“But the word of the Lord remains forever. And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:25 NLT)

As I was walking around Murrayhill Lake near my home one fine summer morning, I spotted something lying on the park bench ahead of me. As I got closer, I saw that it was a small New Testament with a note, tied up with a festive ribbon. I carefully removed the handwritten note to read it, and saw that Sarah (as she had signed her note) had expressed her wish that the stranger picking up this gift would find the same hope, help, and comfort that she had received in reading her New Testament. Thank you, Sarah, for your thoughtful, prayerful action.

Carefully replacing the note, I placed the gift back where I’d found it and continued on my way. “Dear Lord,” I prayed, “bless Sarah for her desire to share Your Word with others. May someone take this book and read it and find You within its pages.” I will most likely never learn who Sarah is, but I can join her in praying for that stranger who may have picked up and read the New Testament that she left on the park bench.

Over the years, I have heard many testimonies of how people have come to know and trust Jesus as their Saviour. It has frequently been through the direct words and personal testimony of a friend or loved one who cares for them. It may have been through a sermon, a radio or television broadcast, or an evangelistic meeting of some kind.

Sometimes, however, God speaks to a person’s heart through no other voice than His own words in Scripture. God’s words can find their way into a heart through a bumper sticker, a tract, a billboard, or even — as I once heard the story — through a single page torn from a Bible and found lying on a sidewalk.

Perhaps, you’ve heard the quote, “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” This simply means that the gospel can be spread in various ways, whether verbal or silent. Sarah’s words on her note card were clear. They were just not spoken out loud.

How did you first hear the message of salvation? In whatever form it came to you to prick your heart, it was God’s message to you as revealed in the Bible. Thank Him for both the message and the messenger.

Something to think about: As we walk through our world, how can we share the gospel of salvation, through either word or deed? Perhaps we can start the conversation with just a smile and a kind word.

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, it is Your words, not ours, that draw a person to You. May we do our part faithfully to show those around us, both in words and through our actions, that there is hope through Jesus’ atoning work of salvation. Amen.

Copyright © 2021, by Gail Lundquist <gail10833@gmail.com>, first published on the PresbyCan Daily Devotional presbycan.ca .
Beaverton, Oregon, USA

Reprinted from PresbyCan with author’s permission