Salvation Story
SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 
Read the passage
BIO: My name is Lori Needham and I have the great privilege for the last twelve years of being on staff at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando. I’ve been married 33 years to my best friend, Dan, and this church has been the spiritual anchor in our lives permitting us to know one another better, to know God individually and to grow spiritually with our extended church family. When not working or serving God, we enjoy travel, friends and family, and the solitude of God’s creation – especially at the beach!
KEY VERSE: 2 Corinthians 4:1 “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.”
CENTRAL TRUTH: All believers have a ministry and a personal story to share about Christ’s redeeming grace. It is through the work of the Holy Spirit that spiritual blindness and the veil of unbelief, darkness in our world, that God’s glory and light can be revealed.
DEVOTIONAL: Paul’s letter to the Corinthian people resonates with modern day Christians – especially if you struggle to find your purpose, or how God can use you to do His work – ministry! I love his encouragement – that it is through God’s mercy that He calls us to a ministry, but oh how quickly we are defeated and discouraged if we do not see results.
Certainly, through our own human limitations, we may feel inadequate sharing the gospel and our self-confidence in what we believe and whose we are may not be communicated effectively – we can lose heart.
God has created each of us with a purpose and He comes to us through the Holy Spirit to entrust us to do His work. It is in the doing of His work that we will find encouragement about ourselves and about life.
Paul is further stating that criticism may come your way as you share the gospel but we must remain faithful to the truth of this good news – do not be tempted to take away the power or effectiveness of the message. We are to remember and be reminded that the central message of the gospel is the living Lord Jesus Christ and that is what we are to share with the world.
Christ was born into a dark world to bring light that gives eternal hope and love. As Christians, our story is how this light, or the person of Jesus Christ, has impacted our life. Paul is also stating that not everyone will be open to see or hear this message or even accept it, but that should not deter us from sharing it. Our responsibility is to be a witness to the mercy and saving grace of Jesus Christ and to introduce him to others so they may have light in their dark world.
QUESTION 1: Have you openly and confidently shared your salvation story lately?
QUESTION 2: If not, what deters you from sharing?
QUESTION 3: Do you actively pray for the Holy Spirit to place people in your path that need to hear the Gospel? If not, will you pray that prayer?
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