Theme: Everyone - Where Everyone is Wanted and Everyone is Needed

Read: John 4:1-26, Matthew 9:9-13 and 19-21, 28:19, Hosea 6:6

Think:  In Pastor Ben’s message this past weekend he reminded us of the Timberlake mission To make more and better disciples of Jesus Christ. He then brought us wisdom about how Jesus went about doing that in His own life by grace and a process of transformation.

There are so many Biblical examples of Jesus’ influence on people He encountered:

• He ministered to a Samaritan woman at a well. A woman who other Israelites would have walked away from and disdained,

• He ministered healing to the woman with the flow of blood whose ceremonial uncleanness meant she was shunned by her society and her family and

• He ate with tax collectors and sinners. (Matthew 9:9-13)

When Jesus tells His disciples - and us - to Go and make disciples our “natural” approach to making someone do something is like when we told our younger siblings what to do, they said “make me!” And we would overpower them into submission, manipulate them somehow or yell and scream until they did it. Jesus used a very different tactic – He made disciples by reaching out to those who were shunned and outcast, even hated and ministered grace and mercy.

In the Matthew 9:9-13 reading, some of the most religious folks of His time (the Pharisees) preferred our “natural” approach, shame, brow beating, judging the outside instead of looking at the inside. They were much more concerned with making sure everyone knew the rules and followed them. Jesus responds to these religious leaders at the end of this passage with an interesting Old Testament reference:

“…go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ “

 This was God speaking through the prophet Hosea to the Israelites who knew the sacrifice but didn’t know God. They knew the rules but not God’s heart.

Do: As we go to “make disciples” our focus needs to be the same that Jesus had, showing mercy and grace. Look to the hated, shunned and outcast and offer the Fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithful and self control.

Pray:  Father, Timberlake’s mission is Your mission, that we go and make disciples. Help me to not just teach someone the rules but teach someone of Your mercy, grace and acceptance and fulfill that mission. Amen.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.