Wednesday 2 Apr 2014

April 2: 1 Peter 5:1-7

Key Verse: 1 Peter 5:7
casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Devotion:
A big part of running a congregation, be it a church or youth group or whatever, is being with each other. There is no way that a bunch of people from so different a background and so different an outlook on life could normally mix together other than if they have a common goal. But even then a common goal is not always enough; it is more about being submissive to each other. That does not mean that everyone in your group must always do what other people say, but it does mean that they need to be aware of what others are saying and doing.

Jesus made it quite clear when He was here on earth that we do need to get out there and mix with other people. Shutting ourselves off from the world does not encourage any sort of relationship to build up; if we are to live grow up in a real relationship with Christ, then we need to be able to build up that relationship with others first of all. How else are we going to hear the Gospel until we have a friendship with others where we can learn about God from?

We would not normally trust other people and what they say until we got to know them. Trusting others about what is in the bible is not all that different. If we do not build up that trust relationship with them, then they are not going to take what we have to say seriously. That kind of makes giving them the Gospel an uphill task to start with; but having a friendship, a trust relationship or some other connection through which trust is present, allows us to give others the truth about God.

It is hard enough trying to tell someone a new story which seems totally incredible when you do have a trusting relationship. Can you imagine what it would be like if you tried to build on distrust? Jesus had the upper hand in that He did have the power to heal the sick which helped to get people on His side; we need to work at our relationships much quicker and build up that trust so that we can share the Gospel effectively!

Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard talking to strangers about God?

Have you tried just being a friend first?