Live like you mean it!

"Only let your manner be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see your or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel" (Philippians 1:27).

Paul encouraged the church in Philippi to live worthy of the gospel of Christ.

What does that look like?

Live like you are redeemed. You actions and words should reflect a change in your life. You should not have the same attitudes as those who are not following Christ. You should not be doing the same things in the same way that you were before God called you to Himself.

You shouldn't be different, just to be different. The differences in your life shouldn't make people say, "Well, that's odd." Rather, they should see and hear something that's appealing, so that they want to know why you responded like you did; why you do this, but not that. Your differentness should point people to Christ and His good news, not to you.

Talk like you are redeemed. You need to talk about the gospel. People may notice that you are different, but that is not going to get them to heaven. Remember that they are lost and headed to hell if they are not trusting in Christ's work on the cross. Seize the opportunities that are before you to warn them and tell them of God's redeeming love.

Work together with other redeemed people. The rest of the verse talks about the unity of those who are working together for the spread of the gospel. A follower of Christ will unite himself to others who are spreading the gospel and work with them. Firm in the faith. United in doctrine. Working hard to tell others about the work of Christ on the cross.

So what would Paul say if he came to visit you today? Would he be able to tell that you are redeemed? Would he be encouraged by your hard work with others in the spreading of the gospel?

Reading Acts

Through a series of e-mails and links, I came across this Bible reading plan:

The Change Your Mind Plan - This plan is very simple: “1. Choose a book of the Bible. 2. Read it in its entirety. 3. Repeat step #2 twenty times. 4. Repeat this process for all books of the Bible.”

The author suggested starting with the smaller books and working up to the larger ones.

I decided that since my pastor is going to preach through Acts, I would start with Acts. BTW: Acts is NOT one of the smaller ones!

My goal was to read seven chapters a day, which would allow me to finish the book every 4 days.

A holiday with little to do and an audio Bible at the treadmill later...and I've gone through the book twice already.

Eighteen more to go!

Some observations:

1. There are a lot of courtroom scenes in Acts. I've noticed this because I had a discussion this week with our associate pastor about 1 Cor 6. The courtroom scenes in Acts are believers being taken to court for preaching the Gospel, which is not the case in 1 Cor 6. But when the believers went to court in Acts, the Gospel was presented, Christ was magnified and the believers were pleased to suffer for the Gospel.

2. The spread of the Gospel will not be hindered. The believers suffered persecution, ridicule and death. But God's plan of spreading the message of salvation through the cross of Christ was not hindered.

3. The believers took a variety of opportunities to share the Gospel. They were 1st century humans, so I suppose they missed many opportunities like 21st century humans. But it is interesting and encouraging to see the various places where the believers evangelized, as well as the variety of people who listened.

Looking forward to learning more from Acts in the next weeks.

Do you want to join me?

Turn the World Upside Down

Trouble just seems to follow some people.

Like the Apostle Paul.

If you read through the account of his missionary endeavors, you find that he was often dragged before the city rulers.

Accused of teaching practices contrary to Jewish law and custom.

Accused of teaching practices contrary to Roman law and custom.

Worshiped as a god. Stoned and left for dead.

Beaten. Thrown in prison.

Having to be let out of town in a basket down the city walls. Escorted out of town after dark.

In some cities he was only there for a few weeks before he had created a disturbance.

Why?

He was preaching the message of the crucifixion.

Are we stirring up the cities where we live by preaching the gospel?

Have we chosen to end our evangelism with passing out tracts, holding fun fairs, and planting trees?

Have we decided that we're so comfortable in our homes and churches that we don't want to confront people with the gospel?

Have we not been transformed by the gospel?

Speak up - but not about yourself

When talking to others about what god is doing in your life, the example of Paul in Corinth is important to follow. (1 Cor 2:1-5).

• Not with lofty speech or wisdom. Not using big words to impress. Not pontificating about what you know. Not showing off.
• Knowing nothing but Christ and Him crucified. Talk about Christ. Talk about what He has taught you, not what you learned. Put the emphasis on Him, not yourself. Even if you relate experiences that He used to teach you, talk about Him, not yourself. Emphasize the crucifixion, the work of Christ on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins.
• In weakness, in fear and in much trembling. Not bragging about it, but in humility. Not boasting about what God is teaching you. Not in fear of what others will think (or not think) about you. In fear of God. In fear of making yourself look great and not God. In fear of lying, exaggerating, blame shifting, or any other number of sins. In fear of leading others astray.
• Not in plausible words of wisdom. Not building your argument like a lawyer in a court room to persuade. Not in great debates.
• But in demonstration of the Spirit and power. Led by His Spirit. Not when you want to, but when He wants you to. Not talking about yourself, but about Christ. Not in your own strength, but in His.

Paul's reason for this type of communication was "that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." The hearers shouldn't be wowed with your communication skills, but wowed with power of God. You don't want them to put their trust in you. "Pastor said..." or "I have always been taught..." are words that show they have put their trust in someone other than God. Make sure that your conversation is pointing to Christ as revealed in the Word of God. Help them to understand that what you are teaching or sharing is not because of yourself, but because of what God says in His Word.

All this causes me to fear saying anything at all. I'd rather keep my mouth shut than open it and say something wrong. May God give me boldness and wisdom to speak when I should and to be quiet when I should.