"He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything." Colossians 1:18

The best way to tell others about Jesus Christ is to know Him so well that we are enthusiastic about speaking of Him as a close personal friend. Regarding beloved family or friends, don't we typically find every opportunity to tell others about their attributes and how important they are to us?

If we don't feel the same way about Jesus Christ it is only for one reason - we don't know Him as well as we should. To know Jesus as He desires is to be passionate about Him, to want everyone else to know our Best Friend as we do, and to make Him the highest priority of each and every day. (Matthew 22:36-38)

Today we may have an opportunity to tell someone about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Will we communicate Him as the ultimate love of our life as we truly know Him, or something less?

"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction." 2 Timothy 4:2

Onward Christian soldiers!

Bob Benson

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from My Utmost For His Highest. . .

November 9

Sacred Service

I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ . . . —Colossians 1:24

The Christian worker has to be a sacred "go-between." He must be so closely identified with his Lord and the reality of His redemption that Christ can continually bring His creating life through him. I am not referring to the strength of one individual’s personality being superimposed on another, but the real presence of Christ coming through every aspect of the worker’s life. When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words are made sacred. God uses these words, on the basis of His redemption, to create something in those who listen which otherwise could never have been created. If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious lifestyle, and the Spirit of God cannot witness to it because such preaching is in a realm other than His. We must make sure that we are living in such harmony with God that as we proclaim His truth He can create in others those things which He alone can do.

When we say, "What a wonderful personality, what a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!" then what opportunity does the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32 ).

Amen!

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." Matthew 16:24