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But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
Reflect
Imagine that you’re a Christian missionary. You’ve been sent into the field to take the Gospel to people who have never heard it. You’ll be among people who might get angry at you and who might say some hurtful things. There will be days, maybe even weeks or months where the people you’re trying to reach don’t respond at all. But every once in a while, you’ll break through, and one of the locals will actually hear the message, and they’ll want your Jesus to be their Jesus.
All you have to do is be willing to go into that field. Are you willing?
Many people, maybe even most, would probably say “No,” for some reason.
- “I’d love to, but I really don’t have the time to travel.”
- “Missions aren’t really my thing.”
- “Isn’t the mission field dangerous?”
- “My heart is really more for reaching out to people closer to home.”
That last statement is more to the point: You already are in the mission field. The people you’ve been sent to are the ones near your own backyard. Some people will be sent overseas, but most people will never venture beyond their hometown to tell others about the Lord.
It’s been that way since the beginning. Jesus told people that they would be witnesses where?
- Jerusalem
- Judea
- Samaria
- The ends of the earth
Most people get caught up in that “ends of the earth” line. But the commission starts with Jerusalem. For the disciples, that was their backyard. Judea was next door. Samaria was down the street. And beyond that was the ends of the earth. Jesus definitely wants people to go to the ends, but his first concern is that we start at the beginning.
This week, pray that the Lord will show you ways to reach out to people who need to know Him right near where you live. Pray also that He will give you the courage to tell others the Good News.
Reflection copyright © 2025 Doug DeBolt
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
