25 Sep October 10th Daily Devotion

A SERIES OF DEVOTIONS BASED ON PAUL’S SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

WATCHING YOU!

2 Corinthians 3:1-3 “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.”

The only Bible some people will ever read is you!  Some will never purchase, own, or read the Bible, yet there is still hope for them to learn about God’s love for them in Christ.  They can still receive the message of Jesus death and resurrection from you.  Jesus said, “ . . .  you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The hymn writer wrote that you may not be able to preach like Paul, but you can tell people about the love of Jesus and that He died for all.  (LSB 827)  John MacArthur wrote, “You are the only Bible some unbelievers will ever read, and your life is under scrutiny every day.”  There is nothing more discouraging than to hear someone say, “that person goes to church every week and you would never know it by how they live their life the other six days.”  There is nothing more uplifting than to hear someone say, “you know that person is a Christian by the way they live their life.”  Yes, people are watching you.

A Country Western singer wrote a song, “Watching You.” The chorus: “(The Father’s son is speaking) HE said “I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool? I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are  We’ve got cowboy boots and camo pants Ya we are just alike hey ain’t we dad?  I wanna do everything you do So I’ve been watching you.”  Oh, yes, the words that preceeded this chorus were about the little boy having said a “four letter word” that he learned from his father.

A while back in a devotion I wrote that God’s word is often as much caught as it is taught.  The lyrics of the song in the next verses speak about the boy kneeling beside his bed in prayer.  When asked by his father where he learned to do that, the boy’s answer was, “Dad, I’ve been watching you.”

You, like the Corinthian Christians, “. . . are (a) 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.”

Prayer:  Help me Lord, to show that I am a letter from Christ, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God on my heart.  Amen.

Take my life and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;

Take my moments and my days, Let them flow in ceaseless praise,

Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands and let them move At the impulse of Thy love;

Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for Thee,

Swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice and let me sing Always, only for my King;

Take my lips and let them be Filled with messages from Thee,

Filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold, Not a mite would IO withhold;

Take my intellect and use Ev’ry power as Thou shalt choose,

Ev’ry pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it Thine, It shall be no longer mine;

Take my heart, it is Thine own, It shall be Thy royal throne,

It shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour At Thy feet its treasure store;

Take myself, and I will be Ever, only, all for Thee.

Ever, only, all for Thee.

(LSB 784)