Today's Devotional

 

 April 2, 2009

                                                                                                                 

Subject:  Listen To My Story 

Acts 7:2a "And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken..."

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One of the greatest speaking tools you could ever use when making a presentation or engaging an audience for anything is to tell a story.  Whether you're a pastor or a motivational speaker, a Sunday school teacher or just a teacher in a public or private school, listeners immediately hone in to your every word when you begin talking about something that happened.  

Witness the audience's reaction when you say, "just the other day I was..." or "one day while I was..."  Those lead-ins prepare people to walk with you through the actual event of which you're speaking.

Stephen used this tool in Acts 7 as he made his case after being accused of insurrection against the law of Moses.  Of course at the end of his story they stoned him, which makes clear another point.  Everyone likes a story, but they may not like your story. That's not important.  

What is important is the fact that God has given us a great story to tell.  As a believer, your personal story is intertwined with the great story of Jesus and why He came to die.  If you haven't told that story in a while or maybe never before, use a lead like this, "let me tell you what happened to me," and then see how the listening world will perk up.  Of course in the end you could be rejected, just as Stephen was, but remember, God put us here to tell the story and more than that, to live the story.  Do it today.                    

Carlen