BELIEVING AND DOING

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.”  (2 Corinthians 5:20)

If you plan to reach the next generation for Christ, don’t ask them to believe what you believe, instead invite them to do what you do.

Beliefs are a dime a dozen. This generation has seen every variety of spiritual beliefs you could imagine (and many you couldn’t imagine).

They’re extremely turned off by people who don’t live what they claim to believe.

This generation doesn’t want to hear about what you believe. They want to see your beliefs in actions. And if you’re daring enough to live like Jesus, you’ll have a shot at reaching the next generation. If your version of Christianity is limited to what you’re against, you’ll not likely reach many. If, on the other hand, your faith is so alive you must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and love the outcasts -- all in the name of Christ, the King -- you will attract interest.

As strange as it might sound, if you truly live a missional and Spirit-filled life, the young generation might join you and do what you do, then one day believe what you believe. 

-- Craig Groeschel 

NOURISHMENT FOR STRENGTH

A church goer wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me I can't remember a single one of them. So I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: "I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 22,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall what the menu was for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me those meals, I would be dead today."

No comments were made on the sermon contents anymore.

-- Unknown


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FEEDING YOUR MIND

Jesus said that we should "not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."  As our bodies are fed by food, so our spirits are fed by words with ideas and images.  We are flooded by words that can mislead us, so we need to feed our minds each day from the Word of God.

I often feed my mind by taking a thought from Scripture:
            -- Nothing can separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8:39)
            -- I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
            -- God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)

 

Try to let your mind feast on the Word of God throughout the day.

 

-- John Ortberg in God Is Closer Than You Think

 

 

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