TODAY IN THE WORD

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Luke 15:1 - 32
There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. - Luke 15:10
TODAY IN THE WORD
The Parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the Bible's most well-known stories—familiar even to those outside the church—and it's found only in Luke. Along with the Parables of the Lost Coin and the Lost Sheep, the Prodigal Son is known primarily for the individual who is lost, but the driving force of the story is the compassionate love of the father.

Compassion was sorely lacking in the hearts of the Pharisees. A true man of God would have been thrilled that the so-called sinners welcomed by Christ were seeking to repent, and Jesus revealed a secret about how the heavenly realms looked upon the situation. Even angels, who like the oldest son in the parable had never left their master, were able to celebrate and welcome a lost sinner home.

This is a critical part of Jesus' teaching. Up to this point in Luke, some may have assumed that Jesus was pronouncing an inflexible final judgment against Jews who rejected Him. But this set of parables illustrates God's abiding love for His children who have rebelled and drifted away.

The eldest son of the parable may have been symbolic of Pharisees or other devout men and women who welcomed Jesus but cringed at the company He kept. The thrust of the passage is directed at those who consider themselves part of God's house but have improper attitudes toward the lost. Jesus was concerned not only for the salvation of His children but also for their maturation in His love and acceptance of all people.

The parable ends on a high note, with the father extending assurance and compassion to his pouting eldest son. Instead of rebuking him for his jealousy and stony spirit, the father reaffirmed the son's place in the family and invited him to experience the joy of the celebration.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Are there any people for whom you have trouble praying? Be honest with yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to search out your heart and reveal any unfair attitudes toward others. We should not rejoice in the judgment of “sinners,” but instead we should earnestly pray for their repentance and salvation and hope for the day when we can rejoice with all of heaven when that prayer is answered.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 9:35-38
Ask the Lord of the harvest...to send out workers into his harvest field. - Matthew 9:38
TODAY IN THE WORD
In a letter to a friend just weeks before his death, Dwight L. Moody wrote, ""What a joy to be in the harvest field and have a hand in God's work!"" Another time he said, ""I would rather save one soul from death than have a monument of solid gold reaching from my grave to the heavens.""

No one could question that D. L. Moody was passionate about people and the gospel, which is the main theme of the book A Passion for Souls, from which the above quotes were taken.

This excellent new biography of Moody, by historian Lyle Dorsett, documents Moody's multi-faceted work: as a world-renowned evangelist, an educator, and an equipper of young people. D .L. Moody inspired countless numbers of men and women to enter God's service.

We thank the Lord for the godly legacy we have been given from the founder of Moody Bible Institute. This month, we want to be challenged and inspired by the lives of people such as D. L. Moody--heroes of the faith, both well-known and obscure, whose passion for souls has marked both the church and the world.

Along the way, we will pray that God would give each of us the same passion for souls that motivated others to serve Him so effectively. And we rejoice in the good news that God is still using people such as us to win the lost, leaving a mark for Him on our world.

This passage in Matthew reminds us why having a passion for souls is so important. Jesus' command to pray for workers in God's harvest fields is a call to every generation of believers.

The context of today's verse is crucial. Notice first the way Jesus freely ministered to the people around Him. We can't heal diseases the way He did, but we can minister to people's needs as we show them Jesus' love.

We can also try to see people as they really are, just as Jesus did. He looked at their hearts (Eph. 1:18) and perceived their spiritual need. There was no shortage of hurting people in Jesus' day, and the fact that the harvest is still plentiful tells us there will always be people who need Christ.

We have Jesus' example and command, a world full of souls ripe for spiritual harvest, and a Lord who is ready and willing to send out workers in response to prayer. The only shortage is the number of willing workers.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
How do we cultivate a passion for souls?

For some of us, it comes when we first see people in their true spiritual condition and realize how desperately they need Christ. Others are moved when they realize that God is calling them to help bring in His harvest. Still others ""catch"" a passion for souls from fellow believers. Wherever you are today, why not begin this month by asking God to open the eyes of your heart in a new way?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: John 4:34-38
I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. - John 4:35
TODAY IN THE WORD
In his book A Passion for Souls (which we will refer to often in these studies), author Lyle Dorsett tells of D. L. Moody's extensive work among the troops at the front lines in the Civil War. Though just a young man himself, Moody became a spiritual counselor to thousands of men. He preached to the soldiers on numerous occasions, and Dorsett says that in ""dirty, fly-infested, impersonal field hospitals"" Moody dealt with thousands of wounded and dying men. The future evangelist ""learned the delicate art of one-to-one personal counseling--and he learned to do it with urgency and compassion.""

War was a painful but effective spiritual training ground for Dwight Moody. He carried that sense of urgency with him into his work after the Civil War.

Jesus impressed that same sense of urgency on His disciples. In fact, upon speaking with Jesus, the woman He had met at a well went back to her Samaritan town to tell the people, ""Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did"" (v. 29). This famous encounter is the setting for another of Jesus' teachings about the importance of souls.

It's clear from His exchange with the disciples about food (vv. 31-33) that Jesus hungered to do God's will more than He hungered even for His daily food.

What a poignant illustration of what it means to have a passion for souls! As always, Jesus is our perfect example. But He also had a message for His disciples.

When Jesus told the disciples to look at the fields, it's likely that they saw a crowd of people coming from the Samaritan woman's village to meet Jesus (v. 30). If that's the case, then this unfolding situation was a perfect object lesson to illustrate Jesus' point. The message of a fruitful harvest was reinforced when the people believed in Jesus (vv. 39-42).

Verses 35-38 show that both sowers and reapers are needed when it comes to sharing the gospel and reaching a world in need of Christ. Many others, such as D. L. Moody, have done the ""hard work"" (v. 38), preparing the way for us to continue on in reaping the harvest of souls.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Nothing fuels a passion for souls quite like seeing God use your witness and influence to reach another person for Christ.

We often suggest that you add to your prayer list friends and family members who don't have a personal relationship with Christ. We also encourage you to seek out opportunities to witness to them. Today we want to make the same suggestion--but with a new touch of urgency. Ask God to put a spiritually needy person on your heart, and commit yourself to sharing the gospel with that person before the month is over.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 9:9-13
It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick....For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. - Matthew 9:12-13
TODAY IN THE WORD
Not everyone understands a passion for souls. Again, the early ministry of MBI founder Dwight L. Moody is a good example. It is generally agreed that Moody could have used his boundless energy and people skills to make a fortune in the business world of his day. That was once his goal, before the Lord completely gained control of his heart.

Moody gave up a promising career in sales to work with the poorest of the poor, the inhabitants of Chicago's tenements and the urchins who ran the city's streets and alleys. At one point, Moody's Sunday school class contained some of the toughest street kids in Chicago. Moody's critics scoffed at his motives and called him ""Crazy Moody,"" but he pressed on.

Jesus had His critics too, generally the Pharisees who detested the way that Jesus' ministry broke their taboos and crossed over established religious and social boundaries. But Jesus pressed on with His work, because He had a band of apostles to assemble and spiritually sick people to reach.

Evidently, Matthew understood immediately. At dinner that night his house was filled with other tax collectors and a group of people called ""sinners"" (v. 10).

We know that the tax collectors generally had a bad reputation, much of it well-deserved. No Pharisee would want to eat with such a person, because the Pharisees considered them to be among the ""sick"" who needed a doctor.

The sinners may have been people who did not follow all the regulations of the Pharisees, making them ceremonially unclean to these legalists. But this group probably also included people with unsavory reputations, such as prostitutes.

Whatever the exact makeup of Matthew's dinner party, they were the right people for Jesus, because sinners were exactly the people He came to save.

The Pharisees wereoffended by the scene, complaining to the disciples about Jesus' choice of companions. They valued ""sacrifice,"" or strict adherence to the law. But they failed when it came to ""mercy,"" or compassion for those in need.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
These days, people often refer to leaving our ""comfort zones"" to reach out to people who need Christ.

Matthew definitely left his comfort zone. He had a change of occupation and a completely new spiritual direction, all at the same time. Only you know whether you need to leave the safety of your comfortable, familiar environment to impact someone's life for Christ. Why not go to that lost neighbor, or call that acquaintance, you've been meaning to contact in hopes of building a relationship? God will give you all the strength you need if you'll step out in faith.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Isaiah 55:1-11
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. - Isaiah 55:6
TODAY IN THE WORD
As the wife of Adoniram Judson, one of America's first missionaries, Ann Judson shared her husband's devotion to Christ and his passion for the lost. The Judsons arrived in Burma in 1812 and spent their lives sharing Christ with the Burmese people.

Ann revealed her heart when she said, ""Might I be the means of converting a single soul, it would be worth spending all my days to accomplish."" Though Ann's days were short--she died in Burma at age 36--God used her and Adoniram in mighty ways.

Ann and Adoniram Judson were able to offer the people of Burma the gift of salvation because of a faithful God who is calling all nations to Himself. The invitation of Isaiah 55 is issued specifically to the Gentiles, the people outside of Israel who are urged to come to ""the Holy One of Israel"" and be saved.

The wonderful logic of salvation is expressed in verses 1-2. Why should people spend their lives on that which leaves them empty and unsatisfied, when God offers a place at His banquet table to anyone who turns to Him in faith? This is an offer we can give to anyone with joy and conviction.

God's desire is to save; and His salvation, the new covenant under which we live, is an everlasting promise (v. 3). But while God's guarantee of salvation is eternal, the opportunity for salvation is not (vv. 6-7).

This is one reason for the sense of passion and urgency that characterizes the ministry of the gospel. God has an abundance of mercy and pardon for every sinner who seeks Him, but the day will come when sinners will no longer find God to be a God of mercy and salvation, but a God of judgment.

Some people who hear the plan of salvation think it is too good to be true. They wonder how it can be that when we give God our sin and hopelessness, He gives us eternal life and the riches of heaven. Who would have conceived such a plan? Only the God whose thoughts and ways are infinitely higher than ours!

Nobody has a better offer than God's offer of salvation. Let's not keep it to ourselves.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Do you have a salvation plan available by which you can open your Bible and guide another person through the basics of the gospel?

One effective method is the ""Romans Road,"" which we have used many times in Today. If you don't have these verses written down somewhere, we encourage you to do so today. The outline, from the Book of Romans, is simple: 3:23, the reality of sin; 6:23, the result of sin; 5:8, Christ's payment for sin on the cross; 10:9, the need to believe in Christ; and 10:13, God's assurance of salvation to those who call on Him.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 2:14-41
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. - Acts 2:32
TODAY IN THE WORD
The Scottish reformer John Knox was born just a few years before Martin Luther launched the Protestant Reformation. Knox, who became deeply involved in Reformation preaching and activity, is said to have cried out to God, ""Give me Scotland or I die!"" Knox's passion for the souls of his countrymen moved the hand and heart of God. Despite years of exile in France, Germany, and Switzerland, Knox was the primary originator of the Scottish Reformation.

Like John Knox, the apostle Peter had a deep passion for the salvation of his countrymen. And just as Knox faced opposition, threats, and arrest for preaching Reformation truth to the monarchs and religious establishment of Europe, Peter also faced hostility for his witness about Jesus Christ.

There's one more parallel between the two: their courage to preach Christ, regardless of the cost. Peter had denied Jesus three times at the cruci-fixion. But just a few weeks later, ""Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd"" fearlessly on the Day of Pentecost (v. 14).

It took a passion for truth and plenty of courage for Peter to declare, ""You, with the help of wicked men, put [Jesus] to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead"" (vv. 23-24).

Peter's Pentecost sermon demonstrated to the Jews that the miraculous events they were seeing were not the result of drunkenness, but the prophesied work of the Holy Spirit. And he proved that Jesus was the Christ, the promised Messiah from God.

The message was powerful, the evidence irrefutable. But Peter wasn't just proving a point. When his listeners were convicted by the Spirit and said, ""What shall we do?"" (v. 37), Peter was ready. He called for repentance in the name of Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and baptism as a testimony of that change of heart.

The response was overwhelming (v. 41), and the church was born. Peter would pay a heavy price for his commitment to Christ, including threats, arrest, a severe beating (Acts 4-5), and imprisonment under a death sentence (Acts 12). A true passion for souls can be costly.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Courageous Christian leaders such as the apostle Peter and John Knox are God's gifts to the church.

Let's thank God for these passionate defenders of truth who helped make possible the blessings we enjoy today, including the Word of God. The Moody family also invites you to join us in praising God for the life and ministry of D. L. Moody, whose birthday (February 5, 1837) we commemorate today.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 3:1-10
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! - 2 Corinthians 5:17
TODAY IN THE WORD
Lulu Cecilia Fleming was born in Florida in 1862, the daughter of a slave who died at the close of the Civil War. This remarkable woman received training in theology and became the first black person commissioned for career missionary service by the Woman's American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society. Miss Fleming's first term of service was in the Congo, after which she came home and completed medical school. She returned to the Congo as a medical missionary, but contracted African sleeping sickness and died in 1899.

Dr. Fleming did not have much in the way of ""silver or gold"" to give the people God called her to serve. But what she had, she gave freely. She gave of her love for Christ and of her abilities as a teacher and physician. Ultimately, Dr. Fleming gave her life in service to the Lord.

The same could be said of many of God's servants. Though Peter and John did not have what the crippled man at the temple gate was looking for, they certainly had what he needed.

It's interesting that while this man's healing was recorded, his salvation is not specifically mentioned. But the events that follow make it obvious that this hungry beggar received the Bread of Life when he encountered the two apostles that day.

This story, and a number of incidents in the Gospels, illustrate a fact we mentioned at the beginning of the month. A passion for souls involves caring about the whole person, body and spirit. Combining evangelism with care for human needs has been a successful ministry formula for many centuries.

Some people in church history have focused on the physical and social side of ministry, to the neglect of people's eternal needs. But the pattern for us is established in Scripture. Peter and John did not simply heal this man and leave him in his sins. He became another witness to Israel of God's saving grace in Christ (see Acts 3:11-26).

Jesus also cared for the whole person. He said to a sinful woman, ""Your faith has saved you"" (Luke 7:50), and to a suffering woman, ""Your faith has healed you"" (Luke 8:48). Interestingly, ""saved and ""healed"" are the same word in the original language.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
When we are passionate about souls, we will view people the way Jesus saw them, as whole persons with physical, material, and spiritual needs.

There are probably people in your community, or in your own church, who have needs you can help meet. Maybe you can help them through a family project, or through your Sunday school class or prayer group. Your church leaders are a good resource for this type of information. Why not ask about the possibilities this weekend?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 18:1-6; 19:13-15
Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. - Matthew 19:14
TODAY IN THE WORD
Few people in his day had a greater passion for the salvation and training of children than Dwight Moody. As his involvement in ministry grew during his early years in Chicago, Moody found himself increasingly drawn to the poorest children of Chicago, who were not being reached by more conventional methods and Sunday schools. Moody ventured boldly into the worst district of Chicago, called ""the Sands,"" where children lived in degrading conditions. He befriended these neglected children, rented a vacant saloon, and soon had a Sunday class going--often amid fighting, screaming, and boisterous laughter.

D. L. Moody took seriously Jesus' command concerning the importance of bringing children to Himself. Children may be overlooked when the conversation turns to the ""heavy"" issues of theology and spiritual matters. But in Matthew 18 Jesus punctuated a question from an adult, ""Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"", by placing a child in the middle of the circle of disciples. The Savior then insisted that child-like humility and faith are prerequisites for salvation.

Although this scene can easily be sentimentalized, this was not just a touch of emotion on Jesus' part. He identified Himself with the children in terms of how they were treated. Clearly, His kingdom is wide open to believing children. Jesus also issued a dire warning to anyone who causes a child to fall away spiritually.

Evidently some unnamed disciples didn't completely understand the message, since a short time later they tried to ""shoo"" away some parents who wanted Jesus to pray for their children. These followers may have been trying to save Jesus some time. Or they may have considered the children an annoyance.

Whatever the reason for the disciples' rebuke, Jesus again set the record straight. Today's verse contains both an invitation and a warning. Jesus invited us to bring children to Himself, and urged us to remove anything that might keep them from coming to Him--including neglect and indifference on the part of adults.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
If you want encouragement in your ministry to children, we recommend a reading of Lyle Dorsett's book, A Passion for Souls, the life of D. L. Moody, from which we are drawing this month.

If you are already helping to evangelize and disciple children, keep up the good work. If you are not currently involved in a ministry to children and young people, we encourage you to talk with the leaders at your church. You don't have to be a parent, or even married, to touch young lives for the Lord. Ask God to lead you as you consider the possibilities.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Luke 15:1-10
There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. - Luke 15:10
TODAY IN THE WORD
Once again, the life of Dwight L. Moody gives us a powerful illustration of what it means to have a passion for souls. As Moody's ministry grew, he struggled mightily over the question of whether he should leave the business world and enter the work of Christ full-time. Once Moody made the decision and informed his employers of his intention to resign, most of his friends counseled Moody against this ""wild undertaking"" of going into full-time ministry. But his future wife, seventeen-year-old Emma Revell, promised to stand by him in his decision.

It's easy for well-meaning people to misunderstand a passion such as this. Most of Moody's friends probably weren't motivated by opposition to the gospel. They just didn't think it made sense for someone so successful and gifted in business to throw it all away. But Moody had made seeking souls his ultimate priority.

In doing this, Dwight Moody was like his Lord. Through the parables of Luke 15, Jesus was teaching the Pharisees that it was not only right for Him to seek the lost, it pleased God. The Pharisees considered tax collectors and ""sinners"" beneath them, but these were the kind of people Jesus came to seek.

We're dealing today with the first two parables of this famous chapter, which are less familiar than the story of the prodigal son but teach the same basic principle. When a person comes to know Christ, heaven is filled with rejoicing.

The stories of the shepherd and of the woman also emphasize God's initiative in seeking the lost, which is a major theme throughout Luke. What a contrast to the Pharisees' attitude of completely avoiding sinners!

The value of each person is also obvious from these stories. The shepherd was not content with his 99 sheep, because one was missing and in danger. The woman would not rest until she had found the lost coin, which may have been part of her dowry.

Jesus mentioned the angels as part of the heavenly rejoicing over the salvation of even one sinner. But the greatest joy belongs to God the Father, just as the father was the happiest of all when his son returned.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We can't help but be challenged by the example of people who are willing to forego wealth on earth for the true riches of heaven.

That leads to a question worth considering today. Would you be willing to give up something this week to spend extra time praying for lost people you know? Maybe you could dedicate a lunch hour to prayer and fasting for unsaved friends or family. Or leave off favorite TV programs for a few days and spend that time with the Lord. We urge you to consider a sacrifice for souls this week.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 20:17-38
How can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? - Romans 10:14-15
TODAY IN THE WORD
A Spanish man named Ramon Lull was preaching the gospel in Africa more than 600 years ago when he was attacked and severely beaten. As Lull lay near death, two Italian men sympathetic to his message rescued him and put him on a ship back to Spain. Lull died on the journey, but not before making this plea: ""Beyond this sea which washes this continent we know lies another continent we've never seen whose natives are ignorant of Christ. Send men there!""

Ramon Lull's passionate call for missionaries is the challenge that comes to every generation of believers. As Paul stated in Romans 10 that if the lost are to believe the gospel, they must hear the message of Christ from someone whom God has sent. The last question Paul asks, ""How can they preach unless they are sent?"", puts the issue where it belongs: at the feet of Christians such as us.

Paul answered God's call to preach the gospel in pagan cities such as Ephesus, and the results are there for us to read in the book of Acts. He stayed a long time in Ephesus, building the church he founded into a growing, maturing body of disciples. Later, on his way back to Jerusalem and eventual imprisonment in Rome, Paul met with the elders of this church at a place called Miletus.

What followed was a scene of great tenderness and holy passion, as Paul reminded these leaders of the integrity with which he had declared the gospel to them and served among them as a teacher and shepherd of souls.

It isn't hard to imagine the feelings these men had for Paul. He was the person God sent to lead them out of the darkness of idolatry and immorality, and into the light of Jesus Christ.

For these believers and the others they represented, the question of how they would hear and believe the message of Jesus was answered years earlier when Paul obeyed the voice of the risen Christ (Acts 9:6).

We often think of those called to preach as ""professionals"" who enter the ministry as a full-time vocation. But part of these leaders' calling is to equip every member of Christ's body for service--including the service of evangelism.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Many churches have formal programs to help teach their members how to share the gospel and lead people to Christ.

But even if your church does not have an evangelism class or an outreach right now, there are probably committed people in your congregation who could show you the basics of evangelism, or help you polish up skills that may have become rusty. Why not look for some possibilities this week?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 9:15-27
I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. - 1 Corinthians 9:22
TODAY IN THE WORD
There's more to the story of Ramon Lull, the early Spanish missionary to Africa (see yesterday's study). One of the two men who put Lull on a ship back to Spain, and heard Lull pleading for missionaries to be sent beyond the ocean, was Stefano Colombo, or Columbus. The story of Lull's martyrdom was passed down through generations of the Columbus family. More than 150 years later, one of Columbus's descendants, a young sailor named Christopher, became convinced that God was calling him to sail to new worlds with the good news of Jesus Christ.

A person's genuine passion for souls can have a powerful influence on others. This was true in the case of the apostle Paul. He was a witness and a participant in the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:57-8:1), and he never forgot the incident (see Acts 22:20). Without a doubt, Stephen's testimony had a profound effect on Paul.

The verses we read today are a great statement of Paul's ministry philosophy. They give us another glimpse into the heart of this passionate missionary. The apostle's commitment to identifying with people, so as to win as many as possible to Christ, has sometimes been misunderstood and misapplied.

Paul was not saying that he dressed or acted like unbelievers so that he could get close to them and share the gospel. We need to understand the people we are trying to reach, and be willing to reach across cultural or other barriers to share Christ.

And it should go without saying that Paul was not advocating that we enter into the sins of unbelievers in an attempt to identify with them. This has happened to some overzealous Christians who have blurred the lines of righteousness. But unbelievers are usually quick to write off someone who is trying too hard to be like them.

The context here is Paul's refusal to use all the rights he could have demanded as an apostle (vv. 1-14). Although he didn't have to restrain his freedom in Christ when dealing with Jews, he voluntarily limited himself in order not to needlessly offend people and hinder them from accepting the message of the gospel. Passion is not a substitute for good judgment.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Chances are that if you know Christ, someone else's life and witness influenced you and helped point you toward the Savior.

We call these people ""spiritual parents."" You may have one, or several. Today would be a good time to thank that special person once again for caring about you. If that's no longer possible, express your gratitude to the Lord...and redouble your commitment to pass on the blessing and influence to someone you know.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Luke 7:36-50
The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. - Mark 2:10
TODAY IN THE WORD
Ann Judson, the pioneer missionary who left behind a comfortable life in America to go to Burma with her husband Adoniram (see the February 4 study), once wrote to her sister, ""A little sacrifice for the cause of Christ is not worth naming, and I feel it a privilege, of which I am entirely undeserving, to have had it in my power to sacrifice my all for Him who hesitated not to lay down His life for sinners.""

Any sacrifice we can make has to seem small compared to what Jesus Christ has done for us. No sinner who has come to Him in repentance and faith has ever been turned away. Jesus' compassion was always extended to those who sought forgiveness.

The story of the sinful woman and the self-righteous Pharisee is a perfect example of Jesus' infinite compassion for lost people. There are several amazing things about this incident.

The first is that this woman, despite her soiled reputation, felt safe in approaching Jesus to demonstrate repentance and sorrow for her sin. She was taking a huge risk of rejection and humiliation, should Jesus refuse to have anything to do with her, or hold her up to ridicule. It's obvious she would have received nothing but scorn from Simon, Jesus' host.

It's also amazing to see Jesus' complete composure as this woman wept on His feet, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. There isn't another man on earth who could have dealt with this potentially embarrassing and awkward situation the way Jesus did.

Simon the Pharisee's lack of passion for lost souls was mirrored in his treatment of Jesus. Simon's failure to provide the customary courtesies for his guest betrayed a low sense of value for Jesus and His mission of seeking and saving the lost. And it revealed Simon's pride of heart that made him feel superior to a ""sinner.""

What a moment it must have been when Jesus forgave this woman her many sins! It left the other dinner guests in amazement. The woman left free of her sin, declared righteous in God's sight--the act of God's grace that Paul would later call justification by faith.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Have you ever glanced at someone, perhaps on the street--and then stopped to really look at that person?

When you do that, you begin to see things you didn't notice at first glance. That's what we need to do with people on the spiritual level. Simon only saw a sinner; Jesus saw a sinner who was eager for salvation. Seeing people through Jesus' eyes can make all the difference. Ask God to help you do that with the people around you. But be careful: seeing people the way Jesus sees them will intensify your passion for souls!

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 8:1b-25
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. - Acts 1:8
TODAY IN THE WORD
One of the people whose lives were changed by their contact with D. L. Moody was Daniel Webster Whittle. Like Moody, Whittle was a young man from Massachusetts who had moved to Chicago. The two met during the Civil War as Whittle, a Union lieutenant, was recovering from a serious wound. He returned to the business world in Chicago after the war, but largely through Moody's influence, Whittle left business for the ministry in 1873. Whittle's daughter, Mary, also married Moody's older son, William.

In many ways, D. W. Whittle reminds us of a modern-day Philip. We don't know what Philip's occupation was before the Day of Pentecost and birth of the church. But he was one of the seven godly men chosen as deacons in the Jerusalem church (Acts 6:5), and it's obvious that serving with people such as the apostles and Stephen had a profound, life-changing impact upon Philip. God gave this faithful man a deep passion for souls.

The persecution that hit Jerusalem scattered the believers, and Philip took this as his cue that God wanted him to preach the gospel. His trip to Samaria follows the pattern of ever-widening ministry that Jesus had established for His church.

The miraculous powers God gave Philip over demons and disease (vv. 6-7) also show that his evangelistic mission to Samaria was not a casual or haphazard decision. Philip's ministry carried the authenticating mark of the Holy Spirit that was typical of the ministry in Acts.

Philip's work also received a tremendous stamp of authenticity when Peter and John came from Jerusalem to Samaria to see what God was doing through Philip. The apostles conferred the gift of the Holy Spirit on the new believers there, a repeat of the miracle of Pentecost as the church was being established.

The Samaritan revival set the course for the rest of Philip's life, as we will see tomorrow when we follow him from the city to a desert road.

Philip is an encouragement to us because he was an everyday kind of person, a follower of Christ faithfully doing an everyday kind of job--when God used him for something greater. It can happen again!
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
God has a unique way of using circumstances to direct us according to His will for our lives.

God may not be pointing you toward a full-time ministry of evangelism like Philip, but it could be that you're in the middle of a situation, or even a setback, that doesn't seem to make sense right now. If so, we encourage you to consider the possibility that God may be using your circumstance to touch someone else for eternity. Only God knows the reason, and He will show you His plan as you are open to His leading.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Acts 8:26-40
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. - Proverbs 11:30
TODAY IN THE WORD
No picture of D. L. Moody's ministry would be complete without the inclusion of Ira Sankey, the gifted musician who became Moody's close associate in ministry.

In the book A Passion for Souls, author Lyle Dorsett gives the account of the first time these two men met in 1870. Moody peppered Sankey with questions about his family and occupation, and then told the Pennsylvania resident he would have to give up his work and move to Chicago to join Moody in ""the work."" Sankey was startled, but agreed to pray with Moody about the issue. In less than a year, Sankey had resigned a well-paying, secure job and moved to Chicago to join the evangelist.

The years proved that Ira Sankey was not simply yielding to the determined passion of Dwight Moody, but to the Spirit of God. Stories such as this one of radical obedience to the Lord fascinate us because they are so rare.

Let's examine Philip, the ""table-waiter"" (Acts 6:2) turned evangelist. Leaving Jerusalem under the pressure of persecution, Philip went to Samaria with the gospel--hardly a choice assignment for a Jew from Judea, where the Samaritans were considered to be unclean and inferior.

But Philip went to a city in Samaria, and a great revival broke out. It could have been a self-satisfying time for him, with the miracles he was performing and a visit from the two most prominent of the apostles (Acts 8:4-17).

But God had a step of radical obedience He wanted Philip to take. The angel's order to leave a bustling revival and head south down a desert road alone may have seemed like a trip to nowhere for Philip, but he immediately obeyed. And it wasn't long before he saw the dust of a chariot.

Philip didn't have any gospel tracts with him, and the ""Romans Road"" plan of salvation (See the February 4 study) had not been written yet. But Philip knew the Scriptures, so he was able to lead the Ethiopian court official to Jesus from a passage in Isaiah 53.

Only the Lord knows exactly how the Ethiopian man's conversion helped to spread the gospel into north Africa. The point is that the gospel was going forward because of disciples such as Philip who were obedient to the voice of God (note v. 29).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Interestingly, years later Philip was known as ""Philip the evangelist"" (Acts 21:. His passion for souls and obedience to God became a way of life for him.

Philip's example is a great challenge for us as we see what God can do with an ordinary person who has an extraordinary passion to serve Him. Let's pray today that our lives will be so characterized by faithfulness and obedience to Christ that each of us can be called ""faithful.""

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: John 3:13-18
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. - John 3:17
TODAY IN THE WORD
Radio Bible teacher Ray Ortlund says that if all the world's people stood four across in close formation, there would be a line of people reaching around the earth at the equator sixteen times. Speaking about the world's need of Christ, and our need of a passion for the lost, Ortlund asks, ""We don't have to look for people to care about, do we?""

This question answers itself. The amazing thing about the world's population is not just the staggering number of people, but the fact that God knows and loves each person--intensely and individually. What better topic to talk about on Valentine's Day than God's love for the people He has made?

John 3:16 is so familiar and so often quoted that we sometimes forget it came from Jesus' own lips. God's love for the world is individualized in the ""whoever"" of Jesus' invitation to believe in Him. In verse 15, Jesus also gave the assurance that all who believe in Him will have eternal life.

So the gospel invitation is open to anyone who will believe. The verses surrounding John 3:16 also remind us of several other truths about evangelism that should stir our passion for souls.

The first of these truths is the cost of salvation, the death of Christ on the cross. Jesus' reference to Moses and ""the snake in the desert"" (v. 14) referred back to the judgment of God against a complaining Israel in the wilderness (Num. 21:4-9).

Moses made a bronze snake and lifted it up on a pole so that everyone who looked up at the pole was saved. This became a picture of Jesus Christ ""lifted up"" on the cross, carrying the sins of the world. Jesus was pointing to His crucifixion and His power to save those who put their trust in Him.

The other fact is the necessity of salvation. God does not want anyone to ""perish"" (v. 16; 2 Pet. 3:9). But without Christ, people stand ""condemned already"" because sin has been judged.

Notice that God's ""whoever"" also applies to anyone who rejects His Son as Savior (v. 18). The great price Jesus paid, and the great choice every person must make, should motivate us to do whatever it takes to send out the gospel message.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Here's a suggestion to help you focus your concern for world evangelism.

Choose a country of special interest to you. Find out about the people, the religion(s), and what kind of missionary work is being done there (your church missions committee may have information to help you). Make your adopted country the focus of family prayers, and for those of you who have children, ask them to join in and find out all they can. They will quickly gain your enthusiasm.