Blessing in the Gap
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COLUMN: Final Phase
Blessing in the Gap
by J. Randal Matheny
Confession time. The daily devotion I send out in
Portuguese isn't quite so ... uh, daily. With all
the work to do, it sometimes gets scooted off to
the side.
So the email I got Sunday made me stop and think.
I couldn't keep from sharing the gladness of the
day, for I have an uncle with whom we've been
studying some three years, and today he was
immersed.
He attributed his decision to having read our
weekly church bulletin. It is in this bulletin
that I use the messages of [the daily
devotional] "God with Us."
On November 2nd I didn't have any material, so I
searched out one from 2000, "Biblical Baptism," by
Tom Tarbet, which was the spark for my uncle's
decision.
So I want to thank you for your work, which helps
us greatly and pleases God. [Email was slightly
edited for brevity.]
Did you catch what he wrote? In their bulletin, he
publishes the devotional "God with Us" I'd
mentioned above. But that week there was none. So
he printed the article by Tom Tarbet from our
print magazine, Edificacao (Edification).
It was THAT article, not the devotional thoughts,
that spurred his uncle's decision.
If you don't get the message, let me spell it out
for you.
When I failed to come through with the devotional
thought, God used my failure to bring blessing and
decision to that man.
This is not a defense of laziness nor a
justification for inconsistency in one's work.
Here's the point: If God can do such as this when
we drop the ball, what can he do when we are
zealous and consistent in the work of the Kingdom?
Such a thought bears a moment's meditation.
"Now to Him who is able to do far more
abundantly beyond all that we ask or
think, according to the power that works
within us, to Him be the glory in the
church and in Christ Jesus to all
generations forever and ever. Amen."
Eph. 3:20-21, NASU
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