BE AN EXAMPLE
1 Timothy 4:12
Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Personal Challenge
I have often used this verse to encourage youth to be strong in their faith because God can use the youth as well as any other. However, the real power in this verse can apply to all of us who are followers of Christ. We must be examples of who Jesus was and is. Our example must be in word and conduct. Our example most show others the love of God in spirit, faith, and purity. We cannot proclaim to be Christians and treat others without love. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!
RIGHT AND WRONG
Sirach 21:1-3
My son, have you sinned?
No longer add to them, but pray about your former sins.
Flee from sin as you would from the presence of a snake,
For if you approach it, it will bite you;
Its teeth are like lion’s teeth, destroying the souls of men.
All lawlessness is like a two-edged sword,
For there is no healing from its wound.
Personal Challenge
As a follower of Christ, we acknowledge wrongdoing as sin. It is missing the mark of what God would want of us. Everyone, whether they acknowledge God or not, knows that the is a difference between right and wrong. We all have a moral compass that is coded within our very being. This is what we as followers of Christ call "created in the image of God". This passage in Sirach reminds us that if we have sinned, or missed the mark, then we should seek to rectify the situation and pray for forgiveness. We are to follow that by fleeing from additional sin which will engulf us and harm us. We believe that by the grace of God our sins are forgiven, and we are redeemed by god's love. Glory be to God!
TO THIS END...
1 Timothy 4:10
For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
Personal Challenge
What end are we laboring and suffering reproach for? It is the process of living our lives to be an image of Jesus Christ that we labor for. As followers of Christ, we are striving to be like him and do that which He would do. What are these things that Jesus would do? Love our God! Love our neighbor! Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take care of the widow and the orphan, and take in the foreigner, the stranger, the migrant amongst us. Contrary to many proclamations of modern people calling themselves Christians, we cannot abandon these expected actions as Christ followers and still call ourselves Christians. And why do we choose to follow Christ this way? Because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all mankind. Glory be to God!
