5th Devotional:
As Christians we face temptations daily and we make stupid choices that
effect our lives in negative ways. For example, you are at a party and
you decide to try a beer. Well, one of your friends, who is not a
Christian, is also at the party and sees you drinking the beer. Then he
thinks to himself, well if he is a Christian and drinks, he is just as
bad as I am and he doesn't need to be telling me how to live my life.
You see just by your drinking "one little beer" you may have kept your
friend from becoming a Christian. You just have to think about how your
actions effect your Christian witness. Philippians 2: 14-15 "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so
that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in
a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the
universe." In other words try and do the right things and you will be a
better person, because you never know who is watching you and looking up
to you. 1 Peter 2: 11- 12 "Dear friends I urge you, as aliens and strangers in
the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of
doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he
visits us." In other words, as Christians we seem strange in this world
full of sin, so we should stay away from sin. That way the people who
don't believe in God will see our good deeds and then want to be like us
and believe in God. I know some of you are Christians, but you have to realize accepting
Jesus into your heart is not just a get out of Hell free card, but a
relationship of trust and love. Right now there is a popular Christian song called "A Different Road".
Some of the lyrics of the song are: "I will walk a different road, I
will see him there before I even go, I've run ahead and gone to slow,
I've got to be still now and wait upon his will now, this time it's
going to be His time". So as Christians, we need to set the example
where ever we may go, and we need to walk "the different road" from
everyone else and do things according to God's plan for us. In the Bible Jesus tells a story of a man who walked "the different
road" and did something unheard of. Luke 10: 30-37 "In reply Jesus said: " A man was going down from
Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They
stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half
dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw
the man, he passed by on the other side.( According to Old Testament law
priest who touched a dead body made himself ceremonially impure) So too,
a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him passed by one the other
side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when
he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds,
pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, tool him
to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver
coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and
when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may
have.'" You see a man took a "different road" and helped his enemy. Now as
Christians, in this country that has turned its back on God, we need to
set the example of how to act because we never know who is looking at
us. Also, you could show a non-Christian the glory of God just by acting
the right way. PRAYER: This week pray that God will help you keep your Christian
example, and if you think you need help with changing your ways, pray
that He will give you the strength to turn around your life.
Your friend in Christ,
Brian Greer
"Keeping the Christian Example"
