Daily devotion – wisdom to a lost world
Pro 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
As we start into the New Year 2024, we need to prepare for how we can bring those who are lost into the Light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We find ourselves living in a very different world from just a few years past. Previously, everybody in Australia once identified with a Christian denomination – Catholic, Church of England, Presbyterian, Methodist and more.
All families had at least some connection to a local Church in some way or another. Scripture was part of the education curriculum and all students participated in such. Each community had their local Church in their recognised denomination. Families worshipped in these Churches for generations, and ninety nine percent of the population of Australia had a knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Shift to 2024, it’s like we are now living on another planet. With many Australians having no knowledge whatsoever of Jesus Christ and no connection with a local Church.
So we have people who visit Church and instead now they come with may preconceived ideas and they are not shy in expressing their opinion immediately in critiquing the Church. It’s akin to someone being a guest in your home for the first time and they go through your house adjudicating the colours, the layout, the lighting let alone the food that is placed before them in a meal. It’s a different world now!
This is why we as Christians today need to be wise in how we can share the Gospel to people who have an opinion about everything, including God!
We need to approach this generation knowing that they have no Bible knowledge and if they have any religious views, it’s a conglomerate of personal concepts and a mixture of every strange belief that now exists.
We need the Lord to lead us to those who have a sincere heart to know God – that is step one, and that only comes by asking God to guide our everyday to meet such people.
Secondly, we need to wait for the door to be opened by God to ask the right question at the right time. A wonderful example of this is found in the book of Acts chapter 8: 26 – 40.
We find the Lord guiding Philip to this man from Ethiopia who was a sincere seeker of the Lord but just did not know what to do. As we read the story we find Philip being patient, waiting for the moment and then walking through the door to this man’s heart when God opened it.
Let us remember, sharing the Gospel is not simply a process we go about in the same manner each day to every person we meet. Salvation of a lost soul is the work of God and we are the humble instrument hopefully being obedient to God’s leading and with sincere hearts for the lost of our world.
This year, ask the Lord to use you to be part of the most miraculous event that can happen to another person’s life. To be part of the way in which a lost hungry heart can know Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour.
This is still our mission and the command that Jesus gave us is what we need to fulfil this year.
Be wise….be patient….be loving….and let God use you.