Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. Matthew 13:16

After the apostles died, how did Christianity spread? Domestic servants spoke the Good News in homes where they worked. Shopkeepers shared it with their customers. Housewives spoke it to others across rooftops in the cool of the evening. Children did the same as they played together. That's how Christianity conquered the Roman Empire.

With our eyes we look for opportunities to present Jesus Christ. Our mouths are for confessing the Christian faith. Our ears are for hearing the Gospel and listening sympathetically to others. When we confess what we believe about Jesus Christ, someone else's ears are open to hearing the message -- the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We may make excuses. When told to speak to Pharaoh, Moses complained that he had a speech impediment. Jeremiah excused himself by saying he was too young to be a prophet. Isaiah said, "Woe to me! ... I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips" (Isaiah 6:5). Jonah took a boat to go to the opposite direction from Nineveh.

Yet touched by the Spirit of God, these men spoke the Word of God. We too can proclaim the Good News to waiting ears. The Gospel is for hearing.

PRAYER: Lord God, here am I. Send me to speak of Jesus; in His name. Amen.

(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)

Today's Bible Readings: Genesis 29-30    Matthew 19

To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"