Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Today's Passage

2 Corinthians 3:1-2

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.

The Corinthian believers at that time often regarded God's workers in worldly ways. People who came to minister had letters of recommendation from those who are well known. However, Paul did not have that. Hence, Paul told the believers in Corinth, "Do we need letters of recommendation? You are my letters of recommendation." In our ministry, it is not methods or principles we use. What matters is that hearts of people are changed. Have you been touched or transformed by God through your ministry? Many times in the ministry, you may feel tired and discouraged; but when a person accepts Christ because of your ministry, or is healed and restored through your ministry, you are encouraged and can run further for God.

From another angle, you and I are like letters of recommendation, known and read by everyone. Is your life like a letter being read by others? I remember when I was in college I had a group of close friends. One day one of them told me, "I have a special kind of feeling about you. I feel that other people can make mistakes, but you cannot make mistakes." Surprised, I asked him, "Why?" He said, "Because you are a Christian." Suddenly, I realized that the things that we do in our lives either draw people towards Christ or chase them away from God. Many believers do not realize this and think that it doesn't matter as long as I am not a full-time minister. They think that only the pastor has to be a good witness for Christ. In fact, the non-believers view the Christians the same way that Christians would view their pastors. The famous evangelist Oswald Smith once said there are five books of the gospel - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as your own. You read the four Gospels in the Bible, but your life is the only Gospel that the non-believers read. Only through you and I, can they recognize the salvation of Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 4:16 say: "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." May the Lord remind us in our daily lives to be the epistle of Christ, to be a glorious witness for Him.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, pray you will open my eyes to recognize that I am a letter, open and read by everybody. Help us to watch our speech and actions, so that others may see your works in our lives. We thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!