The First Missionary - All Billy Graham Daily Devotionals for 2026

Daily Devotion - Thursday, September 1, 2023
by Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

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The First Missionary

Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
â€”Matthew 4:19

Jesus Himself was the first missionary! He did not sit by passively and let those who happened to be interested in His teaching come to Him. He went out where the sick, the sorrowing, and the sad were, and expounded His message of joy, healing, and salvation. Even at a tender age, He went to the Temple and "taught" the doctors and lawyers who were entrenched in the old traditions. He found His way to the seaside and intruded upon the life of the commonest of laborers, saying, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Wherever He went He challenged, uprooted, and changed men. And at length they nailed Him to a cross because He had upset their selfish, secure, smug way of life. Not only was Jesus a missionary, but He pledged His followers to be missionaries, too!

Prayer for the day
Wherever I go, it is a mission field for You, Lord. Help me to be conscious of this, so that I may tell others the joyous message.
The First Missionary

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