| “…they spoke so effectively that a great number…believed.” |
| —Acts 14:1b |
Since that moment when the Holy Spirit did His work in our lives that revealed we were sinners in need of a Savior, and that because of God’s love for us, God has given us salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, we have walked the pathway of our lives as instruments of His grace. Every person we encounter along the road of life gets a glimpse of God’s mercy, grace, and love at work within us. God has made us “living testimonies” of His care for humankind.
Most of the time, that glimpse of God’s working in us comes by way of the words we speak and the actions we take. People can sense the Spirit of Christ within us by what we say, what we do, and the way we say and do it.
Occasionally, God gives us an opportunity to very directly speak a word in His behalf. Scripture tells us that on such occasions the Holy Spirit will give us exactly the right words to say. So, whether by our actions or by our words, we represent the God who loves us to a very needy world.
Of course, we hope that our efforts will become such a natural part of our lives that we will always represent our Lord in an effective way. Dr. Luke gives an example of this when he writes the following words in Acts 14:1:
At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.
As we begin a new day, let’s think about the hours that will open up ahead for us and let’s pray for the people who will come across our pathway in the course of this day. Let us pray that by our actions—and, when prompted by the Holy Spirit, by our words—we will have a positive influence on behalf of Christ and His Kingdom.
If we follow in the footsteps of Jesus today, we will plant a “seed of Christ” in each person we pass along our way. As we pray for each person we might encounter, we must ask the Holy Spirit to make both our actions and our words effective testimonies of God’s mercy, grace, and love.
Based on a post from Friday, March 6, 2015
