Devotion
Living Letters of Faith
Frances Taylor
Paul is calling these Corinthians "living epistles" or living letters filled with the Spirit of God. How does Christianity spread? In the early days of the church, Paul, Peter and the other apostles went from village to village from Jerusalem to Rome, to Greece and Asia Minor, to Ethiopia and beyond. They told the story of Jesus and the Good News of salvation. If it had ended there, we would not be Christians today. The witness of those converted to Christianity interested others enough to want to know more about this new faith. And so it continues today. Research has discovered that more people are drawn to a faith by the witness of the lives of people than by doctrine. Think about how you go about making friends. What draws you to a person? It can't be what you know about him or her because you just met. It is their smile, the way they welcome you? Whatever it is, you want to know more about them. It's the same with Jesus. Until we meet him, we aren't interested in learning about him. The best way to meet him is in the lives of those who follow him. Living epistles!
Prayer
Lord, let me be a living letter of faith to others. Help me to bring others to know you by the testimony of my life Amen.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
