Jesus Gives The Great Commission (Day 70)

Read Mark 16:9-20
 
   When the two on the road finally realized who Jesus was, they rushed back to Jerusalem. It’s not enough to read about Christ as a personality or to study His teachings. You must also believe He is God, trust Him to save you, and accept Him as Lord of your life. This is the difference between knowing Jesus and knowing about Him. Only when you know Christ will you be motivated to share with others what He has done for you. 
   Jesus told His disciples to go into all the world, telling everyone that He had paid the penalty for sin and that those who believe in Him can be forgiven and live eternally with God. Christians today in all parts of the world are telling this Good News to people who haven’t heard about Christ. The driving power that carries missionaries around the world and sets Christ’s church in motion is the faith that comes from the Resurrection. Do you feel as though you don’t have the skill or determination to be a witness for Christ? You must personally realize that Jesus rose from the dead and lives for you today. As you grow in your relationship with Christ, He will give you both the opportunities and the inner strength to tell His message. 
 
   It is not the water of baptism that saves but God’s grace accepted through faith in Christ. Because of Jesus’ response to the criminal on the cross who died with Him, we know it is possible to be saved without being baptized (Luke 23). Baptism alone, without faith, does not guarantee that a person will go to heaven. Those who refuse to accept Jesus as their Savior will be condemned, regardless of whether or not they have been baptized. 
 
   There are times when God intervenes miraculously to protect His followers. Occasionally He gives them special powers. Paul handled a snake (Acts 28), and the disciples healed the sick (Matthew 10; Acts 3). This does not mean, however, that we should test God by putting ourselves in dangerous situations. 
 
   When Jesus ascended into heaven, His physical presence left the disciples (Acts 1). Jesus’ sitting at God’s right hand signifies the completion of His work, His authority as God, and His coronation as King. 
 
   Mark’s gospel emphasizes Christ’s power as well as His servanthood. Jesus’ life and teaching turned the world upside down and continue to do so. The world sees power as a way to gain control over others. But Jesus, with all authority and power in heaven and earth, chose to serve others. He held children in His arms, healed the sick, washed the disciples’ feet, and died for the sins of the world. Jesus’ followers today receive this same power to serve. As believers, we are called to be servants of Christ. As Christ served, so we are to serve. 
 
   Starting Monday: “Romans: A Walk from Condemnation to Grace.” Romans is a book, that for the first four chapters, God brings you behind the woodshed and wears you out, calling you for who you are: Sinner and there is no hope for you. You are condemned. But if you bear with me through those chapters, we come to chapter 5 verse 8. For after God wears you out, He picks you up, wraps His loving arms around you and shows how He can redeem you though His Son by grace, and can live this wonderful Christian life through Jesus Christ.