Daily Devotional

I love the story of the man, walking by a blind man and noticing he had only a  few coins in his cup. He dropped in more coins and, without asking for permission, took the sign and re-wrote it. He returned the sign to the blind man and left.  

That afternoon the kind man returned to the blind man and noticed that  his cup was full of bills and coins. The blind man recognized his footsteps and asked if it was he who had re-written his sign and wanted to know what he had written on it. The man responded: “Nothing that was not true. I just wrote the message a little  differently.” He smiled and went on his way. The new sign read: “Today is Spring and I cannot see it.” In other words, a new approach was necessary and quite effective. For this, I am drawn once again to the timeless message of the apostle Paul:        

2 Timothy 2:2 - “The things which you have heard from me in the presence  of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”  

Notice the four generations:          

• Generation #1: The apostle Paul and those he taught with his methods.          
• Generation #2: Timothy and those faithful people he was teaching with his methods.
• Generation #3: Those faithful people who would be teaching others with their methods. 
• Generation #4: The others who would then teach the next generations with their methods.

Although I am absolutely committed to never changing the ageless message  of the gospel, I am constantly aware that I have to adapt my older methods and strategies to better communicate that message to a new generation. In this season of my life and ministry, I am especially impressed with the reality that I must be even more effective  in mentoring those who will come after me. To revise the words of the kind man to the blind man: “Today is coming and I can see it. It’s time to write the message a little differently.”  

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation