Ph.D not Needed

I posted this two years ago. The message remains true:

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I stopped for a moment this morning as this text in 2 Corinthians brought me back to December 1972:

“Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant . . . .” (2 Corinthians 3: 4-6)

Less than a day after I committed myself to Jesus in December 1972, I was at work, telling everyone what I’d discovered. I told them I found eternal life and forgiveness of my sins by the death and resurrection of Jesus my Messiah.

In those first hours and days after my conversion, I knew virtually nothing about the scriptures, except for a dozen or so Old Testament prophecies that pointed me to faith in Christ.

But God – and this is a most important point – But God took what little I knew and made me ‘adequate’ – He made me ‘sufficient enough’ – to tell others what I knew.

Christian: I am confident that you know now far more than I did about God and the Scriptures than I did the day after my conversion to Christ. I do not doubt for a nanosecond every one of you reading this knows far more than I did in December 1972 about faith, hope, salvation, heaven, and hell.

And that means you do NOT need to fear being ‘inadequate’ to share with others today what you know about God. You are NOT inadequate to the task God sets before you because “our adequacy is from GOD, who MADE us adequate as servants of a new covenant.”

I urge you, ask the Holy Spirit to show you how you can work in the fields that are ready for the harvest. You do not need a Ph.D in theology to tell others what God has done for you. You do not need ordination by a church body to share with others, whether on social media or face to face, what you know about God's love and mercy through Christ.

All you and I need is a willingness for God to use what we have to offer Him, in whatever way He wants to use it. He promises to make us ‘adequate’ for that task – if only we are willing.

Oh, God! Increase our willingness!