him. 

Today, we are acknowledging our own poverty of spirit and praying that God will bring such conviction upon our children and loved ones that the season of pleasure in sin and estrangement from Him would come to an end, replaced by poverty of spirit, and that true repentance leading to the transformation only Christ can bring will come. 

The Mission Statement (Luke 4:17-19)

"And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:17-19 NASB)

Jesus was the man chosen to give the sermon this particular day. The selected passage was from Isaiah. They handled Him the scroll, He unrolled it to the passage He wanted, and He began to read. What He was reading was His mission statement for the next three years. He was saying, "This is why I'm anointed by God. This is what I was sent to do." Everything else He did would be directed by the words of this passage. 

A mission statement is a declaration of goals and objectives. For a business, it tells why it exists and how it intends to accomplish that goal. Mission statements are important because they clarify purpose and help to keep us on track. 

Jesus, in announcing His mission statement, made it clear to everyone that He knew why He was here and how He intended to accomplish that purpose:

Preach the gospel, release the captives, recover sight for the blind, set free the oppressed, proclaim the favorable year of The Lord. 

Do you have a mission statement for your life? Do you know your God-given purpose and how He intended you to fulfill it? Spend some time today pondering your purpose in life and how well you are accomplishing it.  

Pray today that we will clearly see our purpose for existence. Pray that our loved ones will begin to ask the hard questions of "Why am I here?" and "What are my life goals?" Pray that they are more interested in divine purpose than in personal pleasure.