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

Thursday, May 21, 2020

In speaking of Himself, Jesus said, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."¹ "And then He [Jesus] told them, 'You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere."²

"One day Hudson Taylor [the famed missionary], was traveling on a Chinese junk from Shanghai to Ningpo. He had been witnessing to a man named Peter who rejected the gospel but was under deep conviction. In the course of events, Peter fell overboard, but no one made any effort to save him.

Taylor sprang to the mast, let down the sail, and jumped overboard in hopes of finding his friend. But no one on board joined Taylor in his frantic search. Taylor saw a fishing boat nearby and yelled to them to help, but they wouldn't do it without money. Finally, after bartering for every penny that Taylor had, the fishermen stopped their fishing and began to look for Peter. In less than a minute of dragging their net, they found him, but it was too late. They were too busy fishing to care about saving a drowning man.

"We can easily condemn the selfish indifference of those fishermen, but by indicting them, we may condemn ourselves. Are we too busy with our jobs and other activities to take the time to rescue those who are perishing without Christ?"3

If we are true followers of Jesus Christ, we will be concerned about reaching the lost for Christ with His message of forgiveness and salvation. Jesus came to seek and to save lost souls and He commissioned His followers to do likewise. If we are not doing likewise, we are not following Jesus. As another has said, "Jesus' last command to His followers needs to be our first priority."

Suggested Prayer: "Dear God, thank You that Jesus, Your Son, came to die to pay the penalty for all my sins, and to seek and save me. I am available, please make me usable and use me to be an effective witness for Jesus today and every day for the rest of my life. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."
 

1. Luke 19:10 (NKJV).
2. Mark 16:15 (TLB).
3. Kenneth Cole, "The Crucial Message."

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