ESOCS Devotional 9 October 2023 -Discover and Stay on Your Assignment
MEMORY VERSE: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Mark 1:3
TEXT:MARK 1:1 – 13 (KJV)
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
12 And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
Every one of us here on earth is special to God. We are God’s creation for a special purpose. God has an assignment for us here on earth. Especially, those who have been saved from the clutches of sin and Satan.
If you are reading this and you are not saved yet. That is, you have not received the new life in Christ Jesus, you need to do so. This is because in spite of the fact that God created man, he was estranged from God through sin.
However, God’s love towards man still made Him to seek man in order to reconcile with him, “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:19). All you need to do is believe that God in His love gave Jesus Christ His Son to die on the cross for your sin, that is the reconciliation talked about in the Bible text 2 Corinthians 5:19. When you receive this message and believe it God exchanges your sin with Christ Jesus’ righteousness, He washes you with the blood of Lord Jesus Christ His Son shed at the cross of His death, and then clothes you with His clothe of righteousness as stated in Isaiah 61:10: “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”
Beloved, it is important we fulfil our assignment here on earth, but much more importantly that we are sure we are reconciled to God our maker, then, our assignment will be clearer to us.
After salvation, the issue of assignment follows. Our assignment is what God has ordained for us to do here on earth for His glory (pleasure – Revelation 4:11) and for the good of all. In our text John the Baptist was called to prepare the way for the coming of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ and he stayed on it until he fulfilled it.
Every child of God has the assignment to share the good news of Lord Jesus Christ to the dying world for the salvation of souls therein. This is stated in Matthew 28:19: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Mark 16:15); “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned” (v 16).
The above can be regarded as the general assignment to every child of God. God also has specific assignments for every child of God. For instance, Paul was sent to the gentiles. The same way God can focus our attentions to certain areas of needs. Some were called apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors/teachers, ministry of helps, government etc (1 Corinthians 12) no matter the area of need in the kingdom work, all are centred on winning souls to Lord Jesus Christ. Find out your assignment and stay on it!
- Have you ever considered God has an assignment for you as His child?
- Father, by your Spirit reveal to me the assignment you have for me here on earth
FURTHER READING: Genesis 1:1 – 19; 37:1 – 11; Romans 1:1-17
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ESOCS Devotional 9 October 2023
