Devo Week 12 - Discerning the Unseen Realm
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Matt.10:16
A God-revealing Light - Living in Color
What “pot of gold” at the end of a rainbow would you treasure, if there were such a thing? Most likely it would be different from mine. Treasure to me might not be the same to you. And that’s okay. God designed us that way. Satan detests God’s creativity and keeps stirring his black pot with much intention to strip us of our uniqueness.
WHO IS FOR US
God is not only close to all people groups but designed each one for a specific purpose. Like colorful rainbows, we display God’s glory uniquely from each of our locations. In Romans 3:29, the Apostle Paul speaks to this idea that God is for revelation of Jesus locally, because He is the God of the Jews and Gentiles.
When the Akha first told us they thought Jesus was a “white man,” we knew they had not really encountered Jesus. Clearly, He still needed to be seen and understood from them personally, within their context, language and culture. Jesus needed to come on location, so to speak. Only then could we say that Jesus had become a “God-revealing light” to the Akha, as Simeon prophesied.
WHO IS AGAINST US
Trying to hide God’s creativity, Satan and his kingdom force humanity into conformity which is often disguised as uniformity. Such false unity works to diminish uniqueness.
You see this when only a certain way of worshipping is accepted, for example. If a people group has been exposed to existing forms of Christianity, expectations to conform might be greater. While changes may not be easily accepted, they may be necessary to reveal Jesus. You may even be called a heretic. I remember the first time I introduced the idea of using rice for communion, instead of bread. I’d told an Akha leader what’s more important is the meaning of Jesus among them, not simply a foreign metaphor or analogy. The metaphor of Jesus as the bread of life only reinforced the foreignness of God among them. Using rice as a symbol for Jesus and communicating that He is the ‘rice of life,’ however, brought Jesus on location, right into the center of their culture.
PRAYER FOR SPIRITUAL BREAKTHROUGH
Lord, fill us with the knowledge of Your will with all spiritual wisdom and understanding. We pray for blessing upon each people group to worship and give You glory in their own unique way, from their specific location. May the Gospel spread as a ‘light of revelation’ among the Jews and non-Jews. Anoint us with Your wisdom and discernment to overcome the enemy in our pursuit of revealing Jesus! In His name we pray, Amen.