Devotionals for the Heart: A Mission from God for all Christ-followers

How to Tell the World about Jesus Christ
A devotional by Karen Marstaller

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”—Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV)

Throughout the Bible, God gives His people jobs He wants them to do.

He begins in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, when He assigns Adam the job of tending the garden God made (Genesis 2:15). From there, Noah is commissioned to build an ark (Genesis 6:9-22). Later, God sends Moses to Egypt to lead His captive people to freedom in the Promised Land (Exodus 3:10). God’s message to work continues throughout the rest of His Word (The Holy Bible).

In the New Testament, God records the many miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is important to note that when Jesus is resurrected after His death on the Cross, God’s work continues in the lives of the followers of Jesus.

One of those followers of Jesus was a man named Paul, a well-educated Pharisee who initially persecuted the young church. After Paul met the risen Lord Jesus, he became a missionary who brought the message of salvation to the nations outside of Israel—the Gentile people.

Mission work is all about preaching the good news of Jesus, discipling believers in Jesus, and then equipping the new believers to also become missionaries. It was hard work. Even today, with airplanes, buses, and cars replacing Paul’s foot travel, missionary work is costly and time-consuming.

Paul was a tradesman who made tents to supplement his missionary journeys (Acts 18:3). All through the letters of Paul, he refers to his labor (1 Corinthians 4:12 and 1 Thessalonians 2:9). Paul knew and understood the value of hard work.

In today’s world, many pastors and missionaries are bi-vocational, just like Paul. They work in a career to tell people about Jesus, and they supplement their living expenses with a job doing something different. The work of Christians may look a little different from the tent-making of Paul, but the commitment to be useful sharing the gospel of Jesus is the same.

So, what is the work that the Lord asks us to do? Telling others about Jesus is our highest calling. And to work with our own hands is part of that calling. It is vital to our opportunities of meeting new people and sharing the hope we have in Jesus.

Here in my city, one of the restaurants is run by people who love the Lord. Their food is fresh, handmade, and always tasty. One of the most impactful things about their establishment is the walls. As you walk in the door, Bible verses are the first things you see. In beautiful hand-lettered script, the words of the Lord testify to His goodness. What started out as a restaurant known for its excellent bread also serves the Bread of Life—God’s Word.

The modern world jobs are myriad, and new job descriptions are being written every day to meet the needs of a growing global economy. But the job of Christians everywhere is to share about Jesus. Whether we are a corporate executive, a computer technician, a teacher, a bread baker, or a tent maker, the job we’ve been given enables us to draw people to our Lord and Savior. It doesn’t matter if it’s stencils on a wall of the workplace, or starting a lunchtime Bible study at work, it’s what the Lord puts in front of us to do.

We can work heartily because our work is for the delight of our Heavenly Father. We work for the King of Glory!

Let’s Pray: Lord Jesus, help us to take joy in the work You’ve allowed us to do. Please bless the people who will hear about Jesus as we go to work. Please help us to share Your love and Your salvation everywhere we go. Thank You, Lord. It is in Your Name we pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “The Mission” (song) by Steve Green. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Karen Marstaller is a retired high school teacher who spent most of her career challenging creative students to write. Her heart is for her readers.

She writes to encourage them, to make them laugh, to show them that life is a beautiful journey, and regardless of their past, to show them that there is joy ahead if they will just keep looking.

Karen and her husband live in central Texas in a sweet little home that they completely remodeled. They enjoy spending time with their family, which includes seven precious grandchildren.

Most of all, Karen writes in obedience to the command to love your neighbor, to offer a cup of water to those who are dying of thirst, and to comfort others with the comfort she has received.

You can reach Karen by emailing her at this address: klmarstaller@gmail.com

Devotionals for the Heart: Why we should go where God leads us

Going Where God Leads
A devotional by Aubrey Taylor

“Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers?” —Numbers 11:12 (ESV)

This verse (Numbers 11:12) evokes the image of someone carrying someone else: A mother cuddling her nursing child. A husband embracing his wife. God carrying His people. An individual, someone they would provide for and protect no matter what the cost.

Yet as Moses led the people through the wilderness, He became increasingly aware that this was not a task he was able to manage. The people of Israel numbered in the millions, with their problems and quarrels, feuds and illnesses. In context, this is what he is asking of the Lord.

A few verses later, Moses declares, “I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.” (Numbers 11:14-15).

Moses loved God’s people, and I think deep down he was happy to do it, but the weight of trying to carry these millions on his own was suffocating that passion. Perhaps he even felt as though God had set him up to fail. Is there something that you care deeply about, but the task seems overwhelming? Do you see a need that is so great that you don’t even know where to begin?

Some days, I feel that the more I learn, the less I understand. The more I see, the more I want to help, and the more I wonder where to begin. Perhaps it is fair to say that I have begun, but that it has led to more questions than answers!

This is when I throw everything down before the Lord and get on my knees. I cry out to Him because, like Moses, I too have people that I carry in my bosom. It is wrong to compare the significance of my calling with that of Moses. The fact is, we are simply to do our best with whatever God has given us. Like Moses, we also weren’t meant to do it alone.

Luke 10:2 (ESV) reminds us that “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

It is His harvest, and there is a dearth of laborers. As I am wrestling to determine the next steps, it is right to ask God for more helpers. A loving God would not set us up to fail. Moses himself declares, “Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11:29 ESV)

My prayer this year is that He would use my passion to stir up more people within His body, whether it be to join me in what I’m setting out to do, or to seek His heart and pour themselves into whatever He shows them. He has a purpose and plan for each of us.

Let’s Pray:
Dear God, Lord of the Harvest, we thank You today for how active You are in the world. You are at work in every place and every circumstance, more than able to meet every need. I ask You to send laborers into those places where more laborers are needed. If I have not yet been called to a specific ministry, I ask that You would place something into my heart that I could be a part of. I know that where You guide, you will provide. If you have already called me to something, I pray that I would continue to be faithful in it until You steer me in another direction. Thank You for your work in the world. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Song of Reflection: “I Will Go” by Steve Green. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

The only child of a single parent, Aubrey Taylor filled her younger years by creating characters and writing stories. This ended around age sixteen when music, friends and part-time jobs began to fill her time. After that came college, work, marriage, and children.

It wasn’t until the world was beginning to come out of the COVID pandemic that God led her back to her love for writing, coupled with a passion she’d always had for history. It was time to start a new adventure! Her current long-term project is Gott Mit Uns, a German-perspective 20th century historical fiction series.

Aubrey lives in Upstate New York with her husband and three children. She’s busy keeping the home, caring for her family, doing research for and writing her books.

Aubrey enjoys music and is involved with the worship ministry at her church as well as a German choral group. She also plays gigs occasionally with friends as a singer and acoustic guitarist. After all that, she finds time to sketch, craft, and hike.

She is a lover of Jesus Christ, The Holy Bible, history, German culture, tea, and cats.

Aubrey has a special heart for those who struggle with severe anxiety, depression and PTSD.

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Connect with Aubrey:
Website: https://www.aubreytaylorbooks.com
Blog: https://www.aubreytaylorbooks.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aubreytaylorbooks/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/aubtaybooks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aubreytaylorbooks/

Devotionals for the Heart: Our Mission

Purpose and Productivity
A devotional by Glynis Becker

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” 

–Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)

Have I somehow made “being productive” and “finding purpose” an idol in my life? I am aware, as most of us are, that God’s version of things like love, peace, happiness, and success are often very different from what the world expects. So my fear is that along the way, I have turned God’s calling and purpose for my life into an end goal it was never supposed to be.

I grew up in the church. I never felt a call to be a missionary or a pastor, but I always thought that somehow, with whatever talent I possessed, I would someday do “big things” for God. Yet here I am, in middle-age, feeling let down and afraid that I might have missed that one thing God had for me to do.

As I was pondering that rather depressing thought, a realization hit me that I know could only have come from God: He doesn’t need me to worry about doing big things or small things or even anything at all. He just needs my willingness and obedience for those moments when He does ask me to do something.

I only have so many days, so many years, and only this one life and I don’t want to waste it. But I have spent a lot of energy trying to figure out my purpose. What if what God really needs from me is to be still, listen to His voice, love Him and the people around me? What if I miss that because I’m looking to do something bigger? What if there really is no “one purpose”, but just day-to-day trust and obedience?

My father-in-law remarked once that when his kids were little, he’d gotten a video camera. He spent so much time trying to capture memories of school concerts and vacations, that he ended up only really experiencing them through the lens, feeling like he’d missed the event itself. I don’t want to be looking so hard for something that I miss the things around me.

Not all of us will have a platform for evangelism like Billy Graham, or have the resume of a Moses or King David. But we all have people in our lives who need to hear the Truth. We have children to raise to know Jesus. We have jobs to do with integrity so that people know we are people of good character. We have small kindnesses to do in our corner of the world. We can support others doing work in places around the world we will never see.

Worrying takes away a lot of joy. And if we are spending time with God, He is not going to let us miss out on what He has for us. He doesn’t need me to find my own version of purpose or productivity. He just needs me to listen and act.

“The Mission” song by Steve Green sums up my points today. Listen to it here.

Let’s Pray: Father God, You know everything about me, the world, and my place in it. Please help me to see where You want me to be, what You want me to do, and who You want me to share You with, however that looks. I know You have things set aside for me to do, but help me not be so focused on “doing”, that I forget how to just “be”. I love You. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

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Author Bio:

Glynis Becker writes devotions and inspirational fiction, hoping someday to have a published novel on her resume. 

She has co-written several screenplays, including the film Sinking Sand, available on DVD and digital streaming. 

Glynis, whose childhood was spent all over the country as an Air Force brat, has called South Dakota home for many years, along with her husband and two teenage children.

When she’s not writing or reading, she is watching more television than she should and crocheting.

You can find her at www.glynisbecker.com.