The BLESSED Mask

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading, titled The Blessed Mask, was written by Katerra Patton. As the mask mandate requirements during the pandemic loosened, I struggled to remember to keep a mask handy for where they were still required, like my daughter's school. One day, when I needed a mask, I found just one in my car, the one I avoided wearing because it had blessed written across the front. I prefer to wear masks without messages, and I believe that the word on the mask I found is overused, but I had no choice, so I reluctantly put the mask on.

And when I nearly showed my annoyance with a new receptionist at the school, I caught myself, partly because of the word on my mask. I didn't want to look like a hypocrite, walking around with blessed scrawled across my mouth while showing impatience to a person trying to figure out a complicated system. Though the letters on my mask reminded me of my witness for Christ, the words of scripture in my heart should be a true reminder to be patient with others. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, you are a letter from Christ, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.

The Holy Spirit who gives life can help us live out love, joy, peace, and, yes, patience. We're truly blessed by His presence within us. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 1 through 6. Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?

Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ before God.

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Let's pray. Dear Jesus, help us to remember Paul's words today, that we are a letter from Christ to someone who needs to experience Your love and Your forgiveness. May we faithfully reflect what it means to live for You, to each person we meet. Thank You, Lord. It's in Your name that we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Toni Collier and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.