Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 13:34). Paul was in heart anguish for unsaved Jews (Rom. 9:2-4). He wept night and day for three years as he evangelized Ephesus (Acts 20:31). (Google image, Jesus wept).
There are more unsaved people in the world today than ever before. If we go to the judgment seat of Christ not having wept over the lost of our city, or nation, and the other nations for whom Christ died, what will He say to us? How will we explain our lack of love and concern, our lack of burden in our daily prayer?
If your people never see you weep over the lost as you lead them in prayer in the services, how will they learn to weep as they pray for the unsaved millions of our world? Will they fail Christ and the unsaved because of your lack of example to them?
If your congregation goes to the judgment having only rarely, if ever, carried a great intercessory burden for evangelization, whom will God hold accountable? Usually it is like shepherd, like sheep.
In Luke 16 Jesus told the parable of the manager who wasted the possessions of his employer. He had to face a day of accounting for his failure. To whom was Jesus speaking when He taught this?
Not the unsaved multitude but to the disciples. Are your people wasting God's love for the lost by failing to bring it to them? Are they wasting Christ's blood shed for the unreached?
Are they wasting His promises which He commanded His church to appropriate in prayer? Are they wasting the opportunities He is giving them to reach the lost near them?
If they are, they will have to give an account. And you and I as leaders who failed to teach them and challenge them will give an even stricter account. Jesus said a severe judgment would face those who failed to use their talents before His return (Luke 19:20-23).
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Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana. Creative reading style by Jean.
Ablaze for God
#59 Do you Love the World as God Does?
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 179-180) ZondervanPublishingHouse
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| Prayers that Please God |
Father, give us a burden for the unsaved people in the world, and help us be willing to weep over them as Jesus did, and does.
He died for them, as well as for us who are believers; so we do have an obligation to pray for them.
May we start doing our part of Christ's commission of bringing folks to Him for the atonement He offers for their sins, and the Life for those who believe in Him.
Are we wasting Your love for the lost by failing to bring them to You, thus wasting Christ's blood shed for them?
Move on our pastors/teachers to teach us to stop wasting opportunities that are given to us to reach the lost around us; for they will give an account of their failure to do so.
We will give an account as well, as we are also to invite those we know who are not acquainted with the Savior and what all He has done for them.
May Your Holy Spirit convict us all of our lack of obeying the Lord's command to search and save the lost.
I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Today's Bible verses-
Eph. 5:18 - 21 (KJV) "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; (19) Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; (20) Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; (21) Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."
Today's quote-
~ Ruth Bell Graham- "There is no typical day. I try to work on letters in the morning. But every day is full of interruptions and I have to play this by ear. I think one thing that a busy housewife and mother has to learn is to accept interruptions as from the Lord. And the sooner she learns it, the happier she'll be.
When you do, then you roll with the punches, and each interruption is an opportunity. In other words, if I tried to keep a rigid schedule, every interruption would make me frustrated and irritated. But when I accept each interruption as from the Lord, life becomes much more interesting and much more relaxed." (Taken from p. 142 of RUTH Bell GRAHAM, Celebrating the Extraordinary Life).
Today's question-
What does spiritual vitality look like?
Our real refreshing in our spirits comes from our relationship with the Lord's Spirit. It's true, that even in a "storm," we can know peace when we've taken time to be in the Word, studying and worshipping the King of kings.
The Apostle Paul reminds us what it takes to be constantly refreshed. (See Ephesians 5 referenced above):
1. Speak to ourselves with hymns and spiritual songs and
be filled with the Holy Spirit
2. Give thanks, worshipping with deep gratitude for God's
blessings
3. Submitting to one another in good Christian fellowship and in the [reverential] fear of God the Father.
Unfortunately in hard times, many folks tend to stay away from church and godly friends, which is unwise, as that's where we'll find strength to bare up under difficult times and seasons.
As gratitude is not man's natural state of mind, we need to learn from others how that works to enable us to stay connected with the Father and one another. Our giving thanks becomes our life style when we understand this is so important for our spiritual vitality.
Upcoming posts-
#60 Prepare Your People to Pray
7th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
Pushing Red Buttons
9th- Saturday's post by Sarah Rollandini
#61 Prepare Your People for Prayer Ministry
12th- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
#62 Guide in Establishing Regular Daily Prayer Times
14th-Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel |
| Calm spring scene of mountains |
Jean's blog (Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)
Jean's published book Paper back $7.95
(Be sure to "look inside" to see contents
through the 2nd devotion)
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