Into Our Hands The Gospel Is Given

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/36cbpd

Bird flu, tuberculosis, AIDS, cancer. All of these diseases and many more bring fear and death. What responsibility do you think you would bear if someone were to give you the cure for any one of these diseases? Do you think that you could sleep at night knowing that people were suffering and dying while you kept the cure in your closet? Or would you do all that you could to see that the cure was made available to as many as possible?

Most people would be sympathetic to anyone who was physically suffering and would gladly do all that they could in order to help that person. It would be cold, unloving and inhumane to withhold a cure from someone who was ill. But what about those who are suffering and dying spiritually?

Ruth Carruth, a long time friend of Tillit Teddlie, was a very gifted poet. In fact, she was named the Poet Laureate of Texas for 1977-1978. She loved to write poetry and shared her inspiration with many others.

In 1939 she sold some poems to Teddlie for $4 a piece. Among those poems were the words for the song, “Into Our Hands The Gospel Is Given.” Being a very missionary minded person, Carruth penned her words so as to draw the listener closer to a relationship with Jesus.

The first verse and chorus of that song are as follows.

Softly we’re turning life’s daily pages,

Swiftly the hours are changing to years;

How are we using God’s golden moments?

Shall we reap glory? Shall we reap tears?

Into our hands the gospel is given,

Into our hands is given the light,

Haste, let us carry God’s precious message,

Guiding the erring back to the right.

Paul said the following in 1 Thessalonians 2:4. “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.” We have been entrusted with a very precious possession—the gospel of our Lord.

Paul also said of this gospel in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” That gospel is what we are to take to the lost and dying world around us. Jesus said in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” We have the cure that the world needs badly. What will we do with it?

Mrs. Carruth also penned a very encouraging poem concerning our ability to reach others with the gospel. This is titled, “You Can Lead Someone To Jesus.”

There is a wonderful story to tell,

Wonderful work to be done,

Countless the souls who are eager to hear,

Precious the souls to be won.

You can lead someone to Jesus,

You can win someone for Him.

Some precious soul you can add to that roll,

You can win someone for Him.

Millions of people die each year. Over 150,000 people will die today alone. How many of these will be prepared to meet God in judgment? How many of these will face eternity with assurance because someone shared the gospel with them?

The fact is that not everyone would obey the gospel even if they were given every opportunity to do so. But our job is not to make them obey. Our job is to share the good news of the gospel as widely and as freely as possible. Through our good examples and our confidence in our Lord, we further enhance the attraction to the salvation that God offers through His Son.

Into our hands God has given us this charge. What will we do with the gospel today?

On Our Daily Walk today, may we stop and think of three people we know who have not obeyed the gospel and may we pray about them specifically. Then, may we take up some effort to introduce God’s message of salvation to these and others.

Our thought for the day: “Your mission field is the next unsaved person you meet.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.