“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”—Romans 5:8 (NLT)

In the past, I have shared how God has used my college major to shape me for His kingdom. Except for a short stint teaching a public speaking class at the junior college, I never really used my degree for a career. However, my Speech Communications major has been useful in my life. Actually, there are some lessons from public speaking that can relate to the Bible.

In giving a speech, I would always encourage my students to use a visual aid. It helps the audience remember your topic. What visuals does God give us to not forget His faithfulness? One that comes to mind is in Genesis 9: 13:17 God gave us a rainbow. “12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15  I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” God keeps His promises. There has not been a flood like this that has destroyed our world since that time.

The second visual aid comes from taking communion. Through communion, scripture points us to  Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for us. “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the b covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”--Matthew 26:26-29

The most important visual about God’s promise is the cross. It symbolizes what Jesus did for each one of us. It represents His grace, love and mercy for the undeserving. He paid the ultimate price for humanity by taking on our sins with His death on the cross. We did nothing to deserve the ultimate gift that He gave for us, His life. For me, when I wear my cross earring or necklace, it reminds me of the eternal salvation I have in Christ that I did absolutely nothing to deserve.

During those college years, I definitely wasn’t living a life for Jesus. Thankfully, He never gave up on me. He planted the seeds and in His loving kindness, kept putting people in my life to lead to a life where He became my focal point. Now when I look back at that time in my life, I see God’s hand in all of it. Only God can open my eyes to how my college major could be used to write this blog post.

Father God,

Only You can turn wayward lives back to You. I thank You for Your visual aids that remind us of Your promises. From rainbows to the cross, You are faithful. I give You praise for sending Your Son, Jesus, to take on the sins of the world so that we may have eternal life. You are so gracious and merciful to save sinners like me, who did nothing to deserve Your love. I lift those up to You who haven’t accepted Your gift of salvation. May You use me as a vessel to plant the seeds as You did for me before I knew You. I pray these things in the might name of Jesus. Amen.

August Verse

"The God who said, "Out of darkness the light shall shine!" is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ.”—2 Corinthians 4:6

If you are knitting or crocheting gifts to give away, please make sure you tweet @KnitPrayShare or share your projects on the Knit, Pray, Share Facebook page or Instagram using the hashtag #KnitPrayShare. Be sure to attach a tag to whatever gift you make.