“Praise
the Lord, all nations! Extol Him, all
peoples! For great is His steadfast love
toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!” –Psalm 117 (ESV).
I find it very encouraging that the
shortest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 117, with just two verses, is an
invitation for all peoples everywhere to recognize God’s steadfast love and
faithfulness and to praise Him.
The hope recurs in the Psalms as well
as in the remaining 65 books of the Bible that the Gentiles will come to belief
in the one true God. Paul the Apostle
quoted Psalm 117:1 in Romans 15:11, and then launched into his reasons why he
became a “minister to the Gentiles.” At the
heart of Christian missions lies God’s love for and inclusion of all peoples in
His plan of redemption. Paul again quoted from the Old Testament in Romans
15:21: “Those who have never been told of Him will see, and those who have
never heard will understand” (quoting Isaiah 52:15)
Christian missions is at the heart of
everyone internationally hearing, understanding and coming to salvation in
Christ. When Jesus was ready to ascend
into heaven, after His mission of redemption was completed, He gathered with
His disciples and other believers on a hillside outside Jerusalem. He was ready to ascend back to the Father in
Heaven, but He had a final word for believers.
In this powerful message He repeated what He had told them was their
major task: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you. And behold, I am with you
always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20. ESV).
In my church and denomination, we have
a special missions emphasis throughout the month of December. It is a time of remembering that Christ came
to earth at Christmastime because God loved all the world. Because of this love, we in turn have the
responsibility to follow through on the Lord’s Great Commission to us to make
disciples of all nation, to go and spread abroad the Good News of salvation, to
make disciples, to baptize believers, and to teach converts how to live the Christian way. A timely theme has been selected for this
December’s missions emphasis. It is “Be
Obedient: Be His Heart, Be His Hands, Be
His Voice.” With that theme we hear
victorious accounts of how God is touching lives throughout the world because
missionaries are being obedient servants—going, making disciples, baptizing and
teaching—as ambassadors of Christ whose heart, hands and voice they (and we) are. We can have a vital part in this
international invitation as we are faithful where we live and work in our own
Christian witness and as we give of our means to support missions.
Prayer.
As we refresh our minds on God’s wonderful invitation to all peoples,
may we rejoice that we can share through witnessing where we are, praying for
those who go as missionaries, and giving our money to support missions. Thank you that in being obedient we are Your
heart, hands and voice to others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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