Daily Devotions
What is Evangelism?
Reading for May 18th: 2 Chronicles 28-31
Weekly reading for May 17-23: Acts 25-28
"And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting... I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me... to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'"
Acts 26:15-18
What is evangelism? Paul's mission to the Gentiles sums up our task:
To open eyes. Sin makes us blind. It distorts reality. It deceives. The Great Physician gives sight to the blind.
To turn from darkness to light. Life is full of pitfalls and traps. We can't see those things in the darkness of sin. The farther we go into sin, the deeper the darkness. Jesus is the Light of the world.
To turn from the power of Satan to God. Sin makes us slaves. Satan promises freedom but he is a liar. All he wants to do is enslave and destroy. Jesus sets us free and gives us life.
To receive forgiveness of sins and a place among the sanctified. Sin isolates us. It destroys relationships. It separates from God. Jesus reconciles us to God and brings us into a family who loves us. In God's family we're never alone.
Father, use us as willing vessels of your mercy to bring the lost to the Great Physician, the Light of the Word, the Liberator of slaves, and the Redeemer of mankind!"
