Along for the ride
The rain and snow come down from the heavens
and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
producing seed for the farmer
and bread for the hungry.
It is the same with my word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it. ~ Isaiah 55:10-11 (NLT)
And my message was plain and simple -- like my preaching. When I presented Christ I didn't rely on fancy elocution and rhetorical expertise. Nope, I just trusted in the power of the Holy Spirit to make the case. ~ 1 Corinthians 2:4 (ABP)
KEY IDEA:
Trust God and his message to produce his desired fruit.
PRAYER:
Dear God, I've heard that your message always produces fruit -- that it gets the job done. When I'm talking to people about Jesus I worry that I'm not clever enough or trained enough to make a good case. Maybe that's why telling people about Jesus is so stressful. Help me to chill and to trust that you're going to accomplish everything you desire. I'm just going to go along on the ride with you. Amen.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
