Voices of the Faithful - February 29th (page 70)
God's Word: Overflowing Joy

“For the word of God is living and active.” Hebrews 4:12a (NIV)

We teach from the Gospel of Mark in our English-as-a-Second-Language
classes. Most of the students are Muslim, Catholic, or practice the traditional
worship of their ancestors. 
Even though Mozambicans speak Portuguese, many people want to learn English to improve their job opportunities, so they don’t mind that we use the Bible in class. As the students
study Scripture to learn grammar and vocabulary, the Holy Spirit
works in their hearts. It’s exciting as they ask questions about Jesus.
One student, Pedro, belonged to a family that practices folk Islam,
a mixture of Islam and traditional African practices, including ancestor
worship. Pedro was a good student who was curious about the Bible.
Several times, he stayed after class to talk. I gave him some verses to
read at home.

One day, Pedro said, “Teacher, I think that Jesus is the only way to
have life.” He went on to tell me that his family was opposed to him being
a believer, but he had decided to give his life to Christ anyway.
Pedro was the first of the English students to come to Christ. He
was full of joy! I jokingly named him the “English-school evangelist”
because he spent his free time in our little library sharing with any student
who came by. Several of them came to know the Lord through
Pedro’s sharing.

Do you have that same overflowing joy as Pedro? What are you
doing with it? The Word of God is living and active and waits to be
shared.

—Katie, Sub-Saharan Africa

Father, may I overflow with the joy of the Lord so that people will want to
know why I’m different. Let Your Word flow from my mouth, and let it penetrate
the hearts of unbelievers around me. Use English classes across the world
to be an opportunity to share Christ. Amen.

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Read more "Voices of the Faithful" devotions from Sub-Saharan Africa.