A few days ago at my daughter's dinner table she and my granddaughter Addy had a conversation. It was about being a Christian. Barb made the statement, "I am a Christian." So Addy says "Then I am a Christian too."
Barb, "Addy, it doesn't work that way. You can't just say you are a Christian and be one. Do you ever do anything wrong?"
Addy, "Yes"
Barb, "That is called sin. So you are a sinner. We are all sinners."
Addy, "Not you, right Mom?"
Barb, "Yes I am a sinner too."
Addy, "What about Daddy?"
Barb, "Yes he is a sinner too."
Addy, "Well I know Grandma's not, no way!"
Barb went on to handle the conversation from there but I am stuck on what Addy said about me. How humbled I am and how challenged at the same time. Although Barb did tell her I was a sinner, I know that Addy is watching me carefully. How am I responding to her, the boys, her mom and dad and my husband. She is seeing everything I do and running it through her grid of right and wrong. I have got to stay on my toes.
I am so glad for the Holy Spirit within who convicts me, leads me and points me to the acceptable way of the Lord. I cannot do this on my own. I need His strength, power, discipline and love every moment of every day. God's desire is that I reflect Him well.
All eyes are on me and you and you and you and you...we are being watched to see how we handle life. We need to handle it well. "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31
Showing posts with label sin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sin. Show all posts
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
God's Ambassadors
Today a friend and I were going through 2 Corinthians 5 when we came to verse 20, "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."
I have been thinking about this verse all day. Yes I knew I was the ambassador of Christ but the two other things that really popped out to me were: "as though God were making his appeal through us" and "Be reconciled to God"
It doesn't matter how many evangelical tools I have, how many classes I have taken, how well I speak or what version of the Bible I am using because it is God who is making his appeal through me. How does that happen? I look at the other things I have mentioned and they all seem to be very man centered but this says it is a God centered process to be an ambassador. Sure classes and materials are good to have but it is the Holy Spirit who does the work. So what is our part? How about prayer? We need to spend a great deal of time in prayer and then allow God to make his appeal to whoever we are speaking to. It helps us to remember that it is God who saves not a specific formula of words.
It also doesn't matter how well we know the scriptures if we allow sin to separate us from our relationship to God. As His ambassadors we are to be reconciled with Him which means we need to confess our sins (agree with Him) and then repent of our sins (turn from them). When we do that we are held accountable by God. Our confession puts us at a higher level of accountability. So we should be more aware when we begin to go down that path of sin again. The warning is that without the reconciliation we cannot be the ambassadors we are called to be.
So I am Christ's ambassador. I need to get myself out of the way, check my heart in order to confess and repent of sin and pray allowing God to make his appeal through me. It's a tall order but He's a big God.
I have been thinking about this verse all day. Yes I knew I was the ambassador of Christ but the two other things that really popped out to me were: "as though God were making his appeal through us" and "Be reconciled to God"
It doesn't matter how many evangelical tools I have, how many classes I have taken, how well I speak or what version of the Bible I am using because it is God who is making his appeal through me. How does that happen? I look at the other things I have mentioned and they all seem to be very man centered but this says it is a God centered process to be an ambassador. Sure classes and materials are good to have but it is the Holy Spirit who does the work. So what is our part? How about prayer? We need to spend a great deal of time in prayer and then allow God to make his appeal to whoever we are speaking to. It helps us to remember that it is God who saves not a specific formula of words.
It also doesn't matter how well we know the scriptures if we allow sin to separate us from our relationship to God. As His ambassadors we are to be reconciled with Him which means we need to confess our sins (agree with Him) and then repent of our sins (turn from them). When we do that we are held accountable by God. Our confession puts us at a higher level of accountability. So we should be more aware when we begin to go down that path of sin again. The warning is that without the reconciliation we cannot be the ambassadors we are called to be.
So I am Christ's ambassador. I need to get myself out of the way, check my heart in order to confess and repent of sin and pray allowing God to make his appeal through me. It's a tall order but He's a big God.
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