August 16, 2018
God not only speaks through creation, His Son, His Word and angels, He also speaks to us through others. When I was an adolescent, I often listened to a pastor who answered questions on the radio on Sunday evenings. Although I hadn’t trusted in Christ yet, I developed an interest in reading God’s Word as I reflected on what Pastor Robert Johnson said. After I asked God’s forgiveness for my sins when I was seventeen, while following a four-lesson Bible course from Christian Direction, I spoke with Jim Yorgey on the phone. He had encouraged me to complete the course, which I began when I was fourteen, and directed me to a nearby church.
How about you? Have you seen God use others to help you in your spiritual journey? Do you have one or more friends or counsellors to whom you can turn for help and encouragement? Dr. David Jeremiah writes: “When it comes to people through whom God might give you wise counsel or advice, think of the notion of skill. Who are the people you know that have a track record of living life skillfully – that is, individually, in their family, in the public arena, in areas of morals and ethics and finances, and in service to Christ and His kingdom? That doesn’t mean that anything these people tell you is the voice of God to you. But it does mean that they can likely be trusted to have a biblical perspective on life and be able to give you godly guidance.”
Another way in which God communicates to us is through circumstances. When I worked in the accounts office of the Gazette newspaper before joining Global Outreach Mission, I talked to a colleague about the Lord and invited him to a concert at a church in downtown Montreal. Chuck Girard, who had been in a group in California called “Love Song,” played the guitar and piano for a few minutes and then said that he had been fighting laryngitis. When Chuck told how he came to faith in Christ, my colleague listened carefully and trusted Christ as his personal Saviour that evening. God used germs to reach Greg with the gospel!
Scripture for the weekend: “And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 (NASB)
Thought for the weekend: “The great obstacle to seeking the Lord is pride. ‘In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him’ (Psalm 10:4). Therefore, humility is essential to seeking the Lord.” – Dr. John Piper (from his book “A Godward Heart”)
Steve