Pathways Press.com

MEDITATION:

Written by Naomi Reed, a Christian writer and speaker who spent six years in Nepal with a medical mission.

I have Parkinson’s Disease now. I can’t walk anymore and I’m mostly in my bed. I can’t leave this room, or go to church, or visit people. It’s a change for me. I spent my whole adult life sharing the Gospel. Back then, I walked through 72 districts in Nepal, preaching the Gospel…and we started a Bible correspondence course. In total, we’ve had 700,000 students. I was put in jail three times for my faith, and I was tortured. But I can’t walk anymore or get out of bed. The challenge for me, today, is in reading Colossians 1:28-29. The apostle Paul said, “Christ is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.”  I want to be like Paul. I know that he used all his energy to share the Gospel, right to the end. And I want to do that too. I don’t have any energy in my body anymore, but I still have energy in my heart and my mind. Even now, people can ring me on my phone…and they ask me about Jesus and I still tell them. I’m still taking calls from our Bible correspondence students. I’m still using all my energy, even while I’m lying on my bed—all the energy that Christ has given me!

PRAYER:

Written by Stephen Macchia, a contemporary author and leader of spiritual formation.

Lord Jesus, may I be captivated today by your Great Commission, to go into all the world and preach the gospel, inviting others to become disciples of yours now and forever. May your mission become my own, for I long to know how best to reflect that in my daily life and service to others in your name. Whisper in my ear and continually invite me into deeper fellowship with you, which will result in a life of mission with you and co-mission with others. Illuminate the path and enlighten my heart so that I may be refreshed and renewed in all my ways. In Christ’s name and for his glorious sake I pray. Amen.