The Upper Room Daily Devotional from Nashville, Tennessee, United States "RIPPLES" for Friday, 13 May 2016 with Scripture 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

The Upper Room Daily Devotional from Nashville, Tennessee, United States "RIPPLES" for Friday, 13 May 2016 with Scripture 1 Corinthians 15:1 Now, brothers, I must remind you of the Good News which I proclaimed to you, and which you received, and on which you have taken your stand, 2 and by which you are being saved — provided you keep holding fast to the message I proclaimed to you. For if you don’t, your trust will have been in vain. 3 For among the first things I passed on to you was what I also received, namely this: the Messiah died for our sins, in accordance with what the Tanakh says; 4 and he was buried; and he was raised on the third day, in accordance with what the Tanakh says; 5 and he was seen by Kefa, then by the Twelve; 6 and afterwards he was seen by more than five hundred brothers at one time, the majority of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Later he was seen by Ya‘akov, then by all the emissaries; 8 and last of all he was seen by me, even though I was born at the wrong time. 9 For I am the least of all the emissaries, unfit to be called an emissary, because I persecuted the Messianic Community of God. 10 But by God’s grace I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain; on the contrary, I have worked harder than all of them, although it was not I but the grace of God with me. 11 Anyhow, whether I or they, this is what we proclaim, and this is what you believed.
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Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.[Matthew 28:19 (KJV)]
When my son Justin was about four or five, I took him fishing with me. He put on his fishing pants and hat and brought along his fishing pole. When we got to the lake, we set up camp and put our lines in the water. We were ready for a long day of fishing. After ten or fifteen minutes, Justin got bored and picked up rocks and threw them into the water. Then he watched the ripples go out in all directions.
As Christians, we are like the ripples in the lake. When we read scripture and follow its guidance, we can go out in all directions and tell other people about God’s love and saving grace. When they receive the message, they go out and tell more people about the word of God. Those, in turn, tell more people. The motion occurs naturally, like ripples on the lake.
Jesus said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” He was telling us to be ripples and to go out and make more ripples, who go out and make even more ripples. What a wonderful idea!
The Author: Andrew Mills (Pennsylvania, USA)
Thought for the Day: The word of God spreads out like ripples on water.
Prayer:
Dear God, give us every chance to bring people to you so that they, in turn, can bring others. Amen.
Prayer focus: TO SHARE CHRIST WITH OTHERS---------------------