Our Daily Bread: This Far By FaithEsimerkki

Rooted in God Lott Carey entered the world in 1780 in Virginia—as a slave. Yet God had a divine plan for Lott. Carey’s grandmother Mihala told her grandson the truth about Jesus. And then she prayed, believing God would someday send Lott to Africa to tell people about the Lord. In 1807, God fully revealed His answer to Grandmother Mihala’s prayers. Not long after hearing a certain sermon at First Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia, Lott believed in Jesus as his Savior. Lott Carey did become the first African American missionary to Africa, in Liberia. The apostle Paul writes of another grandmother, Lois, who shared the truth about Christ with her grandson Timothy from his childhood (2 Timothy 1:5). We read in Colossians 2:6 that when Paul learned some believers at Colossae had heard false teachings about God, he cited Timothy, to remind those believers of the starting point of their faith—“Jesus as Lord” (2:6). Reminding the believers of that beginning, he wrote, “Continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (2:6–7). By being deeply rooted in the truth of God, the believers wouldn’t fall for the lies others spoke about God. If our roots are deep in the truth of God’s Word we won’t fall for lies or be knocked over by the winds of change. -Linda Washington