“Whatever I would come to believe in, it could not simply change my mind; it had to change my life.”

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, (2006-11-14) from his book, Soul Cravings: An Exploration of the Human Spirit (p. 192). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

I was reading this morning in the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament and I came across something that Jesus said that I underlined. He was talking about someone who He had just healed who had come back to thank Him and He said, “And he was a Samaritan.”

Now the Samaritans were a people that the Jews looked down on. In other words, they were prejudiced against them. And here Jesus it seems was highlighting their prejudice. Over and over He did this in the Gospels. And Peter, Paul and James did the same throughout the rest of the NT.

One of the first great battles in the new Church after Jesus’ time here on earth was over whether they were going to accept Gentiles into the Church. A Gentile was someone who wasn’t a Jew. But Peter and Paul showed that to follow Jesus was to let go of our prejudices, to accept those who were different. They showed that we are to change. That accepting Jesus as their personal Savior meant there were some changes that needed to happen and prejudice was one of them and the same is true today.

You see being a follower of Christ doesn’t simply change our mind but it changes our life. In one area, it changes the way I view those who are different from me. When that happens in someone who would be counted as a racist whether it is toward Whites, Blacks, Jews, Muslims, Hispanics, Asians, or one who is prejudiced toward someone who is poor, rich, fat, skinny, people with tattoos, those without, Republican, Democrat or how someone would label their own personal prejudice, when they change that will truly show that following Christ has made a difference in their life. You see, being a Christ-follower means that we have changed even in our prejudices. That’s why Jesus kept emphasizing it while He was here.

As you may know, the ones He had the most problems with were those religious people who hadn’t really gotten what it was all about to truly follow God. They just didn’t get it.

One of the reasons why I am reading the four Gospels 13 times in 2013 is because I want to really get it. I want to really know Jesus and what it really means to be His follower. And this is one area He wanted to see us change. This is one area where we can show that Christ has made a difference in our life.

So do you get it?

Comments

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because God is good He will use e

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who have messed

“What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. Rick posed this question at the end of his chapter, You Are Not an Accident. In this chapter he deals with the fact that God created you the way you are with a purpose. In other words you are not an accident. I am also reading the Apostle John’s view of Jesus and what He said and did while He was here on earth. In the beginning of Chapter 9 there is a story about a blind man. And the disciples who were with Him asked Him a good question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? ” Have you ever asked the same thing about something in you that you don’t like? Like that characteristic is a curse or something. Society has set a standard that is not a standard of God. Remember, He created you and you are not an accident. Jesus did answer the question about the blind

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog