Daily Devotions

Acts 13:1-3 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
KJV
What is a missionary? The word missionary, so familiar to churches and Christians is not found in the Bible. So what is a missionary? First, we see in our reading this morning that a missionary is one called of God, he or she has a specific calling of God. (Verse 2) The missionary has a specific calling of God to a specific work in taking the gospel message to the lost. Every Christian has this responsibility and should have a burden for the lost, a burden strong enough that they will tell others about Jesus Christ. A missionary has that burden, but a call goes beyond a burden. When one realizes a call from God they are willing to set everything else aside and devote their life, every part of it to service to the Lord. Barnabas and Paul (Saul in our reading.) had a calling of God. This call will also be recognized by others. Notice the church fasted and prayed, then sent them away. I am sure the fasting and prayer was for the purpose of asking God if those men were called. A call will be recognized by others. Who could doubt that those men were devoted to service for the Lord first, that they indeed were called. A missionary will fist receive a call. Every Christians should be seeking out the Lord in a way that would make a call known in their lives. Not all will be called, but still all need to have a burden for the Lord.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 11th, 2017 at 5:13 am and is filed under Daily Devotions. You can skip to the end and leave a response.