Acts. 1:8 ‘But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’

DAILY READING –Acts 26:19-32; 1 Samuel 1:1-2:10; Psalm 49

Andrew van der Bijl, is mostly known around the world simply as ‘Brother Andrew’. He is a Christian missionary famous for his exploits of smuggling Bibles to communist countries, a feat that earned him the nickname “God’s smuggler”.

Although he came from a Christian family,  however as a young boy, Andrew had no desire for the things of God, rather he loved adventure. And when the Nazis, invaded his native Holland, he joined the resistance army. Shot on the knees at 20 years of age, his military career ended after he was hospitalized for a long time. His mother had died during the war leaving him with her Bible. Through studying this Bible he found peace and would later surrender his life to Christ. Later on, after attending a Bible school, he took up the dangerous missionary endeavor of smuggling Bibles into communist states. With his Beetle car he would carry the Bible across borders, all the while praying to God to blind the eyes of the guards from seeing the Bibles in his back seat. Many times his prayers were answered and he would carry these Bibles into countries hostile to the Gospel, there he would spend time encouraging the churches and distributing the Bibles. God protected him throughout the period of these dangerous missions. After a while, other men joined him and their network kept expanding. After the 1960s, the group would go into Middle Eastern and Islamic nations. The mission was to encourage the persecuted church all around the world. Today, because of Brother Andrew’s passion and dedication, there now exists a ministry called ‘Open Doors’ which is an international missions organization that is located in more than 27 countries in the world, and reaches out to over 60 persecuted nations for the cause of Christ. Annually, 2 million Bibles are distributed by ‘Open Doors’. And countless souls have come to Christ because of this great ministry that God started through Brother Andrew. Details of his story are contained  in his book, which has been made into a movie titled  ‘God’s Smuggler’

In Acts. 1:8 Jesus said ‘But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’

When the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon a man it makes him to do extraordinary things. No doubt Brother Andrew was able to carry out his daring exploits through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Likewise, God desires us to fearlessly carry the light of the Gospel into all the world, pursuing our calling with passionate zeal.

In Ephesians 1:21 Paul said   ‘For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain’

Paul’s central passion in life was that Christ will be honored and magnified. For him, to live was to show that Christ is magnificent. And this should be our central theme too. We must be on fire and burning for the world to see. It is the blazing fire of The Holy Ghost in us that can overcome the darkness of this end-time. Lukewarm Christianity will not do, we need to be as burning lights.  Our lights must be burning and our lions girded about.  Leviticus 6:13 says the fire shall ever be burning upon the altar, it shall never go out. Indeed as sons of God we are to shine like stars in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

We must keep our lights constantly burning for the world to see. It is this burning light of the Gospel that will lead men out of the dark regions of sin and bondage to seek the true light of Christ. And to succeed in this, we must be entirely sold out to the cause of the Gospel.  In our lives, God must be Lord of all or not Lord at all. Indeed moderate Christianity will produce moderate results, and extreme Christianity will produce extreme results..  Seeking God first has to be the priority. The place of God in our heart will determine our placing upon the earth. Indeed if you will let God get the throne of your heart, He will secure a throne for you on the earth. When you are lost in His will, He will be lost in your welfare.

May today indeed mark a new beginning for us in our passion and zeal for the Gospel. Through the power of the Holy Ghost, let fresh fire be ignited in our hearts to carry the Gospel into all the world, starting from our Judea, which is our immediate environment.

The Blessing is in the going. Indeed when we start seeking first the promotion of God’s Kingdom, every other thing will be added unto us. Let’s stop living for things and really start living for God and the advancement of His kingdom!

Having come into the second month of the year, it is time for us to begin to run with Heaven’s agenda for the hour, which is soul wining. God has a grand plan for us this year, but for it to be accomplished, we have to seek His kingdom first. And we cannot seek God first and become the last.

Jesus has paid the great price of His blood to save humanity from eternal damnation and we must go into the world and spread this good news. Every spiritual lethargy or laxity that tries to stop us from obeying the great commission is destroyed today by the Blood of Jesus.  By the Blood of Jesus every weakness in us is turned into strength.  May we indeed receive grace for fresh fire and renewed passion to continually run with God’s agenda and preach the Gospel wherever we go.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to make You priority in everything, By Your grace I shall indeed share the good news of the Gospel wherever I go. Please keep my heart always panting after You and the affairs of Your Kingdom, May my zeal for You never wane in Jesus Name.

QUOTE: When God places His hand upon a man in life nothing can come against him, this is because the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.