Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace. 1 Peter 4:10
The church exists that we, its members, may carry out the Great Commission: "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). Have you ever considered how awesome a task that is -- making disciples of all nations? It is not just our family, our community, or our country, but all nations. That translates into bringing the Good News to over five billion people scattered throughout the world and speaking thousands of different languages. And it means bringing the Good News to those who are members of our own family.
But for such a task God gives the awesome power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. He gives us the power of the Gospel and the promise that His Word will not return void. God gives us resources for the task at hand. And in addition to that, the Lord gives each of us at least one spiritual gift to be used in carrying out the Great Commission.
Our Lord challenges us as good stewards to use our gifts to make disciples of all nations. It is an awesome task, but we also have awesome help from an awesome God, whose Son died that we might live, paying the price that we might have forgiveness. The awesomeness of God's power translates into saving love.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, use me and my gifts in serving others. Amen.
(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Jeremiah 33, 21 Hebrews 9
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