i have been reminded this week why i want to tell people about Christ, about His Love, about His Peace. i think it is different for everyone, but for me, it's HOPE.
next week we will look at HOPE but this week i thought it would be good to step back from time to time and allow other people use their gifts to encourage us, push us, and motivate us to stay strong in our pursuit of God.
so, an old friend of mine who i roomed with at Texas A&M will be your author. he is an amazing man who seeks the face of God whole heartedly. God has used him in my life in more ways than he will ever know. his life is an encouragment to me and a living, breathing testimony of the Gospel.
enjoy.
Personal Holiness
by Clint Kirby
The doctor reluctantly thumbed through the patient's file muttering something about a missed tee time. This surgery had been looming for weeks and he had exhausted every option of getting out of it. His nurses did their best to avoid bumping into him as he stood in front of the door to the operating room.
The patient had a rare disease and this surgery was his last hope. The doctor was going to try a difficult procedure that could yield a miraculous result, but more likely, a quiet exit from the world. The doctor's reputation as a competent, successful doctor was in the balance, but so was the patient's life.
The doctor closed his eyes and massaged his temples with his thumb and forefinger.'Why in the world did I agree to do this? This probably won't even work. How is this going to look to the other doc'
"Dr. Graydin. Excuse me, Dr. Graydin. We are ready for you."
Do you value your personal holiness over the lostness of others?
This question was posed to me recently and I have been wrestling with it ever since. Do I care about how I am performing as a Christian more than I care about people hearing and receiving salvation in Jesus Christ?
According to the book of 1 Timothy, we are to be "above reproach" (especially deacons and elders). However, I think we exempt ourselves from relating to the lost in the name of being "above reproach." Instead of engaging people who desperately need the love of Christ where they are, we pray for them to miraculously want to come to church on Sunday. I am not saying we shouldn't pray for the lost to come to church, but shouldn't we be doing something to share the love of Christ with them the other six days of the week?
If you think about people in need of Christ, what kind of people do you think of?
Where do they hangout?
What do they do for fun?
Here's the bigger question: How are they getting access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
The apostle Paul asks this question in another way in Romans 10, "How can they hear without someone preaching to them?"
The model of Jesus Christ in the New Testament shows Jesus going to the people in need. I am sure Jesus had some sort of home, but from the Gospels we can't really glean that he spent much time there. Why? He was in the homes of the tax collectors and sinners: the most reviled sort.
In that day, it was a big deal to eat a meal at someone's home. You had to be careful about who you dined with because you would become associated with them. Jesus was well aware of this because he was known as a "glutton...drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners (Luke 7:34)." A good question to ask is, knowing the ministry of Jesus, would we consider Him "above reproach?"
Now, Jesus was "above reproach" because we know that he was without sin (1 Jn. 3:5).Therefore, his tactics to reach the lost were not sinful. So instead, I think we should view his tactics as our example.
What is keeping us from trying to build relationships with the people who need Christ the most? When the disciples were asked about Jesus' approach to ministry, Jesus responded, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." Could Jesus have said it more simply?
In the story above I tried to show how much the patient had to lose versus the doctor. The patient was going to lose his whole life if the doctor did not go through with the procedure. However, the doctor was more concerned about losing his name and prestige.
Where do your coworkers go after work?
Would it make you uncomfortable to go there with them?
What would your Christian friends think?
Could it be that God has strategically placed you in the midst to be the light of the world?
Think of the most sinful place in America. If Jesus were here today, he would probably be ministering to those there. Why? Because that's where the sick are.
Who are the tax collectors in our context?
How are we going to reach them?
Are we more concerned about our reputation in the Christian community than the lostness of others?
next week we will look at HOPE but this week i thought it would be good to step back from time to time and allow other people use their gifts to encourage us, push us, and motivate us to stay strong in our pursuit of God.
so, an old friend of mine who i roomed with at Texas A&M will be your author. he is an amazing man who seeks the face of God whole heartedly. God has used him in my life in more ways than he will ever know. his life is an encouragment to me and a living, breathing testimony of the Gospel.
enjoy.
Personal Holiness
by Clint Kirby
The doctor reluctantly thumbed through the patient's file muttering something about a missed tee time. This surgery had been looming for weeks and he had exhausted every option of getting out of it. His nurses did their best to avoid bumping into him as he stood in front of the door to the operating room.
The patient had a rare disease and this surgery was his last hope. The doctor was going to try a difficult procedure that could yield a miraculous result, but more likely, a quiet exit from the world. The doctor's reputation as a competent, successful doctor was in the balance, but so was the patient's life.
The doctor closed his eyes and massaged his temples with his thumb and forefinger.'Why in the world did I agree to do this? This probably won't even work. How is this going to look to the other doc'
"Dr. Graydin. Excuse me, Dr. Graydin. We are ready for you."
Do you value your personal holiness over the lostness of others?
This question was posed to me recently and I have been wrestling with it ever since. Do I care about how I am performing as a Christian more than I care about people hearing and receiving salvation in Jesus Christ?
According to the book of 1 Timothy, we are to be "above reproach" (especially deacons and elders). However, I think we exempt ourselves from relating to the lost in the name of being "above reproach." Instead of engaging people who desperately need the love of Christ where they are, we pray for them to miraculously want to come to church on Sunday. I am not saying we shouldn't pray for the lost to come to church, but shouldn't we be doing something to share the love of Christ with them the other six days of the week?
If you think about people in need of Christ, what kind of people do you think of?
Where do they hangout?
What do they do for fun?
Here's the bigger question: How are they getting access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
The apostle Paul asks this question in another way in Romans 10, "How can they hear without someone preaching to them?"
The model of Jesus Christ in the New Testament shows Jesus going to the people in need. I am sure Jesus had some sort of home, but from the Gospels we can't really glean that he spent much time there. Why? He was in the homes of the tax collectors and sinners: the most reviled sort.
In that day, it was a big deal to eat a meal at someone's home. You had to be careful about who you dined with because you would become associated with them. Jesus was well aware of this because he was known as a "glutton...drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners (Luke 7:34)." A good question to ask is, knowing the ministry of Jesus, would we consider Him "above reproach?"
Now, Jesus was "above reproach" because we know that he was without sin (1 Jn. 3:5).Therefore, his tactics to reach the lost were not sinful. So instead, I think we should view his tactics as our example.
What is keeping us from trying to build relationships with the people who need Christ the most? When the disciples were asked about Jesus' approach to ministry, Jesus responded, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." Could Jesus have said it more simply?
In the story above I tried to show how much the patient had to lose versus the doctor. The patient was going to lose his whole life if the doctor did not go through with the procedure. However, the doctor was more concerned about losing his name and prestige.
Where do your coworkers go after work?
Would it make you uncomfortable to go there with them?
What would your Christian friends think?
Could it be that God has strategically placed you in the midst to be the light of the world?
Think of the most sinful place in America. If Jesus were here today, he would probably be ministering to those there. Why? Because that's where the sick are.
Who are the tax collectors in our context?
How are we going to reach them?
Are we more concerned about our reputation in the Christian community than the lostness of others?
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