Daily Devotional

August 26th, 2022
by Pastor Wil Staley

Begin with the End in Mind

"But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, 'You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.' Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord."
Acts 13:9-12

You may be familiar with the author Stephen Covey and his book, "7 Habits of Highly Effective People." In the book, one of Covey's encouraged habits is, to begin with the end in mind. The idea is that whenever one begins a new day, task, or project, he or she should start with a clear vision of the desired direction or destination. As followers of Christ we may not know the exact destination but keeping our eyes on Him as He leads, will get us exactly where we ought to be.
In today's passage, Paul and Barnabas understood the desired direction/destination. Their primary mission was centered on the gospel message. Their assignment was to be witnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. If that was the goal, then everything else that happens, every step along the way, and every encounter along the journey must contribute to that goal. There are no isolated incidents. No random occurrences. No coincidences. And in the text, we see the miraculous good that happened through these followers of Christ which served to validate the message.

As the outreach Palm outreach pastor, I love seeing our church engaged in local missions. I love seeing all the kids come from our neighborhood to attend VBS. I love seeing families flood our campuses during our GLOW & Upward Sports events. I LOVE seeing our neighbors' faces light up when we sing about the joy the world has received from our Savior's birth during caroling. Yet all of the events, programs, fun, food, and festivities should serve as a means to validate the message.

Jesus told His disciples that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church, aka we are on "offense". The ball is in our court and we are continuing the mission that Jesus began. God's plan is for Christians to take the powerful and good news of the gospel to spiritually dark and hard-to-reach places with the utmost confidence that Jesus will in fact build His church.

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English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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