Devotion #2: Go Right Here

Often, when I think of a vacation, I think of going to my grandparents’ house. They live on about 200 acres of farmland in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania, in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. To get there from Michigan takes about a day’s worth of straight travel.  

Today’s verse is about reaching others. Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  

For some context, in Acts 1:8, Jesus had died, risen, and was about to ascend into Heaven. Yet, before He did, He told His followers that the Holy Spirit would come upon them and that they were to be His witnesses. He states four places: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the world.  

I think the order of these places is important:  

For us, it goes to the city (neighborhood, school, and work), state, country, and then the world. When we think of reaching the world, I believe we often assume we need to go on a mission trip to some far-off country to make a difference. However, Acts 1:8 tells us to start right where we are.  

It starts in our own communities. If I wanted to reach my grandparents’ community with the Gospel, the first step I would take would be to reach my own community. 

I encourage you, if you have never shared the Gospel with your neighbor, do it today. Maybe you have never even talked to your neighbor; start that relationship. Let us spread the Gospel in our communities first. From there, we can reach our county, state, our neighboring states, our country, and eventually the whole world.