September 3, 2020 8:00 pm
Brittany exclaimed to her coworker at the restaurant, “There’s that man! There’s that man!” She was referring to Melvin, who first encountered her under different circumstances. While he was tending to the lawn of his church, the Spirit prompted him to start a conversation with the woman who appeared to be a prostitute. Her reply when he invited her to church was: “Do you know what I do? They wouldn’t want me in there.” As Melvin told her about the love of Jesus and assured her of His power to change her life, tears streamed down her face. Now, some weeks later, Brittany was working in a new environment, living proof of the power of Jesus to change lives.
In the context of encouraging believers to be devoted to prayer, the apostle Paul made a twofold request: “Pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should” (Colossians 4:3–4). Have you prayed for opportunities to speak boldly and clearly for Jesus? What a fitting prayer! Such prayers can lead followers of Jesus, like Melvin, to speak about Him in unexpected places and to unexpected people. Speaking up for Jesus can seem uncomfortable, but the rewards—changed lives—have a way of compensating for our discomforts.
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Welcome. Our Daily Bread would like to encourage you today with a reading entitled, Speak Up, which was written by Arthur Jackson. Brittany exclaimed to her coworker at the restaurant, There's that man!
There's that man! She was referring to Melvin, who first encountered her under different circumstances. While he was tending to the lawn of his church, the spirit prompted him to start a conversation with a woman who appeared to be a prostitute. Her reply when he invited her to church was, Do you know what I do?
They wouldn't want me in there. As Melvin told her about the love of Jesus and assured her of his power to change her life, tears streamed down her face. Now some weeks later, Brittany was working in a new environment, living proof of the power of Jesus to change lives. In the context of encouraging believers to be devoted to prayer in Colossians chapter 4, the apostle Paul made a two-fold request. Pray for us too that God may open a door for our message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should. Have you prayed for opportunities to speak boldly and clearly for Jesus? What a fitting prayer! Such prayers can lead his followers like Melvin to speak about him in unexpected places and to unexpected people. Speaking up for Jesus can seem uncomfortable, but the words, changed lives, have a way of compensating for our discomforts.
Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Colossians chapter 4 verses 2 through 6. Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us too that God may open a door for our message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders.
Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Now let's pray. Dear Lord, may our hearts seek to be willing to reach out to those who are lost, trapped, and simply don't know you. May our speech be sensitive, always having something kind to say, with hearts full of grace and acceptance. And give us great courage to speak boldly about our faith in you and your love for all. Thank you, Father, for the timely message you bring to us this day for such a time as this. And it's in Jesus' precious name we pray, amen.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-03-17 22:43:19 / 2024-03-17 22:44:50 / 2
