God’s Word for Today

Read John 4:27-38 and Acts 1:8

Thoughts for Today

If you have been fasting from food in order to seek the Lord in prayer for revival and awakening, you can identify with Jesus. The disciples were trying to get Him to eat, but He was preparing to reap a spiritual harvest of a city. His food was to obey the will of His Father. Sometimes a spiritual purpose will be far more important to us than taking time to eat.

Jesus’ disciples were surprised when they found Him speaking to the woman. A Jewish man would not be caught in public talking to a Samaritan woman, especially a divorcee with five ex-husbands. What was He doing? The disciples may have expected a spiritual harvest when Jesus established His kingdom. Jesus essentially said, “Why wait? It’s harvest time now!”

Let’s hear His words for us. We could be saying something like this:

• Maybe awakening will come when all the churches experience revival.

• We can’t expect a harvest when the lost world is so cold and hardened.

• He’s delayed 2,000 years to come back. We don’t need to rush now.

• We have tried before (fished all night). This isn’t a good time.

One day Peter and his partners had been fishing all night. But Jesus told them to go into the deep water and drop their nets. They reluctantly obeyed and caught so many fish they nearly sank two boats! “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!’ ” (Luke 5:8). That’s the day Jesus called him to fish for men. Did you notice the great harvest of fish came before Peter confessed his sin? Sometimes God’s kindness brings repentance (Rom. 2:4).

The harvest is the Lord’s work. He has chosen us to be workers together with Him in this great task. He is bringing in a harvest in many places around the world. He is fully able to do that where we live also. Let’s pay attention to His final statement of His final command to us and be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. Jesus would say to us, “Open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready for harvest” (John 4:35).

It’s Time to Pray

1. Pledge your willingness to obey God, and ask Him to bring in a great harvest for His glory. Continue to pray for workers for the harvest.

2. Ask God what He wants you to do today to apply what He has revealed.

God’s Word for Today

Read John 4:28-30, 39-42 (or the larger passage John 4:1-42)

Thoughts for Today

This story about Jesus’ encounter with the Woman at the Well is a powerful story of the change Jesus can make in a community in a very short period of time. Think about this woman. How long had she known Jesus before she began to tell her whole town about Him? What training had she received? This woman got a taste of “Living Water” and her life was changed. The Living Water bubbled up out of her life and became evident to those who heard her story. Like Andrew and Philip (Day 14), she immediately had to go tell others and bring them to meet Jesus for themselves. When many in the town believed in Jesus Christ, they had an experience of their own not just the words of another.

Yesterday, I asked you to reflect on your story. What have you experienced in your encounter with Jesus Christ that has changed your life? What is your testimony? Today, I want you to think about your town.” Who are the people who need to hear your testimony?

It’s Time to Pray

1. Ask God to reveal the people in your “town” who may already be prepared to respond when they hear your story. Would they be people in your home, neighborhood, school, workplace, or gym? Or is your “town” the people who knew you in your “before Christ” days? Ask God for the boldness to share your story with your town. Describe or name the people God places on your mind and heart on a sheet of paper.

2. Ask God what He wants you to do today to apply what He has revealed. What actions will you take?

3. Pray today by name for a person who has yet to believe in Christ as Savior. (Add this name to your ongoing list.)  CLICK HERE for ways to pray for that person.

God’s Word for Today

Read Mark 5:1-20

Thoughts for Today

Think about the story this formerly demon-possessed man had to tell back home. That surely was a powerful testimony! When Jesus said we would be His witnesses (Acts 1:8), this is what He was talking about. A witness is one who reports on what he knows and has personally experienced. No one but you can tell your story as a personal testimony. And when you are filled with His Holy Spirit, you will have power in your witness to Him.

Today, I want you to reflect on all the good things God has done for you. What changes has Christ worked in your life? How is your life different because you have known Christ? Where do you think you would be had you not placed your faith in Him?  Take notes on a sheet of paper if you need to.

If you are meeting with others in your family for this daily prayer and devotional time, share your stories with one another. Tell about His wonderful works in your behalf. Praise and thank Him together.

It’s Time to Pray

1. Thank God for all the good things He has done for you. Be specific.

2. Pray today by name for a person who has yet to believe in Christ as Savior. (Add this name to your ongoing list.)  CLICK HERE for ways to pray for that person. Pray today for others on your list.

3. Pray about when and how you will share your story with your people back home. Are there people who knew your “before Christ” story that you need to tell?

God’s Word for Today

Read Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47-48; John 20:21-22; and Acts 1:8

Thoughts for Today

Final words of famous people are long remembered and often quoted. When a person knows he is on his death bed, he might even prepare a final statement of challenge to family and friends. Final words can have great significance for the next generation.

Jesus Christ came to provide salvation for all mankind. Following His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus spent forty days giving His disciples their final instructions to guide the church until His second coming. Not many of those words were recorded in the Scripture for us to read. But some were recorded, and they were perhaps His most important last words.

Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave one final command to His disciples. He didn’t want His disciples to miss this most important commission for the church. The future of His kingdom would depend on their obedience. Each of the Gospel writers records a variation of this command indicating that Jesus gave special attention to it during His final days on earth. You read those in the Scriptures above.

How faithful have you been to obey Christ’s final command? Are you making disciples as you go about your daily living? Have you preached the good news? Are you talking with others about repentance and forgiveness that is available through Jesus Christ? Since Jesus was sent to seek and save the lost, are you seeking to point lost people to Him for salvation?

It’s Time to Pray

1. Talk to God about the status of your obedience to Christ’s final command. If your obedience is lacking, confess your sin. Ask Him to guide and enable your obedience.

2. Ask God what He wants you to do today to apply what He has revealed. What actions will you take?

3. Pray today by name for a person who has yet to believe in Christ as Savior. (Add this name to your ongoing list.)  CLICK HERE for ways to pray for that person.

God’s Word for Today

Read Matthew 9:35-38

Thoughts for Today

When Jesus “saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them” (v. 36). The closer you get to Jesus and the more time you spend with Him, the more your heart will begin to beat with love for those He loves.

Think about the crowds Jesus may have seen in Israel 2,000 years ago. How large were they? Five, ten, or twenty thousand? Maybe more? Now think about the crowds you have seen live, in books or magazines, on television, or in the movies. Have you seen some of those crowds with hundreds of thousands of people? Have you seen crowds in the cities where masses of people go by continually? In our world the numbers of people in the spiritual harvest field are multiplying rapidly. Who will tell them the good news? Who will go? Who will have the privilege of reaping the spiritual harvest among them?

When Jesus saw the crowds of His day, He asked His disciples to pray for workers in the harvest fields. If you still have your Bible open to Matthew, take a look at chapter 10. Just after the disciples prayed for workers, Jesus told them to go into the towns and cities to preach the good news about His kingdom.

Today, keep your eyes open to see the crowds around you, in newspapers or magazines, or on the Internet or television. When you see a crowd, pray that God will call and send out workers to that harvest field.

It’s Time to Pray

1. Pray for the workers who are already working to bring in a spiritual harvest. Pray for their protection, wisdom, spiritual and physical health, and fruitfulness. Pray that God will call and send workers. Pray that He will call some from your church and even from your family.

2. Give God permission to call and direct you to work in the harvest. Ask God what He wants you to do today to apply what He has revealed. What actions will you take?

3. Pray today by name for one person or even for a crowd or people group who have yet to believe in Christ as Savior. (Add this name(s) to your ongoing list.)  CLICK HERE for ways to pray for that person.

God’s Word for Today

Read Luke 16:19-31 and Luke 21:25-28

Thoughts for Today

Jesus is coming again! Our redemption is drawing near. But people without the saving work of Jesus Christ are headed to horrible torment in hell.

In 2002, one year after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I was asked by the North American Mission Board to consider being the prayer coordinator for the Strategic Focus Cities emphasis in New York City. I had been involved with prayer retreats and conferences in the city. Though my family could not relocate, I knew at the least I needed to pray. The Lord brought 1 Corinthians 7:29 to my attention: “The time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none” (KJV). My wife and family prayed and sensed God was asking us for a different measure of sacrifice. So for over two years, I lived in New York for three weeks each month and spent the other week in Tennessee with my family.

Time is short and eternity is long. We’ve been warned what life without Christ will be like in eternity. The Lord wants none “to perish, but all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). On my way to New York City, I realized that “time is short” could mean the Lord knows other attacks are coming. But then I realized “time is short” could mean that Jesus’ second coming is near. Finally, I realized that life is short. Whether the Lord returns soon, or I face a tragedy or disease that could take my life, or I just grow old—any way my life on earth concludes—time to trust Christ is short. Then I realized I need to live my life with urgency. I can’t afford to waste my time and life on trivial matters.

As you pray for those in your circles of relationships who are yet to believe, keep their eternal destiny on your heart.

It’s Time to Pray

1. Ask God to reveal to you the people around you who are headed to torment without Christ. Ask Him to give you a view of the masses around the world who are yet to hear about Jesus. Ask Him to give you His compassion for those for whom He died and ask Him to stir up an urgency in your living for His sake.

2. Ask God what He wants you to do today to apply what He has revealed. What actions will you take?

3. Pray today by name for a person who has yet to believe in Christ as Savior. (Add this name to your ongoing list.)  CLICK HERE for ways to pray for that person.

God’s Word for Today

Read Matthew 7:7-11 and James 5:13-20

Thoughts for Today

Years ago I revised the book Concentric Circles of Concern by Oscar Thompson and Carolyn Thompson Ritzmann (Oscar’s widow). In it, Oscar tells the story of one of his seminary students named Dick. Dick began making a list of the people in his concentric circles of relationships like you started on Day 7. He began to pray for his great aunt Alice. On her 83rd birthday, he sent her a birthday card.

Later he and his wife went to visit her in the nursing home where she lived. As he began to talk about what he was learning about relationships, he described the importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ. She began weeping. She had been a member of the church most of her life, but no one had explained how she could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Dick had the privilege of leading his great aunt to faith that day. A few months later great aunt Alice entered eternity; and Dick asked, “Dr. Thompson, what if I had not listed her in my concentric circles? What if I had not done my survey?”

After Dick listed his great aunt on his survey, he began to pray for her. As he prayed, God began to give him a special concern for her. He worked on rebuilding a relationship with her that became a bridge over which the gospel flowed.

The two Scriptures you read at the beginning of the day are wonderful promises regarding the power of prayer. Now that you have begun to survey and list your VIPs, I want you to begin praying for them. God wants to work through you, and one way will be through your prayers.

It’s Time to Pray

1. Ask God to guide your prayers for the people on your list according to His will.

2. CLICK HERE to use some of the prayer suggestions in your prayers for the people on your list. As you pray, be sensitive to ways God may guide you to take action in reaching out to those individuals.

God’s Word for Today

Read John 1:35-51

Thoughts for Today

When Andrew and Philip met Jesus, they immediately thought of others in their circles of relationships that needed to meet Him. They immediately brought Peter and Nathaniel to meet Jesus. Today, I want you to begin thinking about the people in your circles of relationships who need to meet Jesus as Savior and Lord. Follow the prayer suggestions below and then list the names of people you know who need to be introduced to Jesus.

It’s Time to Pray

1. Ask God to remind you about the time you were first introduced to Jesus. Reflect on the change that Jesus has worked in your own life.

2. Ask God to begin identifying people you know who are living without a faith relationship with Jesus Christ. Think about those in the concentric circles of relationship illustrated above.  Add any names that God has put on your heart, to your ongoing list.

God’s Word for Today

Read John 13:34-35 and John 15:9-17

Thoughts for Today

The world will know we are followers of Jesus Christ by the love we demonstrate toward one another. This past summer I saw this reality during a trip to Sierra Leone (West Africa). I heard story after story of former Muslims who had come to faith in Christ. Their lives were so radically changed by Christ, they began to act like Him and love like Him. They could not contain the good news of the gospel’s power to change lives. I met one former sheik who had helped start 100 churches in the past four years. I visited one of those churches that were less than a year old. They already had plans to take this good news to five other villages around them.

I was told how over 35 (they quit counting) villages sent their Muslim leaders to ask the storytellers (church planters) to come to their villages. They saw the way people in other villages loved one another. They saw the way men treated their wives and children differently and they wanted that for their village. The love of Christ demonstrated through the lives of Christ-followers is a powerful testimony and makes the gospel attractive.

In Concentric Circles of Concern, Oscar Thompson said, “Love is meeting needs” (p. 157). Another demonstration of love I saw in Sierra Leone came through ministry to the needs of people. Following the civil war, a seed bank provided seed and farm tools to a community on the verge of starvation. Today, there is a church planting movement among the Susu people because the love of Christ opened the door. Storytellers offer to help dig wells (by hand), start schools, provide medical and dental care, provide job training, and a host of other access ministries to communities in need of the gospel. In six years, they have started over 3,000 churches and they are sending missionaries to other nations throughout Africa.

What does your love for others reveal? Would people know you are a disciple of Jesus Christ because of the sacrificial way you love?

It’s Time to Pray

1. Pray that God will so fill you with His love that it will overflow to those in your circles of relationships. Pray that God will draw people to Jesus because of the love they see in your life.

2. Ask God what He wants you to do today to apply what He has revealed. What actions will you take? As you pray for people on your list, ask the Lord to show you ways to show love to them.

God’s Word for Today

Read John 14:15-23 and Matthew 7:21-27

Thoughts for Today

Hasn’t Jesus made some wonderful promises to us? He has promised the Holy Spirit as our Counselor who will never leave us alone. He has promised us life in Him and in the Father. When we love Him and obey His commands, the Father will love us and Christ will reveal Himself to us. When we love and obey God, He takes up residence in our lives to live in us and with us! Did you notice the importance of obedience in all those promises? Those who do not obey do not love Him. And their experience with God will be very different.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told the parable about the two builders. One built his house on a rock, and the other built his on sand. When the storms came, the house on the rock stood firm and the other was destroyed. He said our lives are like those two builders. Those who obey are wise like the man who built his house on the rock. When the storms of life come, we can remain strong through the tough times. Those who do not obey are foolish like the man who built his house on the sand. People like that cannot remain strong when the storms of life rage around them.

If God were to grade your obedience to His commands, what kind of grade would you receive from Him? Based on your obedience and what He has said in His Word, what can you expect from Him? Can you expect a strong life even during the storms? Can you expect Him to reveal Himself to you and take up residence in your life? Or can you expect to collapse when the storms of life come. Could you possibly hear Him say, “I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers” (Matt. 7:23)?

Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven, that person is My brother and sister and mother” (Matt. 12:50). Though we are not saved by obedience and our good works, they are evidence that we share the family resemblance. They show others that we belong to His family.

It’s Time to Pray

1. Ask God to evaluate your obedience. What does that reveal about your love for Him? Your relationship to Him?

2. Ask God what He wants you to do today to apply what He has revealed. What actions will you take to obey Him and experience His best?

3. Pray today by name for a person who has yet to believe in Christ as Savior. (Add this name to your ongoing list.)  CLICK HERE for ways to pray for that person.