Word-Filled Wednesday ~#22~ 3/16/11

Lifestyle Evangelism

PASSAGE: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you & falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice & be glad, because great is your reward in heaven . . ." ~Matt. 5:11-12(a)

"You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known & read by everybody." ~II Cor. 3:2

LESSON LEARNED: Let me ask you a question: If being a Christian would put your life in danger or become illegal, would your lifestyle be enough to "convict" you?

I hope so.

I'm not talking about the size of your Bible, the crosses or pretty plaques you have hanging in your home . . . I'm talking about YOU. What does your LIFE say about your walk with Christ? What does my walk say about me?

In many surveys, it is often discovered that the majority of people, not raised in a Christian home, came to a saving knowledge of Christ because of the influence of a friend or relative. I am a testimony to that ~ I was led to the Lord through the witness & lifestyle of a few dear friends. Yep, they ganged up on me & loved me to the Lord. :-)

To me, from the vantage point of my life of sin, those friends glowed! They were able to find comfort & a smile somewhere in the darkest of times, they were encouraging in ways that no one else was; they would come along side someone in need &, sometimes, simply BE there. There was internal joy & a light of hope around them & I wanted what they had.

Can anyone say that about you?

This life is not perfect & on many days we groan inwardly for the return of Jesus & for Him to take us home. But while I'm here, I want to glow! I want the unsaved to see that I'm different & want what I have, to want the Jesus in me . . . I want my life to reflect the life-giving reality that Jesus saves us from our shameful lives of sin. And, if the time ever comes, I want my lifestyle of evangelism to ''rat me out"! To be "known & read by everybody."

Blessings from Ohio...Kim<><