Sunday
4-3-16 Viedma, Prov of Rio Negro.
Scripture
reading: Judges 17 – 18 Ps 89 2 Cor 3
S=Scripture O=Observation
A=Application P=Prayer SOAP for the soul.
S. 2 Cor 3:2-3 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read
by all men; clearly you are an
epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of
the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of
the heart. NKJV
2 Cor 3:2-3 You who have been converted under my ministry are my
recommendation letter. Your transformed lives are written indelibly in
our hearts. You are the proof of the truth and reality of our
message. Your lives are my recommendation letter signed by Christ
Himself... a letter more permanent than if it had been carved in stone... for
it is carved in our hearts.
NUHV*
O. The ministry of the Apostle
Paul was often criticized by certain elements among Jewish Christians. He
realized the great value of a recommendation letter... and he lifts high these
faithful converts, proof of his effective ministry.
A. When Frances and I had
recently married we moved from the Portland, Oregon area to Southern California
to complete our ministry training at what is now called Vanguard
University. In the Portland area I had been supporting my education by
driving a tank truck for ARCO and working nights in an ARCO service
station. I asked Frank Milliken, one of the two owners of Milliken and
Servas Richfield Distributors, for a recommendation letter. He wrote and
signed a letter golden letter on the company stationery that surpassed my
wildest expectations. When I showed that letter to the Anaheim area ARCO
distributors, they didn’t need a driver, but they hired me anyway and I worked
for them 3 years until graduation.
Today I am
retired and not looking for a job. But I have a powerful recommendation
letter. It is the lives of young men and women that have come to Christ
under our ministry. They are not perfect, but neither am I. And
some of you who are reading this devotional are the living, absolute proof of
the effectiveness of the Gospel we have preached.
P. Lord Jesus, may You still use
my life to reach out Your miracle working hand to transform lost sinners into
rescued saints. And may they never cease to be letters of recommendation,
whose lives prove the effectiveness of Your powerful touch... not to make me
look good, since I will soon fade from the picture... May they become Your
powerful recommendation letters to our skeptical, unbelieving world.
Amen.
Ralph
PS.
What message is the world around us getting... as they study my life and yours?
*New
Unauthorized Hiatt Version
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