So I was talking to my brother about the need for us Christians to be more outspoken about Jesus. I'm not really talking about standing on a soapbox and condemning everyone who falls short of our standards. I'm talking of proudly owning the Jesus life. I'm a Jesus girl through and through. Haha. Oh I'm also not talking about the need to proselytize everyone we meet. To be honest, that's not always our job. What is our job then? You ask. How can we be more outspoken? With our actions. Actions sometimes speak louder than whatever our mouths say. I'm all about practical applications of the word of God; so I will share some of what I've learnt this week on how to act; how to be more outspoken about Jesus through character.
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| I feel like I'm going to overuse this photo, but the message is especially apt :-( |
The first, of course has to do with others and not ourselves. It is to pray for people. Intercede for others. There are times when you want to pray but you just don't know what to say. Start by praying for someone; anyone. Your friend dealing with emotional issues? The one dealing with financial ones? Your acquaintance? Family? Everyone you know is trusting God for something. Pray for them. Along the lines of prayer is the call to pray for our leaders (I Timothy 2:1-4). Now, this one is hard yo! I mean with the foolery going on politically both in the United States and around the globe; Jesus needs to take the wheel on this one. But I'm not ashamed to admit I'm struggling. In fact, if you're so concerned that your leaders are messing your country up, then you should even pray harder. For instance, I am trusting Jesus these men up on the Hill and the White House don't take away healthcare from millions of people to enrich a few. Amen? Amen! Pray for your leaders. Then vote 😊 or go to a town-hall meeting.
A second way we can be outspoken with our character is to be kind, gentle, compassionate. These are difficult things to do in the world we live in. I'm going to be very frank. Yes they are difficult, but not impossible. Take care of people. Look out for others. Be a better friend. Check on your friends. Don't be so caught up with your own life and struggle that you completely forget others. Technology (HELLO What's App) has made this increasingly easy. Your friends are just one text message away. I know the cool thing to say is: real friends don't have to talk all the time, they just pick up from where they left yidi yada BS. No, I don't completely agree with that. I'm not saying to camp out on the phone all day and ignore your responsibilities ooooh. I'm saying check on people. Is someone supposed to show up and didn't? Please ask them why. Be concerned. Show concern. Listen to people. Encourage them and say nice things. Not everything or everyone should be a hassle. The lie the devil sells is you can do alright by yourself. No. We all need people. But people are inherently fallible so they WILL disappoint you. Love them anyway. Be sympathetic to the plight of others. Be humble. No one likes a show off.
These are obviously not the easiest values to embody, but these are values God and any decent human being should encourage. They are practical ways to uphold a sort of beauty from our inner selves. I didn't just wake up and come up with a random list, these are inspired by facts from the Bible. Adhere to them as much as you can.
One last thing is to pray. Whatever it is, just pray first. My brother reminded me of a hymn today and a line stuck with me all day from the hymn:
"O what peace we forfeit; O what NEEDLESS pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."
Truer words were never said.
Love,
I
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