Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Transformation – 2 Corinthians 3:3-6 – Made Us Competent – Growing As Disciples
You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:3-6 (NIV)
Rely On Me
You have heard my call? Yes Lord, I have heard your call. You are asking me to do something for you. Yes I am, but you seem reluctant, why is that? I don’t feel like I am able to do what you are asking me to do for you. I’m not surprised one bit, not at all, even in the least. Why is that? You feel like you may be incompetent, insufficient, inadequate and unable to do what I am asking of you. Yes, that’s right. Do you know why you have those feelings? No. I don’t. If I knew then maybe I wouldn’t have them. I wish that I didn’t have them. You have these feelings because you really are incompetent, insufficient, inadequate and unable to do what I am asking you to do for me. Great, I thought that you might give me a word of encouragement. I thought that you might affirm all my gifts, talents, and abilities. I would rather tell you the truth. What is the truth? The truth is that all your gifts, talents and abilities do not add up to you being able to accomplish all that I have given you to do for me. Why is that? Only I can make you competent, sufficient, adequate and able. If you rely solely on your gifts, talents and abilities you will fall flat on your face. That sounds like it would hurt a lot. Yes, it does hurt. You should know. Why is that? Haven’t you relied on yourself and fallen flat on your face plenty of times? Yes, by now I probably should have callouses on my face. That’s pretty funny. Flat on your face is not a bad place to be is it? Why do you say that? What have you done when you have fallen flat on your face? I have cried out to you for your help. Yes, you have.
You want me to use you, don’t you? Yes Lord, I do. Then you must rely on me completely. Apart from me you can do nothing. When you rely on me completely I will make you able to accomplish all that I have asked you to do for me.
Is there anything more important to you than to be used by me to minister to others? No, there is nothing more important to me than to serve you. Will anything make you more thankful than to know that I have made you able to minister to others? Will anything give you more confidence and hope than to know that you have done what could not be done because you relied on me? Will anything give you more joy than to know that others have given their lives to me because of how I have worked in and through your life? No Lord, nothing will make me more thankful, confident, hopeful and joyful than to know that you have used me according to your purposes and plans. Will you rely on me completely to do my work in and through you? Yes Lord, I will. Very good, then I will make you completely competent, fully sufficient, totally adequate, and surely able to serve me. Thank you, Lord.
Lord, so often I have relied solely on my gifts, talents and abilities to try to accomplish what you have asked me to do for you. That has never worked. Help me to rely on you for all that I need to serve you. Make me able, I pray. Amen
For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:
Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.
Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.
By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved Copying not permitted http://www.GrowingAsDisciples.com
