Lace Up Your Boots

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.
–Matthew 28:19-20

The key to a fulfilling life is fulfilling our purpose here on earth. And our purpose is to join with God’s purpose, His mission to deliver people from Satan’s kingdom into the kingdom of God. As a pastor, I have found that Christians need to be regularly reminded of our mission. While we are stranded here on this outpost called Earth, it is very easy for us to get distracted, isn’t it? There are so many things we can get involved with and give our lives to, that every now and then we need to cut through those entanglements and refocus on the mission of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.

Remember, it is not just the paid professionals like me who are to go out and share the gospel. God’s plan is for all of us to go out and spread the good news of Christ. That is what it means to put on our spiritual boots, as Paul described in Ephesians 6:15. It means having the willingness and ability to share the gospel with other people.

Are you ready to lace up your spiritual boots? Are you ready to fulfill your purpose? Here is my challenge to you: In the next week during your alone time with God, say to Him, “God, open my eyes to a lost person around me who needs to know Christ.” It might be a family member, a friend, a work associate, or a neighbor. Do you know somebody who needs to be rescued from Satan’s kingdom and delivered into the kingdom of Christ? It is no accident that God has placed that person in your life. Ask God to help you to identify somebody who needs to know Christ, and then make a commitment: “God, over the next three months, I commit to praying for their salvation. I commit to doing everything I can to develop a better relationship with them. I commit to inviting them to church.” That is my challenge to you.

Imagine what it would be like if every one of us said, “If we do not accomplish anything else in our lives in the next three months, we are going to pray for an unbeliever and use every opportunity we can to lead them to Christ. We are going to make that our focus.” Think what it would mean to our churches, to our cities, to our country, to the world, if Christians were committed to fulfilling our purpose. For what purpose has God left us here, if not to fulfill His purpose of seeking and saving those who are lost? If we want to put on the right spiritual boots, we have to be committed to fulfilling that purpose.

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Putting On Your Soul Shoes” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2011.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org