WEEK 17 – DAY 1

LOOK FOR THE LOST

What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? Luke 15:4

In all three of the parables in Luke chapter fifteen, someone was looking for something/someone that was lost. Once they found what they were looking for, they rejoiced. It was not that the other things or the other son were not as valuable or more valuable than the one that was lost. The rejoicing, especially in the case of the prodigal son, was that something of value had been thought hopelessly lost; and now it/he was returned. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are dear to us, and we enjoy spending time with other believers. However, if we never go out and seek the lost, how will they hear? What joy might we be missing by failing to share our faith? When someone comes to the Lord or when a straying Christian returns to faithfulness, there is great rejoicing in Heaven. We can share in that joy if we are actively involved in spreading the Good News to the lost and encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our current situation—needing help to get Susan into her power chair—means that we are not in contact with many people in person on a day to day basis. However, we seek out people with whom we can share Jesus at the grocery store, beauty shop, Sam’s Club, etc. when we are able to get out. Some of our neighbors profess Christ, but some are unchurched. We have many Muslim neighbors and even one Buddhist! We can be more forward in inviting them to church and sharing the Gospel with them.

Father, we pray as did the early church, “grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word” (Acts 4:29b). We lift our unbelieving neighbors to You, praying that Your Holy Spirit would draw them, paving the way for us to share the Good News that Jesus died to redeem them!