Daily Devotion May 21

May 21: Mark 16:19-20

KJV Key Verse: Mark 16:20
20 And they went forth , and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following . Amen.

Devotion:
I love the way this book finishes by showing us the apostles went out and did as the Lord had commanded; but it was not just them going out, it was them going out and demonstrating the power of Christ through prayers, preaching and signs. In other words they did not go out alone, even though Christ was now sitting in Heaven on the right hand of God the Father, they were not alone. This is the same amazing promise we have with Christ – we are not alone!

Being able to go forward and be confident enough to know Christ is with us does not take a huge amount of faith. It is not only reserved for apostles or people who have been blessed in the right manner – this is the same for every person who will go out in the name of Jesus Christ! That means all of us! Paul demonstrated the Gospel needed to go out to all people and not just the Jews. The disciples supported him and made sure he knew it as well. Jesus blessed them and lifted them up with each step of faith they took, from that first tony step of faith to every step that followed.

Jesus is the same today as then. He is still in Heaven and yet He still comes out with us everywhere we go carrying His name forward. It is not as if Christ is asking all of us to lay down our own lives on a cross to declare Him as God, He is just asking us to take His name with us wherever we are willing to go. Allow Him to guide you and give you the words to speak to others. Allow Him to give you the strength and courage to go forward. Allow Him to be with you!

When we do take the simple step forward and allow Christ to be with us, He will make sure we are effective and will make sure we can give Him the glory which He so richly deserves. Don’t try to go out and do it all yourself otherwise you are leaving Christ behind. Take Him with you and allow Him to work through you. Stop stopping Christ from being effective!

Points to Ponder:
Do you go out and do things?

Are you allowing Christ to work?