-Strength for Today- "Jesus’ Mission,." - Luke 19:10

     Developing professional careers can take years that’s spent trying to perfect one’s craft, or professional endeavor. Only to have to change one’s course and redirect their interest due to the changing of the times. But when Jesus came to earth, He never had to look to the left or to the left because He left His Father’s house, with a clear mission in mind.  Therefore, neither:

·       Pain,

·       Betrayal,

·       Depravity,

·       Disinterest, or

     Sin would deter His focus or sway His steps away from His ultimate purposeful God sent mission. So if we’re striving to be like Jesus, every day, regardless of our position, we have the choice to either:

·       Extend the kingdom or

·       Contract the kingdom.

      Because each time we put into practice the will of God, His kingdom is extended. The real mission of Jesus is that we help people see the presence of God in a broken world. It then is here that the kingdom is extended:

·       Not through the positions we hold or

·       The power we wield,

      But by doing the will of the Father, by loving our enemies, neighbors and caring about sinners. Therefore, to be mission minded is to be active outside of our comfort zone, and “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), by being Jesus minded with an intentional and willing mind focused on pleasing God. “The Lord is nor slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish but that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” – 2 Peter 3:9.

  Therefore, honoring God’s will means trusting and obeying His calling for our lives. Jesus’ mission never swayed away from His purposeful mission. He came to, “seek and save that which was lost” –Luke 19:10. So I say to you, look around you and on everywhere you look, there’s nothing but “lostness,” all around you. In other words, if we’re to be on a “Jesus mission”:

·       Everywhere we go, and

·       Every turn we take,

 Should be that of a mission field, starting at home!

Author: Plez Lovelady, Jr., PhD