January 9 - Acts 5:42

"And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." (Acts 5:42 KJV)

I don' t know about you, but this verse speaks to me loud and clear. Not just Sunday, not just at church, and not just when it's convenient. Daily. In the temple. In every house. Continually.

The early church wasn't built on casual or occasional teaching and preaching. The apostles and new believers were intent on fulfilling the Great Commission. They had a sense of urgency to tell the Good News of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Heart of God International Ministries has developed a missions training manual that focuses (among other things) on preparing the entire team to witness openly and unashamedly, and to prepare themselves to minister one-on-one with others with anyone they meet. We ask each team member to sit down for a few minutes and write down their salvation experience as well as a plan for explaining the message of salvation. Then, we take turns witnessing to each other in preparation for the mission outreach. By the time we're done with the training each team member has gained confidence in sharing Jesus with others.

We all need to develop an urgency to tell everyone the Good News of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. For the most part, we are much too timid and sometimes even fearful of openly sharing our faith in an effort to lead someone to faith in Christ.

This is something we need to work on changing in our lives this year; today is the day to begin. Take a few moments and write down how you would share the plan of salvation with someone you don't know. Begin by sharing a brief testimony (keep it brief but to the point), and then gently begin to unfold the plan of salvation.

"And [Jesus] saith unto them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.'" (Matthew 4:19 KJV) Those are Jesus' words, not only to His disciples, but to us today if we are His disciple. We are to be "fishers of men" if we follow Him.

Are we fishing? Or, did we fall asleep in the boat and forget what we set out to do?

Don't waste another day. Follow the Apostle's example by teaching and preaching daily in the temple and in every house. In other words, wherever you are, be a "fisher of men"!

Father, help us to remember this is why You have established Your kingdom in us--so that we will daily be teaching and preaching regardless where we are or what we're doing. Help us all to feel true urgency for the lost and to reach out with the message of Your saving grace. Lord, help me be bold. Help me be strong. Help me be a fisher of men. In Jesus' name, amen.

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15 KJV)

©Jan Ross
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