Day 279 - The Story of Your Life

"On our way out we encountered and older couple who both happened to be tour guides for the mission. He asked us what we learned and I responded that we were big babies. He then asked about if we knew when the cross became the official symbol of Christianity and proceeded to tell us the story of Constantine in 330 A.D. and the visions he had of the cross in his dreams. The guys life was interesting. We probably talked with him for a half an hour. He was Catholic and grew up in Rome right near the Vatican. He remembers sitting on the base of the statue Michelangelo had carved of Mary and Jesus before they placed it behind the bullet proof glass. Also he told of a story about the Monks who all their life were making beautiful copies of the Bible and in their lifetime they would hand copy a Bible. It went off in my spirit that it was a picture of every believer that we are writing the story of God with our lives and at the end it will be the beautiful picture of God's grace and a living letter read by all men. He also spoke of a time he was in Jerusalem after the six day war when a bomb went off by him and a priest he was with. If they would have been 20 seconds longer they would've been dead. Jess felt like she was with family and he reminded her of her grandpa Rudy. He was refreshingly blunt but definitely a Christian."

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians and told them that they were living letters. The Holy Spirit is writing the story of your life. You are known and read by everyone who comes in contact with you. God has written His Divine law of love on our hearts and in it He has a love letter to the world. 

The couple we met last year left a lasting impact on us. They were genuine. They couldn't be someone else if they tried. They were also unapologetic. There are many people who would have walked away from a conversation with them offended. There was nothing politically correct about them. Their lives were open and bold. 

We should be no less as Christians. Engaging, bold, open, honest and loving. When people leave our presence it should leave a lasting impact on them. They should feel as if value was added to their life from being with us. Not because we are so cool or wonderful. Not because we have interesting backgrounds. But because we genuinely love God and love people. That is a story worth telling and people will read it! 

What does it mean to be genuine? How can we guard against insincere interaction with others? 

Day 72 - Real and Active

Today's thought from last year comes from two words in my journal entry for that day; real and active.

I was talking about our church when I used these words. I had given a tour to a lady that visited who was a pastor's kid. She knew church backward and forward. When she saw the campus she remarked about the beauty of our courtyard and the functionality of the layout etc. Then we came to our Food Distribution center. She was amazed. Her remark afterward was "Wow! You guys had an event!" It's true. Every Tuesday and Thursday morning when we give food to those in need it is an event with hundreds of (if not thousands of) people.

We are a real church that is active with the gospel. You can see what we believe by what we do. It should be no different in a person's life. What we believe should not only form our thoughts and words but it should move us into actions. If we believe in the democratic system we should vote. If we believe in the value of education we should be life long learners, teachers and mentors. If we believe in stewardship then our bank statements will prove our values.

I think there are a few problems that we face when it comes to being real and active. First of those problems is that we can be divided and not really anything when it comes to what we believe. We have been so polarized and in the name of political correctness we have backed off our convictions. I think people want Christians to be real. Even if they don't like what you're saying they will respect that you stand for what you believe. Hypocrisy is distasteful to everyone!

The second problem is that of doing. I think fear grips us. Either that or we are downright lazy. Lazy is easy to overcome. Kick yourself in the rear end and get going. You will find grace to do on the way of obedience. Fear is quite another thing. All the 'what if's' start playing with our imagination. It takes a confrontation with the enemy in spiritual warfare prayer and then the stepping out in faith to overcome fear. Often I find that when I am afraid of doing something new that once I have started doing it I am fine.

Let it be said of us that we are real and active, genuine people working from the heart!

How would you define someone who is real? What ways have you been active with what you believe?