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The Routine of Life
by Steve Countryman So many people around the world profess to be Christian but are they? The word Christian means to be Christ-like. A Christian is a born-again believer who has repented for their sins and has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and master and follows His teachings and His Word. Just believing in the Bible and that God exists will not make you a Christian. Even demons know that Jesus exists and is God and they are certainly not Christians. Watching Christian TV doesn't make you a Christian. Wearing a cross around your neck doesn't make you a Christian. None of these things will it get you into heaven. Someone who thinks that they can serve God and serve themselves by hanging on to their sinful past and ways is someone who is deceived. Sitting in church every week doesn't make you a Christian anymore than sitting in your garage makes you a car! Obedience is what God requires. You cannot be a Christian if you choose to ignore God's Word. Disobedience shows lack of faith and trust in God and His ways because you have chosen to trust your own thinking and wisdom rather than trust God's. It is being rebellious. Being a Christian should be obvious to others daily and doesn't need an introduction, t-shirt, bumper sticker, or by wearing cross jewelry. I 'm tired of those "stars" who wear crosses as jewelry all the time yet their lives are sooooo messed up that you know they don't believe in God, Jesus or the work of the cross. Matthew 7:20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. The routine of life is the influence and affect you have on your surroundings and those around you. It is your normal routines: your daily travels to and from home, your daily visits, your daily encounters, your daily habits, your weekly meetings or gatherings, your church meetings, your nights out, your job or classroom and your relationships. It is always a two way street, those who are here to bless you and those you are here to bless and sometimes both. As a Christian you are to be noticeably different to others. Not that you are totally bizarre but how you handle yourself iepressure, troubles/problems, emotions and decisions, differently than the world does or as the world expects you to. It is your faith in your God at work in your daily routines. By doing so you affect and influence your surroundings. You are called to be God's ambassador here on earth to represent His kingdom and God's love to others daily. You have influence everywhere you go! You are infused, saturated and stuffed to over flowing with the Holy Spirit in you. You have been given the authority and power of all of heaven through Jesus Christ who lives and dwells in you to act on His behalf everywhere you go. It is a heavenly influence that you carry. All people both saint and sinners alike are part of the routine of life. I liken it to the domino theory. Everyone has seen what happens when stacked dominos start to fall and how they can branch out and trigger multiple rows to fall, that is how I see people and their routines. You touch, encounter and cause an affect on others every day. Just as someone has an affect on you, you turn and have an affect on someone else. It is like watching dominos travel and fall being touched by the previous one and then touching the next one in line. If one domino is removed or out of place the affect stops. Life happens the same way. Not all people have a positive affect or influence on their surroundings. There are those you would just as soon avoid as much as possible. Their presence seems to be destructive one way or another to others that they come in contact with. Likewise there are those who brighten up your day just by walking into a room. They always seem to be in a good mood and always have something nice to say. If a person changes their routine by leaving their job, quitting school, dropping out of a group or church, moving away or dying they create a hole where they once had influence. By doing so they have stopped the domino affect. But life goes on and someone else fills the hole. What counts is what you did while you were in that spot. What positive affect or blessing were you to others while you were there? Be determined to be a blessing to someone everyday! Your attitude, actions, comments and emotions are all noticed by others, by those you know and by those you don't. What do they convey to your surroundings? Are you reflecting God's love to people you encounter daily? When people see you are they interested in knowing your God? If saints behave like sinners, how will they tell us apart? If there is no noticeable difference then what do we Christians have to offer the world for a hope and a future? The opportunities are great and many for you to have a Godly influence on your surroundings. Now is the time for all of God's children to stand up and be noticed by His love through us! Are you ready?!? Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |