Day 8 of 50

READING GUIDE:

• Read today's devotion below.
• During days 8-14 (at your own pace) read chapters 3 thru 6 from Joining Jesus on His Mission.
• After days 8-14, meet with your small group and follow the back-of-the-book discussion guide for SESSION 2.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...” (Matthew 28:19 ESV)

The Greek word for “Go” is also translated “as you go.” This is likely why Eugene Peterson in his The Message paraphrase translated part of this verse, “Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near…” Both ways of “Go” are then covered. “Go” means making disciples in overseas countries and as we go about life in our own communities. Then when you consider “all nations” and the current state of affairs in the U.S. (more on this below), we don’t only reach “the nations” by going far away, “the nations” are also very much within arms reach when we walk outside our front doors (and maybe inside our doors).

Finke in chapter 3 shares that in the span of recent decades “the U.S. has become a major mission field, the major mission fields of the world have become much more Christian. Today, there are nearly as many Lutheran in Ethiopia as there are in the U.S...We used to think of missionaries as being sent to the mission fields of far-off places like Africa and China. But now we can send missionaries to the mission fields of our own subdivisions, neighborhoods and apartment complexes. We used to think of people as being ‘overseas missionaries.’ But now we can think of people as being ‘neighborhood missionaries.’ We used to think that if someone became a missionary, we would send them to India or South America. Now we can simply send them home after worship because our local neighborhoods have become mission fields.”

So with this insight, how is God messing with you (Greg’s favorite question)? How does your mindset change considering that it only takes one step out of your house to enter the mission field...the mission field to which God has placed you?