DAY 7: GOD’S MISSION, YOUR MISSION
Standing in the same stream where tradition says Lydia—the first European convert (Acts 16)—was baptized, here was a missionary preparing to baptize a new believer. A couple thousand years after Lydia’s baptism, and the beginning of what would be the spread of the gospel to the West, this missionary realized that the baptism of this new believer was a clear picture of something bigger than just that moment. This time, instead of a Mediterranean woman, it was an Iranian man being baptized. Just as Lydia’s baptism highlighted the spread of the gospel to people who had previously not heard it, this baptism represented the same working of God to draw people from all nations to Himself. The gospel was still spreading. Have you ever considered how it is that you came to hear the gospel? Have you ever thought how something that started as a small movement in a small section of the Middle East thousands of years ago has come into your life here in Oklahoma? What the world may see as mere chance or a matter of circumstance or even of upbringing in a Christian home, the Bible teaches that this is actually a result of God’s eternal plan. When we make a decision and plan for something—whether choosing a restaurant for lunch or a suitable spouse—we always leave so much to chance. We don’t actually know how something is going to turn out. We may get to that restaurant, and it might be closed. We may think we have found the “one,” and that person might not feel the same! God’s plan, or the mission of God, is not like this. He has never once planned for something, and it didn’t happen. He has never desired to do something, only to find out later that He just couldn’t. Instead, His plan has always been the same—to redeem a people for Himself, from all nations, in and through Christ— and He has all power to make this happen! As a Christian, you are a result of this plan. No amount of human intelligence or ability or power could ever spread the gospel to all nations—including to you here in Oklahoma—apart from God’s plan and power to do so. It’s His perfect plan that you have heard and responded in faith to the gospel. But you’re not merely a result; you’re now called to be a part of taking it to others who haven’t heard. Just like the missionary who realized he was a part of something bigger than that moment, you are called to be a part of something bigger by taking the gospel to others. Praise God today for His grace in bringing the gospel to you, and ask Him how you are to participate in this movement of the gospel to people who are yet to
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