Sunday 19 Feb 2012

Sunday Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 9:23
23  And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.

Devotion:
How many times have you tried to stand up for Christ and found that you got put down even more than normally? Have you then been rejected by those close to you? If we think back on the times when we have told others that we were Christians we can probably come up with much the same story – whereby they call us a few names and then ignore us or even shun us. How effective can we be if we are going to be put out by those around us? How effective are we going to be when we are not actually being able to talk to others about God?

There are going to be times when we do need to stand proud to proclaim God and His Word so that others can see that we are serious about what we believe; but there are also times when we have to fit in a bit more so that we can reach those people who are ‘sitting on the fence’. Now I am not saying that we should all give in to the world and do worldly things – far be it that I should turn anyone away from God. We are reminded over and over again what the Israelites went through when they walked with the world instead of walking with God, so let’s not go there at all!

What I am saying is that we need to be more of a friend to those around us than an enemy! When we stand proud and tell everyone that we are Christians we need to make sure that we do it in the right manner. How would you like someone to come into your home and shout about how wonderful their way of doing things is and how useless we are? That is certainly not going to make you want to see what they are on about – instead we will probably shy away from them and go back to doing our own ways; indeed we may even go as far as making sure that they know that we went back to our own ways just to wind them up! And so it is if we go in with all guns blazing.

Yes there is a time when we have to stand up and be firm, but there is also a time when we have to be calm and talk to people at their own level. God does not want us to alienate people from His Word because we annoy others. He wants us to show others that there is a right way and a wrong way. Most people will not see that they are doing anything wrong until you get down and show them the right way – but it does not mean that we have to berate them for their ways just to open their eyes. We do have a hard task taking God’s Word with us, but trust Him to guide you!

Points to Ponder:
Do you wind people up with your ways?

Is your God, your guide?