April 8: “Make Disciples Of All Nations”
♫ Music:
Day 51 - Thursday, April 8
Title: “MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS”
Scripture: Matthew 28: 16-20
But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Poetry:
"i thank You God for most this amazing"
by e e cummings
i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
BUILDING HIS LEGACY
My wife and I are career missionaries. While living in Germany, we had the privilege to attend the Passion Play in Oberammergau. This extravaganza was conceived nearly four hundred years ago on October 28, 1634, as a sacrificial offering of thanks to God by the townspeople for sparing them from the bubonic plague. From that time till now, once a decade, the whole town comes together to enact the Passion week in a live, outdoor performance. This they do in a specially constructed covered arena with an open-air stage large enough to accommodate the requisite animals and people. Each performance takes an entire day, with breaks and lunch at any of the restaurants in the town, where the cast goes back to work to serve the guests.
For nearly four hundred years, to live in this little German “dorf,” or hamlet, requires a commitment once every ten years, to participate in a successful presentation. This very large cast of common folk has done this by virtue of embracing the promise of their forebears long ago. For four centuries the Oberammergau citizens have preached the message of the Gospel to people from all over the world. In the same way this legacy pictures the call of Christ on us.
As Luke quotes Jesus, “everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Lk. 24:44) God’s intention to bring a people to himself, from every tongue, tribe, and nation, is written in both Testaments. Jesus prepares his physical exit from earth by issuing this mandate. Now that he has discipled them for three years, he lays on them the task, in perpetuity, of spreading the Gospel to all nations, under his authority, by the power of the Holy Spirit. His method works on the multiplication model of making disciples who make other disciples. We astutely understand this method to endure “even to the end of the age.” Five times the scriptures record a version of Jesus’ last will and testament. Today, Matthew’s version of the Great Commission beckons our attention.
Looking back over two millennia we see the genius of Jesus’ instructions being carried out. The exigency to do this is illustrated in the story of the Oberammergau Passion Play. Generation after generation must receive and discharge the mandate. This obligation is the object of the triune God to empower all believers in every generation. We choose to apprehend the mandate and in our going, to be missional in the world. We must make ourselves available to bear the name of Jesus to everyone as the Holy Spirit gives us unction.
Artist Bryn Gillette, a personal friend, has visually depicted the words of the directive of Jesus in his art The Gospel for Every Person. The fisherman casting his net wide and often, brings in a draught of people from every continent of the world as represented by the gold borders. We who are members of the body of Christ accept the responsibility to pass the baton of the Gospel to the next generation. We are lovingly obliged to serve his cause. Christians in all three streams of the Church share equally in this fantastic assignment. Jesus commits his authority and gives us the Holy Spirit for power, direction and guidance. Reminding ourselves of these truths is a good practice. Being “always ready,… to give an account for the hope that is in you,” (I Pet 3:15), is our clarion call.
Prayer
Father, I thank you for the privilege of being part of your divine work. I submit to your call. Increase my vision and willingness to find myself in your grand plan.
Amen.
Dr. Glenn Collard
Founder and Director of Coram Deo International
Charlotte, North Carolina
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork:
Lausanne Pillar 1: The Gospel for Every Person
Bryn Gillette
2016
Acrylic on wooden panel
20 x 32 in.
Artist Bryn Gillette was commissioned by the Lausanne Movement, a platform and forum for Evangelical leaders around the world, to transcribe their four-pillar vision into a series of paintings, which resulted in: The Gospel For Every Person, An Evangelical Church for Every People, Christ-like Leaders for Every Church, and Kingdom Impact In Every Sphere Of Society. Gillette was honored and equally challenged by this opportunity to paint such a monumental subject. The artist wrestled with how best to capture the magnitude of God’s heart for the limitless diversity of humanity and culture. The result was a painted prayer that the gospel would reach every person on earth. The painting highlights a fisherman casting his net over the entire world (each continent outlined in gold) while a central cross composed at the equator and international dateline anchor the work. The net sparkles with the burst of blue and white light scattered across the globe, as seen from satellite photography of current population densities, and prophetically declares the prayer that God’s love would enfold every people group on earth and flood the remaining darkness with the light of the gospel.
About the Artist:
Bryn Gillette is a painter and art teacher defined by his identity as an “ambassador of Jesus Christ, a husband, and a father.” He finished seven years as a full-time art, photography, and Bible teacher at Trinity-Pawling School in 2017, and has recently moved with his wife and four children to NC to become the high school art teacher at Charlotte Christian School. Gillette is particularly excited that his children will now attend the same school that he works at and that their tribe can adventure through life together each day. He is the co-founder of TeamOne:27, a nonprofit dedicated to serving the needs of Haitian orphans, and has spent much of his artistic time as an advocate and champion of the needs of Haiti. The unique blend of Bryn’s Spirit-filled posture, realistic and abstract painting style, articulate speaking, and remarkably fast live painting process have made his work highly sought out by church communities, private collectors, and organizations.
https://www.lausanne.org/about/blog/gospel-every-person-painting
https://www.bryngillette.com/
https://www.bryngillette.com/lausanne
About the Music:
“Always” from the album Listen Empty
Lyrics:
My heart
My heart is deeper than the ocean
My grace
My grace is wider than the sky
My voice
My voice is louder than the darkness
My love
My love will bring you back to life
Though mountains may fall and crumble
My love will never change
Surely I am with you always
Just fix your eyes on me
Waters rise but do not be afraid
I am the sound in the silence
Surely I am with you always
Just fix your eyes on me
Waters rise but do not be afraid
Surely I am with you now
Come cast your cares on me
Lyricist/Composer:
Jordan Frye is a Los Angeles–based singer-songwriter and producer. Frye grew up in Ventura, California, surfing, skateboarding, and writing songs with his friends. Frye’s music consists of playful acoustic guitars with contrasting wanderlust lyricism drawn from his own personal experiences and stories. Frye works directly with labels, publishers, and artists primarily from Los Angeles and Nashville, with a unique focus on television and film.
https://resin8music.com/jordan-frye
Performers:
Urban Rescue is a revival band from Los Angeles. Fronted by Jordan Frye, Urban Rescue is on a mission to inspire the next generation of believers to see their churches, communities, and cities awakened by the gospel of Jesus Christ. With an untamed passion for worship emerging from pain and trials, the band has a heart to see broken cities and lives restored. In 2017 they released a special audio/visual project, City Sessions (Live in Los Angeles), independently reaching the top ten iTunes Christian and gospel charts and garnering over 100,000 views on YouTube. Urban Rescue’s 2016 full-length album, Wild Heart, debuted at number one on both the US and UK Christian music charts, and their singles “Never Stop” and “Song of My Father” made their way onto the national radio waves. Urban Rescue recently joined Kim Walker-Smith of Jesus Culture on the road in 2018, supporting her solo album OnMySideTour Urban Rescue has had the opportunity to support Hillsong United, Phil Wickham, Mercy Me, Jordan Feliz, David Crowder, and more.
http://www.urbanrescuemusic.com/
About the Poet:
Edward Estlin, “e. e.” cummings (1894–1962) was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobiographical novels, four plays, and several essays. He received his B.A. in 1915 and his M.A. in 1916, both from Harvard University. His studies there introduced him to the poetry of avant-garde writers such as Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound. In his work, Cummings experimented radically with form, punctuation, spelling, and syntax; he abandoned traditional techniques and structures to create a new, highly idiosyncratic poetic style. He attained great popularity, especially among young readers, for the simplicity of his language and his playful experimentation. During his lifetime, Cummings received a number of honors, including an Academy of American Poets Fellowship, two Guggenheim Fellowships, the Charles Eliot Norton Professorship at Harvard, the Bollingen Prize in Poetry, and a Ford Foundation Grant.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/e-e-cummings
https://poets.org/poet/e-e-cummings
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Glenn T. Collard
Director of Coram Deo International
Charlotte, North Carolina
Dr. Glenn T. Collard is the Director of Coram Deo International (Before the Face of God), in Charlotte, North Carolina, a ministry encouraging a resurgence of historic, authentic worship in today’s church. He writes, “The central concept of Coram Deo International is to live every day before the face of God. I believe this is the key to both the spiritual formation of the individual and of the resurgence of the church. The unifying principle is to anchor our current praxis to the ancient church fathers.” Glenn and his wife Dianne are the parents of three children. Their oldest son, Tim, is with the Lord. They have two other grown children, who are married and serving the Lord. They are the proud grandparents of five granddaughters.