Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

"For the wages of sin is death [eternal death in the place God's Word calls Hell], but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.^"1

On "May 26, 2002, Memorial Day weekend, a barge pilot passed out and hit a bridge span of I-40 over the Arkansas river. This accident dropped a 600 foot span of the bridge 62 feet into the swift flowing river below. Eleven people (and a trailer full of show horses) died as their cars and 18-wheelers drove over the edge of the missing span, one piling on top of another. There were several fishermen on the river in a bass competition, who saw the bridge collapse. Realizing that the cars and trucks were still coming, one of the fishermen below the bridge reached into his boats' emergency kit for the emergency flare. Whipping the flare up into firing position, the fisherman let the missile fly....

"That one flare providentially hit the windshield of the next 18-wheeler speeding down I-40 at 70 miles an hour. The shocked driver hit his brakes, and his front tires slid over the drop-off. Putting his truck into reverse, he pulled his wheels back up onto the bridge, warning the other drivers.

"Another boat of fishermen saw a man under the damaged barge, who was holding on for dear life, and got a floatation device to him and pulled him into their boat, effecting the rescue...."²

Could we even begin to imagine the further devastation and loss of lives had these fishermen sat by and did nothing to help save so many who were heading for certain death? Such a thought is unthinkable.

But what about the millions of lost souls—without Christ and without hope for life beyond the grave—in today's world? I was teaching about effective evangelism in one church and sharing how, at that time, the church I was attending had a fairly extensive budget for numerous projects and activities, but such a tiny amount in their budget for evangelism. One man spoke out immediately saying that in his church (the one where I was teaching) they didn't even have evangelism in their budget!

I recently shared with two pastors offering to donate 30,000 printed copies of the ACTS brochure, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian," if we could work together to place a copy of this gospel message in every one of the 30,000 family homes in their town. Neither pastor showed the slightest interest.

So what is the purpose of the Church? It is to glorify God in everything that it does; it is to build up and strengthen its members and give them all the opportunity to serve by using their God-given spiritual gifts; it is to serve one another and help meet the needs of those who are unable to meet their own needs; and it is to be involved in the Great Commission given by Jesus Himself to His disciples when He said to them: "You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News [the gospel] to everyone, everywhere."³

And, as the late great missionary statesman, Oswald J. Chambers of Canada said, "The supreme task of the Church is the evangelization of the world."

Jesus also said to Peter and his fishermen partners, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."⁴ If you and I are going to be true followers of Jesus, we too, will be involved in "fishing" for those who are without Christ and on their way to a lost eternity.

In this day and age never before has it been so simple and so easy to help reach people who are without hope and without Jesus Christ as it is today via the electronic media. To see how you can be involved in evangelism and learn how to be a missionary right from your own home, and therein have a vital part in worldwide gospel outreach by becoming an ACTS People Power for Jesus Partner, click on http://www.actsweb.org/people_power_invite.php. It is extremely simple, very effective and there is no cost.

Please, if you are concerned about family, friends, and people in your circle of contacts who need God's forgiveness and His gift of eternal life, please prayerfully consider becoming a People Power for Jesus Partner today.

Suggested Prayer: "Dear God, I thank You with all of my heart for forgiving my sins and for giving me the gift of eternal life. I am available; please use me to help spread the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to family, friends, and contacts and thereby help win others to Jesus. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."

1. 1. Romans 6:23 (NKJV).
2. Source: https://bible.org/illustration/shoot-flare
3. Mark 16:15 (TLB).
4. Matthew 4:18-19 <NKJV).

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