Thankyou for blogging!
For anyone just joining it's worth having a look at some of the comments on the last post. Don't worry Adam... you have been missed. Also thankyou Paul for the classic reminder on practising what we preach. You are not alone we had one or two similar stories on Tuesday!
I had a bit of a lightbulb moment looking at this weeks pledge 'I will show kindness to those who God puts around me this week with the love of Jesus and the message of salvation'. We had talked a bit about our motives (1 Cor 13:3) and about keeping good deeds 'on our radar'. We also thought about the array of different needs that people have who we come into contact with.
The thing that leapt out at me though (that I guess I've heard said lots of times) is that we can't seperate the love of Jesus from the message of salvation. I keep reading the pledge again in case I'm getting it wrong, but I can't quite cope with the 'and'. I think I get what it's trying to say but can't quite let it go!
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We are asked to consider looking after the `needy`, in the context of evangelism.
ReplyDeleteApparently, St Francis of Assisi never actually said the often used phrase “Communicate the Gospel at all times, use words if you must”.
When you really think about this statement, the “if you must” sounds like “if all else fails”. So can all action and no words work? I am sure there are plenty of people who will just say “thanks” and walk away unchanged spiritually when I have helped to meet an immediate need, but those too rare occasions do make me feel better.
How about 2 Tim 4 : `Preach the word, be prepared in season and out of season` Can I take comfort from Romans 12 :6 and say preaching the word is someone else’s gift not mine?, apparently not because it doesn’t say that.
According to Ezekiel 36:26, our hearts of stone have been replaced with hearts of flesh, so it should be natural for us to show Gods love now – note to self - practice may help me recognise that change. But as I tell the Big Issue seller to “keep the change”, or ask the tourist with the map upside down if I can help, am I really expected to introduce them to Jesus with words?, after all, my actions may be planting seed that may grow into a faith to be harvested later, or perhaps they are already Christian.
I too, am disturbed (perhaps I am meant to be) by the `and` in this weeks pledge. It seems to me that I am agreeing to have my comfort zone challenged.
Jesus had a few words to say to us about making disciples and teaching them his commandments, but then I am much better at “do as I say, not as I do” – another note to self - can do better!
Good Code Life this morning (10/5). One of the questions asked about the key points of the Christian message. On Sunday evening Paul Carter spoke and really summed this up well as he mentioned Jesus Life, Death, Resurrection, Ascension and Glorification. It is from Glory (heaven) that we await his coming again. If you get a chance to "listen again" it is worth it. So important to keep with what the Bible says and avoid making the gospel our interpetation rather than the truth!
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