Friday, March 22, 2013
Jeremiah 20:10-13 | Psalm 18 | John 10:31-42
LOVE, SUFFERING, AND EVANGELISM
“Many came to believe in Him.” - John 10:42
The Lord can use you to lead many to believe in Him.
However, before the Lord breaks through in the lives of those to whom you are
witnessing, the evil one will usually try to intimidate you and pressure you to
keep quiet. For instance, before the “many” in today’s Gospel reading believed
in Jesus, some attempted to execute Jesus by stoning Him (John 10-31). Before
the 3,000 believers of the first Christian Pentecost reached thousands more,
Peter and John and then all the apostles were thrown in jail. Also, before
these thousands of believers reached hundreds of thousands with the Gospel of
Jesus, many of the first Christians were martyred.
Today, as in all Christian history, the Lord gives us the
power to bear much fruit. If we will only fall to the earth and die like grains
of wheat, we will bear much fruit (John 12:24). No matter how limited we may be
or how inadequate we may feel, we will lead many to kneel at the throne of
grace if we love them enough to bear our “share of the hardship which the
gospel entails”
(II Timothy 1:8). Love, suffer, and bear fruit abundantly
(see John 15:5).
Prayer: Father, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the
church” (Tertullian). Use my life and death as Your seed.
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