Psalm 98:2 echoes Luke’s gospel by saying “The Lord has made his salvation known. He has uncovered his righteousness for the
nations to see… before the nations he revealed his righteousness.” Today He is revealing His righteousness
through us in our homes, in our neighborhoods and everywhere we may
traverse!
In Isaiah 42:16 it was prophesied of the Lord that “I will lead the blind on unfamiliar
roads. I will lead them over unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light in front of
them.” (God’s Word ©) If you and I are a living and breathing image
of the Gospel, then you can insert your name in that verse and boldly say (in
my case) “Jim will lead them over
unfamiliar roads…”
Does that sound a little too fantastic for some of you to fathom?
I believe it is exactly what our loving
heavenly Father expects of us. Just
remember that it is not you who is actually doing the leading but “Christ in you, the hope of glory”
(Colossians 1:27), and it is not to be done in your strength but you “living for God in the power Christ gives
you.” (Romans 6:11)
As my Personal Evangelism Class instructor taught us in Bible
School, our love for Christ should naturally flow through our lives into
everything we say and do, thereby touching all that we come into contact with
on a daily basis. In order for us to
lead though, the touch of Christ from our lives will need to be more consistent
in the lives of those we reach out to. A
good friend of mine recently testified of how the Lord had used him to
miraculously turn another man’s way of thinking and acting. My friend John, who is normally an outgoing
and engaging individual, began to reach out to a recently handicapped neighbor
by visiting him and doing some shopping and other errands for him. John’s neighbor was not the friendliest
individual in the world and at one point responded to John’s loving actions
with some very discouraging and ugly words.
This was the last straw for my friend, but as he began to
walk away from the situation, the Lord spoke to him and specifically told him
to be his neighbor’s friend and to love him despite what was said. Well, to make a long story short, John
responded in obedience to the Lord and even though it was hard, he continued to
reach out to his neighbor. One day, soon
afterwards, John invited his unfriendly friend
to go to church with him, and to John’s surprise the other gentleman said
yes! When the alter call came at the end
of that service, the individual who had been so mean to John walked down the aisle
and gave his heart to Jesus! On the way
home that night, the neighbor told John that he was the only friend that he had
and that no one had stuck with him like John had before in his life!
To this gentleman who had lost a leg due to diabetes, and
was dealing with his wife’s recent diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, his world was in a
tremendous downhill skid! To him my
friend was the Gospel in action. John
was the only Jesus that this man had ever seen and he led him down unfamiliar paths
that his neighbor had never walked before!
Luke 3:8 tells us how “People’s
hopes were rising…” (God’s Word ©)
as they listened to and watched John the Baptist. My friend’s neighbor’s hopes were also rising
as he listened to and watched a Christian in action “Being the Gospel” before
him. His expanding expectations opened up
the door of his heart to receive the answer to all his needs!
Think about the effect that your life is having on those
around you this weekend. Are your
actions causing the hopes and expectations of something better in their lives
to rise in them as you live the Gospel before them? I pray that mine are… and yours as well! Have a
great weekend. Stay in tune to His Word
and keep asking yourself… What am I
expecting today?”
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