SUNDAY OCTOBER 6
“How
can they hear, unless someone tells them?”
Ro 10:14 CEV
REACH
OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE (2)
John Ortberg says: “(1) Never rule anybody out. Jesus reached out to tax collectors,
lepers, sinners, and Gentiles, and they shocked the religious establishment by
saying yes…Maybe there’s somebody in
your world who’s so far from God you’ve written them off…a relative who
ridicules your faith…an acquaintance who’s resisted for years…somebody so
steeped in sin you think there’s no hope? Never say no for another person…you don’t know when their heart will soften
or how God’s Spirit will work.” (2) Put
yourself in the other person’s shoes. Ortberg continues: “Blocks from my
parent’s home…is the largest Buddhist temple in America. I checked it out and
received amazing insight into how intimidating it is to go into a place of
worship as a stranger not knowing the customs. When you invite someone to
church they’re much more likely to go if you go together. Then have coffee
together and talk about what took place.” (3)
Be the hands and feet of Jesus. Jewish law prohibited lepers from having
contact with non-lepers. But when a leper approached Jesus, He reached out and
touched the man who hadn’t been touched in years (See Mk 1:40-45). Was Jesus
infected by his leprosy? No, He infected the leper with the gospel, because
Jesus was more contagious with God’s power than the leper was with his disease.
Be a contagious Christian who infects others with God’s love. Look at your hands.
How often do you extend them to someone far from God? His kingdom has been
spread the same way for two thousand years: by believers who reach out and
bring people to Christ!
Taken
from the Word for you Today Devotional.
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