Sunday, May 22, 2005

The Open Bible



According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. -Philippians 1:20, Click here for other versions

Today's message at my church was one that every Christian should know and understand. The preacher focused on this passage from Philippians 1:20. Every where we walk, everything we say, every action we take is being watched. Non-believers watch every move that we make; they want to know what this thing called Christianity really is. Your neighbors probably know your church-going habits more than your pastor. When we (Christians) mess up, non-believers see it and take it to heart. When we criticize someone else, they see it. When we say that word that isn't the cleanest to human standards, they see it. When we yell at others, they see it. When we have relationships that enter the physical realm, they see it. When we look over the unfortunate, they see it. The non-believers see everything that is against God's word. What do you think this does to them? Do you think that this encourages their conversion? Do you really think this brings them closer to God? Certainly not! When we do such things, we just drive them farther and farther away from our Lord and Savior. They start to believe that we are just a bunch of phoneys. We need to take our Christian title seriously! We are the only Bible that some see. When we go against God's word, this puts much doubt in the minds of the world. It is time that actually act "Christ-like." We need to be forgiving, we need to treat others with respect, we need to be earnest with our relationship with Christ, we need to stop acting so high and mighty. We need to be a great Bible for others; we need to show others what this religion is really about. We need to show the love and faith that is the foundation of our religion, not the hate and bitterness.

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