Sharing Your Faith

I'm glad you can join us for today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Amy Boucher-Pye wrote our reading and she titled it, Sharing Your Faith. When author and evangelist Becky Pippert lived in Ireland, she longed to share the good news of Jesus with Heather, who'd done her nails for two years. But Heather hadn't seemed remotely interested. Feeling unable to start a conversation, Becky prayed before her appointment. While Heather worked on her nails, Becky flipped through an old magazine and paused at a picture of one of the models. When Heather asked why she was so riveted, Becky told her the photograph was of a close friend who'd years before been a Vogue cover model. Becky shared some of her friend's story of coming to faith in God, which Heather listened to with rapt attention.

Becky left for a trip, and later, when she returned to Ireland, she learned that Heather had moved to a new location. Becky reflected, I had asked God to provide an opportunity to share the gospel, and He did. Becky looked to God for help in her weakness, inspired by the apostle Paul. When Paul was weak and pleaded with God to remove the thorn in his flesh in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, the Lord said, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Paul had learned to rely on God in all things, the big and the small. When we depend on God to help us love those around us, we, too, will find opportunities to share our faith authentically.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 5 through 10. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me, but He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.

For when I am weak, then I am strong. Let's pray. Loving Jesus, thank you for working through our weaknesses to bring glory to your Father. We pray that you would move in our lives and give us the opportunity to share your good news of love, grace, and forgiveness with someone today. Thank you, Lord. It is in your name we pray. Amen.