"Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function…" Romans 12:4
Many people describe missionaries as the legs in the body of Christ. They do the stepping out; without legs, the body would go nowhere, stagnated and growing fat. But the legs would be nothing without the rest of the body. The head, of course, is Christ. Congregations can be seen as the trunk, to provide vital support functions for the legs. The legs cannot be strong unless the trunk is strong as well. Rejoice today that even though you may never be able to be Christ's legs by becoming a missionary, you can be a vital part of the missionary enterprise through your financial and prayer support.
Pray that the Father will teach us how to make the trunk more healthy!
"For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for 'Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.'" Romans 10:12-13
Paul's point here is that the path of faith is clearly open to both Jews and Gentiles. In a restatement of a major theme of the book-righteousness obtained by faith-Paul very clearly reveals God's unlimited plan for all peoples. Note the absolute terms used. No difference, Lord of all, all who call upon Him, everyone. It wasn't so long ago that some of our ancestors were what we call unreached peoples. But God in His sovereignty revealed Himself to them in Christ.
Commit yourself once again to making His grace known to the world's unreached peoples.
"What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: 'I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My Name might be proclaimed in all the earth.'" Romans 9:14, 17
It seems unfair that we in the Western world would have such spiritual resources at our disposal while almost half of the world is not only non-Christian, but is hidden from the outreach of the Church. Is God unjust? Even as God used Pharaoh to help proclaim His Name, so He has used present-day rulers to bring glory to Himself. For example, there are indications that the Church in Iran has grown tremendously among certain people groups-especially after the Islamic Revolution!
Praise God for His sovereignty and justice!
"Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved." Romans 10:1
Here Paul was again showing his concern for his own people group, the zealous Jews of his day. His heart yearned for them, and he spent time on his knees in prayer for their salvation. This was in addition to his willingness to accept their punishment for rejecting Christ (Romans 9:3)! We, as Paul, ought not let our zeal for the unreached peoples diminish our concern for the lost of our own people group. But our concern for our own people must not overshadow our zeal for the unreached peoples, either.
"…but as it is written: To whom He was not announced, they shall see; and those who have not heard shall understand." Romans 15:21/Isaiah 52:15
Neither Isaiah nor the disciples had any idea how far the fame and glory of Christ would go at the time this was written. A few short years before Paul quoted this verse, the idea of sharing the gospel with a Roman soldier was very strange to Peter. Could any of them even imagine what we are now seeing in the world? It once seemed unthinkable to all of us that people would come to the Lord in places like the Punjab, Mongolia and Nepal. Where will the Lord move next? He might just be waiting for you to pray before He moves His almighty hand in one of the world's darkest places!
As you pray next month, pray as if He is waiting for you to intercede for the unreached.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will give us His love for those around us and for unreached peoples.
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