Quiet Christians

For many years two neighbors rode the same train to work in downtown Chicago. George went to church regularly, and if pressed, would admit to being a Christian. But he never allowed being a Christian to interfere with his life. On the other hand, Will never went to church and had no use for godly things. As they rode the train each day, they discussed business strategies, sports, politics, religion, and current events. They rarely, if ever, mentioned God.

One morning Will became violently ill and was rushed to the hospital. After a series of tests, his physician informed his wife that he could not live longer than a few days - if that long. Frightened, his wife said, “Perhaps we’d better call George and talk about God.”

“George? Talk about God? Why George? He rarely mentioned God to me or that he knew Him. So I doubt that he would be the right person to call,” said Will. Without saying another word, he passed into eternity - lost.

When George heard the news, he was stunned and filled with guilt. There was nothing he could do for Will now but go to God and ask for forgiveness for not being a witness and promise to become a faithful witness to others. The words of the Psalmist echoed loudly in his ears: “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!”

Unfortunately, the Kingdom of God is filled with too many citizens like George. They know the Lord from a distance but are unwilling to speak as one of His ambassadors. They believe that they have “theirs” and that’s all that matters. But there is no denying that if indeed God has redeemed us, we will present Him faithfully to others!

Prayer: Thank you Lord for redeeming us! Forgive us for our silence and refusal to be faithful in presenting Your message to the lost around us! May we speak Your truth in love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today:  Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! Psalm 107:2a

Please leave a comment and tell us how you were helped by today's devotional!

Showing His Salvation

“Brother,” said St. Francis of Assisi to a young monk who had just entered the monastery, “let’s go to town and preach.” They left the monastery and walked to the town and did not say a word to each other or the people they passed in the marketplace. After several hours they retraced their steps and returned to the monastery.

The young monk wondered what was going on and after waiting for what seemed like an eternity he finally broke his silence and asked, “I thought we were going to town to preach. When are we going to preach?”

“We have been preaching,” replied St. Francis. “As we walked, we were observed: people watched our manners, our faces, our behavior, and our clothes, what people thought we stood for. We have been preaching.”

All of us preach all of the time. Our behavior is our message and our places of interest our pulpits. Our lives become lectures and our pursuits are examples of our priorities. People watch us even as we watch them. And each time we pass from view and our words can no longer be heard our sermon ends and a decision about the value and importance we place on being like Christ in all we do and whatever we say is made.

The problem we face today is not the quantity of Christians but the quality. And if we want to win more, we must be more. How different would the world be if when we “declared God’s glory,” we also lived God’s glory. How we live is more important than words.

Prayer: Give us courage and strength Lord, to live as we ought to live and show the world Your glory and love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 96:2b Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

Motion Without Movement

MOTION WITHOUT MOVEMENT

Lucy was sitting behind her desk counseling Charlie Brown one sunny afternoon. Looking at him sternly she said, “Try to accomplish something!”

“Accomplish something?” he responded quickly, “I thought we were just supposed to be busy.”

Peter had some good advice in one of his most powerful sermons. He reminded his audience that “Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Peter was reminding his listeners that Jesus lived a life of perfect Servanthood – always looking for and finding ways to accomplish God’s work in His world. What is interesting about this sermon is its brevity: within a few sentences he was able to present the life, death on the cross and resurrection of Christ as well as His fulfillment of all that had been written about Him in Scripture.

The effectiveness of our preaching or witnessing for Christ does not depend on the length of time we take to present His message. Rather, the source of the Christians’ effectiveness is found in another statement in this sermon. Peter said that “God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power.”

Our Lord will bless our labors for Him when we become Spirit-filled and Spirit-led. Only then will our witness have His power and accomplish His will.

Prayer: Help us, Lord, to surrender our lives to You and be available to do Your work. May we realize the blessings that may be ours as we serve You today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

What Are You Doing With My World?

It was Jim’s sixth birthday and his father wanted him to begin to understand continents and nations. So, he bought him a lighted globe. He was fascinated with the way it glowed in the dark and gently lit his room. And he also enjoyed the time his Dad spent in his room telling him stories about the different countries of the world.

One evening his Dad silently slipped into his room thinking that Jim was asleep. He wanted to “borrow” the globe so he could locate the countries that were mentioned during the evening news hour.

As he was leaving, Jim who was not asleep asked, “Dad, what are you doing with my world?”

What a great question for each of us. No doubt God would have us answer a similar question: “What are you doing with My world?”

Jesus said that “God loved the world so much that He sent me into the world to save it.” We know that Jesus fulfilled God’s plan for His life; He gave His life on the cross for our salvation. We also know that He is now in heaven with His Father. And we also know that the work that Jesus began is to be carried on by us His disciples.

As His disciples, it is important, no it is critical, that we ask ourselves constantly, “What we are we doing in God’s world today to save the lost for whom my Son, your Savior, died?”

Prayer: Lord, give us an urgency to do Your work in Your world to save the lost. Do not let us rest in Your peace until we bring Your message to someone each day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Going But Not Doing

While waiting for a bus to take me to the hotel at the end of the day, I watched as several of them passed by my waiting area. As they sped to their destination there was a sign in each of them that read, “Out of Service.”

Jesus, when speaking about the responsibilities of His disciples said, “Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around and are now ready for the harvest.”

Our Lord clearly addressed a pressing need in His day and a need that we, as His followers, face today: There are many in front of us, to the side of us and behind us that are waiting to be brought into the Kingdom of God. It is not that He is unconcerned about them or that they are not willing to listen to His offer of salvation. It is because we, His followers, are out of service.

Sometimes we excuse ourselves from being His witnesses and “harvesters” by saying that our family members and friends are not ready to believe. Jesus, however, made it very clear that we are surrounded by an opportunity to be involved in a constant and continual harvest waiting to be reaped.

Each day we must remind ourselves that He will return and expect to find us doing “something.” What will it be? Will He find us involved in taking the Good News of the Gospel to those around us? When He appears will we be doing what He has called us to do or find us out of service?

Prayer: Lord, You have called us to labor with You in the “great harvest” by witnessing and winning the lost around us. Convict us of our lack of concern for the lost. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: John 4:34-38 …“I tell you open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”