Thoughts for the Day
Saturday, 4th December 2021: Getting the message out
Gospel Kingdom of Heaven Jesus Matthew 9
Reading : Verses from Matthew, Chapter 9
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’
(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)
Thoughts
We can broadcast information easily today, not least using social media. But a few years ago things were more difficult. I've always been involved with fund-raising for the church (and have read the whole of the bible aloud twice, done a 24 hour knitting marathon, and sung hymns for 12 hours, among other things) but there has always been a problem getting the message out to raise money. It has often required putting leaflets through hundreds of houses. It was the same when we held Alpha courses or ran bible-study groups. How could we spread the message?
In today's reading we see Jesus proclaiming the good news about God's Kingdom to crowds of people. His compassion for them is considerable, but he is also concerned at how his disciples will spread the message of God's love for His people when he is no longer with them. As we know, though, the disciples were to spread the Gospel to the world with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Today, we don't have difficulty getting a message out, but we still find it hard as ordinary Christians to tell others how much our faith means to us. The world is still full of troubled souls who need to hear the message though! Can we ask God's help and speak to others who need to hear about the Gospel?
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
teach us how to share with others
how much our faith means to us
without scaring them away.
Show us how to love those around us
who are lost, lonely, or in need of help,
and when the time is right encourage
us to speak about God's love -
for ourselves and for them.
Amen.
Explaining what God has done for us is very difficult for many people. The following was intended for children, but it's a clever way of explaining the message to us. 'The Wordless Book' by 'Child Evangelism Fellowship' uses these five colors to explain the message of the gospel:
GOLD ~ God wants us to be in heaven with Him.
BLACK ~ Our sin separates us from God.
RED ~ Christ died on the cross as the only payment for our sin.
WHITE ~ Accept God’s forgiveness and the free gift of eternal life.
GREEN ~ Grow closer to God every day.