Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 Christian Presence in Differing Life Spaces

Scripture
 Isaiah 49:1-6
 Key Bible Verse Text
 .. I will make You light to the Gentiles and You will bring my salvation to the end of the earth. Isaiah  49:6(b)

Devotional Text
Firstly a quick background, this Chapter in the book of Isaiah is summarized as ‘The Lord‘s Servant Commissioned ‘.  We learn from this chapter two primary points, Firstly Jesus Christ was commissioned to be God’s Chosen One, the Messiah that was to redeem God’s children and secondly Jesus Christ was commissioned to bring the message of Salvation to the World. Christ offered Salvation to all the Nations and further commissioned the Apostles as part of the Great Commission (St. Matthew 28:18-20) by means of the missionary work to take the Gospel to end of the Earth.  Today, the work of the Great Commission continues and each of us, have an important role to play in taking the light of the Gospel to all Nations.
The chapter opens in Verse 1-2, saying that Messiah the Chosen One has been called by God before His Birth and from His Mother womb, God has chosen the Messiah by His Name.  The Lord has specifically marked the Messiah for huge task in redeeming God’s lost children and grant them the power of salvation to redeem their lost souls. Jesus Christ during his ministry on Earth for 33 years had a sole objective and that was to fulfill the responsibility that was given by God Almighty. We see during the last days in the Garden of Gethsemane before Christ was taken away by the soldiers, Christ had prayed incessantly to remove the cup of suffering, the impending death on the Cross. However, Christ had also willfully committed himself to God’s will which had to be implemented as per the Plan that God had set in motion before Christ was born. Now as human beings we often wonder how it was possible for Christ to humanely sacrifice himself on the Cross for people like you and me who have been alienated from God by our sins. Here the verse in St. John 3.16 becomes meaningful and we understand how God loved us so much that God sacrificed Jesus for our sins and if we turn over our lives to God, we will in exchange be granted eternal life.
As we move forward to verse 5, we see the Lord speaking and emphasizing how Jesus was commissioned with task of redemption. The next verse which is chosen as the Key Verse for this devotional is what Jesus was uniquely selected by God to bring light to the world and salvation to the ends of the Earth. Today these verses remain the guidance for each of us as God’s children. We play the role of being the source of light to this world by bringing the message of salvation to so many lost people today who need to hear and experience it. The Gospel that offers not only hope but also the truth that there is only one God who can grant them the salvation and redeem their lives from death and destruction.  
 

Prayer
Lord, we are grateful that You have redeemed us and enabled us to take the message of the Great Commission to the ends of the Earth. We pray that as the task is huge before us, enable us, equip and empower us to take the message of the salvation to those who are lost and in need of the Savior today. 

Thought for the Day

“The Great Commission is not an option to be considered , it is command to be obeyed “ – James Hudson Taylor (1832-1905)

Abraham Kurien, Immanuel Mar Thoma Church, Houston, Texas.
        

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