Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Today's reading titled, A New Calling, was written by Allison Keita.

Teenage gang leader Casey and his followers broke into homes and cars, robbed convenience stores, and fought

other gangs. Eventually, Casey was arrested and sentenced. In prison, he became a shot caller,

someone who handed out homemade knives during riots. Sometime later, he was placed in solitary confinement. While daydreaming in his cell,

Casey experienced a movie of sorts replaying the key events of his life, and of Jesus being led

to and nailed to the cross and telling him, I'm doing this for you.

Casey fell to the floor weeping and confessed his sins.

Later, he shared his experience with a chaplain who explained more about Jesus and gave him a Bible.

That was the start of my journey of faith, Casey said.

Eventually, he was released into the mainline prison population, where he was mistreated for his faith. But he felt at peace because he had found a new calling, telling other

inmates about Jesus. In his letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul talks about the power of Christ to change lives.

God calls us from lives of wrongdoing to follow and serve Jesus.

When we receive Him by faith, we desire to be a living witness of Christ's love.

The Holy Spirit enables us to do so, even when suffering, in our quest to share

the good news. Like Casey, let's live out our new calling.

Today's Our Daily Bread Devotional Scripture reading is from 2 Timothy chapter 1, verses 6 through 14.

For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power,

love, and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me,

his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. He has saved

us and called us to a holy life, not because of

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