Matthew 28:19–20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

January 26th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

In Jesus’ day, disciples were learners who sat at the feet of their masters, taking in their every word. Disciples desire to conform their lives to the life of their teacher. To make disciples, means to help unbelievers, agnostics, atheists, and religious people, become fully devoted followers of Jesus. To Go, means a change of location. An old friend of mine told me many years ago, “It may be to go across the room, across the city, across the country, or across the world, but you cannot be obedient and stay in the exact same place.” That challenge still rings out today.

More than a 100 years ago, a primitive tribe in New Guinea was given a sundial as a gift. They didn’t understand its purpose and instead of viewing it as something functional, they viewed it as something sacred. Wanting to honor and protect the gift, they built a hut over it, rendering it completely useless. We might laugh at the irony of this, but many believers do the same thing with God. There is a danger of making our belief in Him so reverent, solemn, and honoring, that we partition off a little area of our lives and make sure God stays within that area, never spilling out into everyday life. When we truly love and submit our lives to God, it will cause us to desire what God desires. And Jesus tells us that what God desires is for us to first be His disciples, and then to go and be fruitful, making more disciples as we lead people back to His throne of grace.

“LORD, as we go today to share Your love with a dying world, put someone in our path that needs You. Then, LORD, give us the words to present You to them in such a way that they cannot help but be drawn to You and be saved.”