Tell Them What God Did

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Dave Brannon wrote today's reading and titled it, Tell Them What God Did. My college friend Bill Tobias has served as a missionary on a Pacific island for many years. He tells the story about a young man who left his hometown to seek his fortune, but a friend took him to church where he heard the good news Jesus offers and he trusted Christ as his savior. The young man wanted to take the gospel to his people who were steeped in sorcery, so he looked for a missionary to reach them. But the missionary told him to simply go tell them what God did for you, and that's what he did. Several people in his hometown received Jesus, but the biggest breakthrough came when the town's witch doctor realized that Christ was the way and the truth and the life. After he put his faith in Jesus, he told the whole town about him.

Within four years, the witness of one young man had led to the establishment of seven churches in the region. In 2 Corinthians, Paul sets forth a clear plan for introducing the gospel to those who don't yet know Christ and it aligns with what that missionary told the young believer in Jesus. We are to be Christ's ambassadors, his representatives as though God were making his appeal through us. Every believer has a unique story to tell of how Jesus made them a new creation who reconciled them to God. Let's tell others what he's done for us.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from the writings of Paul in 2 Corinthians 5 verses 12 through 21. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but we are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are out of our mind, as some say, it is for God.

If we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ's love compels us because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died. And he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone.

The new is here. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Would you pray with me? Dear God, sometimes in our desire to convincingly share Christ with others, we think that we need some polished presentation or special training.

Would you help us to remember that the most effective way to tell others about you is really out of our own personal experience with you? Please give us courage to tell others about your love and your forgiveness and remind us that when we do, you will go with us and give us the words to say. So Lord, we thank you. And it's in your name, Jesus, that we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Wes Ward and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.