WEEK SIX - ALLIANCE MISSIONS
The work of the U.S. Alliance spills out all over this world. This week we stand with our international workers as we intercede on their behalf. We will also cry out to the Lord for the unreached people groups that still do not understand who Jesus is and have never had a clear witness of His gospel. Pray that this will be a year when the light of Jesus shines brightly in the darkest places of our world.
DAY THIRY-SIX - LOST WITHOUT JESUS BY TIM CROUCH
“Wretched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, it’s through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
- Romans 7:24–25
People are lost without Jesus. This is a biblical truth we affirm but often fail to adequately grasp. While we rejoice in our salvation, we can grow numb to the tragedy of those who remain lost.
Lostness is first about life on earth without knowing and trusting Jesus. Without the Savior, the Bible sees us as under the domain of Satan (see Acts 26:18, Colossians 1:13, Ephesians 2:1–3) and as blinded or ensnared by the evil one (see 2 Corinthians 4:3–4, 2 Timothy 2:25–26). While there is something of the image of God in each person, life without Jesus is not neutral—it is a living lostness (see Romans 1). This is earthly experience apart from Jesus, and many live it without awareness.
Secondly, lostness is about eternity and hell. God’s Word makes clear the terrible, eternal implication of lostness. While frightening images of hell abound in Scripture (see Mark 9:43, 48; Luke 16:19–31; and Matthew 22:13, 26:24), it is eternal separation from God—conscious of having wound up with what I chose in rejecting or ignoring Jesus—that most fundamentally characterizes lostness. This is the “after-earthly” experience without Jesus, and people will be very aware of it.
Just as we were all lost, many of our neighbors, friends, and family members—not to mention billions of our fellow earthlings—remain in this precarious position. We do well to keep this fact in view. Happily, we can also keep in mind God’s perfect provision for lost people and tell others. As Paul wrote, “Wretched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, it’s through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:24–25).
PRAYER POINTS:
1. God, take me back to the stark truth that I was lost—and restore my joy in my salvation.
2. Lord, help me live daily with my eyes open to the lostness of people You love.
3. May I be used by You today, Lord, to help lost ones be found—both nearby and around the world?