“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

“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 ha...

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference. You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book, Winning the War on Worry (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog