What do people need? We live in a broken generation. Billy Graham has said that people attend his crusades for one or more of four unmet needs: loneliness, emptiness, guilt, and a fear of death. People are hurting, and they need a message from God. People need healing, encouragement, hope, salvation, and truth. They need someone who has been in contact with God and they need Christian role models. Is your life an example?
FIVE AREAS IN LIFE TO BE AN EXAMPLE
1. in word - speech; what you say and how you say it. (do you curse or is your speech always negative?)
2. in conduct - behavior, how you live. This is your walk. Let your walk match your talk.
3. in love - agape love, the greatest Christian virtue. Christian love never allows itself to hate. Christian love never refuses to forgive. Christian love never holds grudges.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.(NIV)
John 13:34-35 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (NIV)
4. in spirit - describes the inner enthusiasm and excitement of a child of God; enthusiasm in knowing God and in serving God.
5. in faith - faithfulness, loyalty, consistency
Too many people have roller coaster Christianity. Always up and down, up and down. Many people have “Revival Religion.” They get all excited about living for Jesus at revival, but lose it before they get back to church the following Sunday.
The candles we hold up for others to see ought to be extensions of the light within ourselves. What we are shines more brightly than anything we say or do.
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Dear Daisy,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog.
Just want to comment on your statement about " Christian love never allows itself to hate." While is it true that one of the Christian virtue is love, that will never be feasible without hating. The hallmark verse of love - John 3:16, will not be as powerful without adding the element of hate in it. God hate sin. God cannot stand sin. He must punish it. Pouring His wrath on it, literally. And as sinner, we stood condemned (hated by God because we have sinned against Him). Now, I am not making God to be hateful God. It is just that He cannot stand sin. Good thing is that, God also is love. He makes a way for us through giving His Son as penal substitutionary for us. PTL!!
The Greeks delineate three types of love: eros, philia, and agape. Eros is romantic or sexual love. Philia is close friendship or brotherly love. Agape is unconditional love and concern for others.
ReplyDeleteA good example of love without hate is Nelson Mandela.
The principle of agape love was core to Nelson Mandela’s ascendancy. He was imprisoned for 27 years, 18 at hard labor, for pressuring the South African government to give full citizenship to all people. Being imprisoned for so many years and forced to work in unmentionable conditions would cause most people to hate their oppressor. Mandela, however, refused to hate his oppressor. He continued his activism in prison and ultimately negotiated the release of political prisoners and an end to apartheid. Shortly after his release, Mandela was elected president of South Africa. It would have been much easier for him to harbor hate. In order to save his country, Mandela decided to lead from a place of love. He decided to love his oppressors and his enemies, in spite of the pain they had afflicted on him.