Chatty Bus

Thanks for joining us for today's encouragement from the Our Daily Bread devotional. Our reading, titled Chatty Bus, was written by Lisa M. Samra. In 2019, the Oxford Bus Company launched the instantly popular Chatty Bus, a bus with designated people on board willing to talk with interested passengers.

The route was initiated in response to government research which found that 30% of Britons go at least one day each week without a meaningful conversation. Many of us have likely experienced the loneliness that comes from not having someone to talk to in a time of need. As I reflect on the value of important conversations in my life, I'm especially reminded of discussions that were full of grace. Those times brought me joy and encouragement and they helped to cultivate deeper relationships. At the end of his letter to the Colossian Church, Paul encouraged his readers with principles of authentic living for believers in Jesus, including ways our conversations can exhibit love to everyone we encounter. The apostle wrote, let your conversation be always full of grace, reminding his readers that it is not simply the presence of words but the quality of those words, full of grace, that would allow them to be a true encouragement to others.

The next time you have the opportunity to connect deeply in conversation with a friend, co-worker, or even a stranger seated next to you on a bus or in a waiting room, look for ways your time together might bring blessing into both of your lives. 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, 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. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, in this age of immediate and constant connectedness to the world, feelings of disconnectedness and depression on the rise like never before, help us to take the time to reach out to a friend, family member, or maybe even a stranger on the street today, so that we may let them know they are loved and seen by us, and most importantly, by you. Help us to be a blessing to everyone we speak to today. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Toni Collier, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.