Daily Bible Reading

I used the YouVersion app to read through the Bible chronologically, receiving daily reminders. I’ve followed other daily reading plans from this and other apps. I also receive e-mails from missionaries our church supports. This past week a missionary e-mail told of his receiving a daily notification that proved to be a witnessing opportunity.

I can’t be specific, so many of our missionaries are in locations where specific information could be harmful to them as well as the people they work with. A relative was in such a country on a business trip, listening to Christian music on his personal player. A worker approached him, asked if he was a Christian. In the conversation my relative said he was looking for a church to attend on Sunday. The worker hesitated and said there was a local church – but it would be too dangerous to have an American attend. He might be followed, causing trouble for the members.

Many situations call for a one-on-one opportunity, even for our missionaries. Exchanging language lessons is one such opportunity:

I know many of you have been praying for [name omitted].  She has been attending English classes for about four months.  . . .  I've been meeting with her and another student at least two other days a week, usually Monday and Wednesday. This gives me the opportunity to fellowship in a less formal setting.

During one of those sessions:

. . .  while we were talking, I got a notice on my iPad of my Bible verse of the day.  It was nothing I had planned but [n/o] asked what that sound was.  So I told her that I read the Bible every day and that I have an app that sends me a verse of the day also.

The verse was in her language and she asked if she could read it:

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (1 John 2:15-17 KJV)

The God of love a Christian sees does not exist in her religion.

It was the first time she had ever read any part of the Bible.  In fact, she told me that as far as she knows, she's never met another Christian before. I could tell that the phrase that stuck in her mind was the phrase "the love of the Father".

What a beautiful opportunity to share additional verses that speak of His love. What better book to read and learn of God and love than First John?

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10 KJV)

Person to person, not missionary to convert. Teacher to teacher, learning one thing from each other, still sharing God’s love. We have similar opportunities – let’s use them.