Friday, April 12, 2013

Weekly Devotional - April 12, 2013

"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in
a worthy manner of the gospel of Christ."
Philippians 1:27 NIV
 
I spent six years working in a call center. I've heard my share of irate customers. Most of the time they had a legitimate reason to be concerned. I don't like it when my supper is interrupted or my business isn't handled properly.
 
I used to be like those irate callers. Until I started taking those calls. I'm still not as polite as I ought to be sometimes. I am better than I was, though.
 
Christians are supposed to act and react in ways that are different than the ways non-Christians do. Imagine the impact we could have on the world if we acted and reacted like Jesus rather than like the world. Instead, we often do exactly what the world does and so we don't show that Christianity makes much difference in our character.
 
What a shame! Haven't you heard (or said) that our best witness is the way we live? I hear it all the time. Honestly, I think it's often an excuse to not speak up and tell others about Jesus. Even so, people claim that they'll witness by their actions yet they act like people who have no relationship with Jesus Christ and don't have the Holy Spirit within them to change and empower them.
 
"What does it matter?" you say. It matters because the gospel of Christ is at stake. There is no other way that God has told us by which lost people can be saved except through Jesus. And the only way God has told us that this can happen is through the witness of Christians. When our actions deny the power of the gospel, lost people don't hear or see the gospel. And without the gospel they have no hope.
 
Don't let your circumstances determine your actions and reactions. Instead, let the transforming power of the gospel of Christ dictate how you act and react. This way you are useful to the Lord and to the lost people you will meet today. Pray that God will help you conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel.

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