Good Thursday morning! Hmm, had a blank on the day for a bit; must be from the haircut letting all the heat out. Happiness is beeping a cat on the nose to start the day. Perhaps your happiness isn't predicated on that, but it seemed good to me this morning. The cat would rather have a good skritch of course, and then a nice nap-nap.
Send out the New One!
What is that supposed to mean? Sorry, but that's the title I was given when I asked for wisdom in the devotional this morning. I don't receive a few paragraphs from the Lord that I just type into the computer. However, I do almost always receive an idea or a picture of what to write about. I gotta put some effort into the writing to get a devotional; praise God for that privilege! What does this title mean to you and me today?
One possibility is the next great minister. Throughout the last two thousand years, we have enjoyed the work of the next new minister. First John the Baptist came, proclaiming the coming of God's kingdom and a savior. Then Jesus himself arrived and he chose Peter, John, and others to become disciples. Paul takes up his cross in Acts, Augustine and Constantine became Christians in the early centuries; Martin Luther and John Calvin came later; William Wilberforce stood against the slave trade in England; Billy Sunday and George Whitefield helped revive America, and on it goes until now. All over the world we have great ministers proclaiming the good news of Christ. When we think of great ministers we tend to think of the man standing up in church on a Sunday morning, or an evangelist leading a revival in a stadium with 50,000 people. However, the great ministers of each day are you and me.
We read about Peter as an example of what Jesus can do with a life surrendered to Him, but hundreds of lives were given to Jesus after his resurrection. Each of those little lives, people much like you and me, went out proclaiming the great news of life in Christ Jesus. The news of life in Christ spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. Ministers like George Whitefield could be heard by thousands without the luxury modern electronic amplification. Today we have the means to move this good news like no other age before us. Electronic communications of all types are available to spread the joy of eternal life in Christ. Who is the new one? You are, and I am, and the next person to accept Jesus as Lord. All of us are the next great thing in Christian ministry!
Each of us has a mission: near or far, to thousands or perhaps to just a few, we all have a new mission in Christ. Jesus makes each of us new each day. We may get up feeling the aches and pains like yesterday, but our minds and spirit are renewed each day to take up our cross. Our strength comes from the Lord, and nothing can stop the next New One!
Have a great new day in Christ Jesus!
Bucky
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