Sunday 28 Apr 2013

Sunday Reading: Luke 9:1-5

Key Verse: Luke 9:3
3  And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.

Devotion:
When Christ sent the twelve disciples out to preach the gospel He did not send them out with the full backing of a charity, sponsors, organisation or any other team that would supply their every need; instead He sent them out telling them not to take anything with them and not to fully rely on anyone else other than God. Yes He had given them instruction on how to teach and preach and He gave them power over all manner of things including the power to heal, but He sent them out saying that they should not be anxious for anything because God was going to supply their needs.

Notice that Christ did not say that He would supply them with their desires or that they would have a comfortable life but simply that they needed to go out and give the people around them that had everything even more! They were to go to the people that had everything and give them the gospel – something that they did not have!

I am in the habit of wearing a bracelet with a Christian slogan on it so that when people ask about it it gives me another opportunity to tell them about God. I tend to buy one and wear it until it literally falls off. I managed to wear my F.R.O.G. one for almost two years before it got caught on something and broke; there are times when I look at my current W.W.J.D. and think about the fact that Jesus did fully rely on God for everything as well. He was out ultimate example and He was now giving the disciples the instruction to go forward and do what He had taught them to do by example.

If we are brave enough to take up that challenge and go forward in the name of God, then He is going to step up and support us in our ministry just as He did with Jesus and then the disciples. When we try to plan too much and try to make sure that we have everything sorted just the way we want it we will quickly find out that life is not fair. Life does not play out according to our rules and according to what we have planned out. Life is there and it happens around us no matter what we do so we have to be prepared to get on and just do things at times. As long as we are relying on God and take Him with us, then He will honour our work and give us the strength and wisdom we need to deliver the gospel to those people around us. Fully Rely On God!

Points to Ponder:
DO you like planning everything?

Do you know God already knows what is going to happen?