DEVOTIONAL FOR FRIDAY OCTOBER 4TH
Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Peace”
Our Bible verse for today: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:3
Our thought for today: “Bless someone today with Biblical words of grace and peace.”
One of the unique characteristics of the Apostle Paul’s writings is that he always opened his letters with a salutation that communicated a word of blessing in the Name of the Lord. You just read one of them in 1 Corinthians 1:3 above. He used the exact same statement to open his letters to the Romans (Romans 1:7), the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:3 and 2 Corinthians 1:2), the Galatians (Galatians 1:3), the Ephesians (Ephesians 1:2), the Philippians (Philippians 1:2), the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 1:2), and in his letters to his friends Titus and Philemon.
In some of his other letters he changed the wording a bit but the greeting was essentially the same:
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” Colossians 1:2
“Grace and peace to you.” 1 Thessalonians 1:1
“Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” 1 Timothy 1:2 and 2 Timothy 1:2
In the USA we American Christians are not in the habit of opening our communications with each other using words of Biblical blessing, but in other places around the world it’s common and even expected. Many times when I receive an email or facebook message from a friend in Romania or Peru it will begin or end with one of the verses I listed above. That’s also true for cards and letters and sometimes even in phone calls. That habit is also common among Christians in places like Africa and Asia.
Greeting each other with Biblical words of grace and peace is … well, it’s Biblical. In Ephesians 5:19 Paul calls us to speak to one another in “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs …” That doesn’t mean we have to walk around all day quoting scripture to each other or serenading one another with songs from the Baptist Hymnal, but greeting each other with words of grace and peace, even quoting verses right out of the Bible, has been the practice of Christians down through the ages and continues to be done today by Christians in many places around the world.
So, may you enjoy “grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord”, and have a nice day.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 