Written by Alex Kocman, this piece touches on a great aspect of missions and the lack thereof. What is the motivation we have to go and share the good news?

Read the full article here.

We can’t just say “go” and forget to glory in the gospel that frees us to go. When we exult in salvation, we should prayerfully expect the Spirit in our midst to sweep us up in gratitude and wash us out past American shores.

Next time you preach on a missions passage, before firing Google up for the latest tear-jerking statistics, start with the gospel. Revel in it until it releases you from fear and invigorates your evangelistic impulse, until you can say with the Prophet Jeremiah, “There is in my heart… a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in” (Jeremiah 20:9, ESV).

Missions doesn’t always add up, but neither does the gospel. It doesn’t make sense that God would pour out wrath on His Son, redeem and adopt rebels, and make his riches ours by faith alone.

But then again, it’s not all about the math.

This article, posted two years ago on desiringgod.com was written by Francis Chan and gets deep into the thinking of how humans view evangelism. If you are considering taking the One Year Challenge, Chan’s words are certainly an encouragement to walk by faith in God and not faith in our own understanding.

We all walk in complete spiritual darkness unless God decides to shine his light on us. In some mysterious way, God shines light in a person’s heart so that he instantly sees the beauty of the gospel. No amount of human effort can produce this. Salvation is a miracle of God.

Many of us would say that we believe this theological truth, but our actions betray us, revealing just how much we trust in people, speeches, and events. On more than one occasion, people have begged me to speak to their lost friends, believing that my words would make the difference. Too often, I have granted their wish (rather than correcting their theology), and tried desperately to come up with the perfect words to talk their friends into falling in love with Jesus. Do you see yet how ridiculous this is?

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that Satan has blinded these people. Apart from God’s working, our begging someone to see the beauty of Christ is as pointless as begging a blind man to enjoy the beauty of a sunset. Do we direct our begging, first and foremost, to God?

Read the full article here.