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The Trouble With Doing Nothing; We Don’t Know When we Are Done

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I have been sharing excerpts from the book, “Signs of Hope: Wasy to survive in an Unfriendly World.” Today’s excerpt encourages us to not only be strong Christian on Sundays, but we need to show others our Christian faith on Mondays through our actions as well. 

The book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxeity, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

The book is on sale right on this site. In the retail stores it is $19.99, but if you order from this site, it will only be, $15.99. The shipping has been cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00.

Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page to check it out.

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Chapter 35

 

The Trouble with Doing Nothing Is that I

Never Know When I’m Done

 

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

 

We go to church every Sunday, but are we doing anything about reaching out to people for the Lord on Monday?

When we worship in church, we have our eyes on the Lord and praise Him. We fellowship with other Christians and we feel refreshed.

What about Monday? You have a good attitude while you’re in church, but what is your attitude on Monday.

Let’s look at Paul for a few lines. Paul spent many of his years being beaten, hated, and even put in prison. What do you think his attitude was? Wouldn’t you think he was angry, sad and depressed or at least complained a lot?

There was a time when Paul was in prison, not knowing what the next day might bring. He had already put a plea in to the Roman government to spare his life, but he didn’t know what their decision would be.

Not so fast, my friend! Paul was overflowing with joy! Yes, a man that was on death row was excited to be there. He had a great attitude because he had a “captive” audience. The guards and prisoners had to be there each day and listen to him tell them about Jesus and the salvation He offers. What a golden opportunity for him. The gospel was spread all through the prison! Paul rejoiced for the chance to witness. Plus while he was in prison, he wrote the book of Philippians, where he uses the word “rejoice” over and over. So much for a pity party!

Attitude check here: What is our attitude on Monday when we have a chance to witness to others around us? Remember one very important thing: When we are telling others about Christ, we are not alone! God is with us.

Surprise! As a retired teacher, I still cherish the times when I can have an unannounced quiz. Let’s see how you do:

  1. Can people sense you are a Christian?    ____ Yes    ____ No   
  2. Can people tell you are Christian by the way you respond to trials, pain and hardships?____ Yes    ____ No  
  3. Do you show the gospel of Christ with your attitude?    ____ Yes    ____ No
  4. Would people reach out to you and say, “I want what you have”?    ____ Yes    ____ No   

 

If you said no, or you are not sure about your answer to any of these questions, you failed the test. You will have to take it over and over again until you get 100%!

Stop sweating blood! I am not really saying that you have to be perfect. I’m not able to get 100% myself most days.

Romans 3:23tells us we all have come short of the glory of God. I am not perfect. I come short of the glory of God more often than I would like to admit.

But, let me show you some ways each one of us can improve a great deal on our attitude and daily walk with God.

In Philippians 2:14–15, Paul says, “Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation.”

In other words, let your attitude reflect the love of Jesus Christ.

It is wonderful to worship God on Sunday, but if you do nothing on Monday, others will never know that you are a Christian. Your attitude is one of the most revealing factors about your personality. If you get angry a lot, or think the world is against you and complain about everything, your attempt at witnessing is falling on deaf ears.

Listen to Paul and try not to complain or walk around with a bad attitude. I have observed many people who just by their actions show the love of Christ for others. I don’t have to ask them if they are a Christian—it just shows.

If we strive to act like that on Monday, we will be doing something. And we’ll know we are done when God no longer brings people into our daily life in need of His touch through us. We’ll feel grateful for what God has done for us and be happy with what we have done for God that day.

To summarize the four quiz questions above: Can people see Christ in you?    Yes or No

If people wanted to know what God was like during Christ’s time, all they had to do was look at Him. If people want to know what Christ is like today, they should be able to look at His followers.

 

 … Do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

1 Peter 3:15–16

 

Further Adventures

Take inventory of your life. What direction are you going? Do you feel you are doing what God has in mind for you? Are you comfortable with where you are now as far as showing God’s love to others? If not, get into the Word. Pray for God’s guidance and take action on whatever He tells you. Doing nothing leaves you stagnant and ineffective for God.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how we feel strong about our belief in God, but weak when it comes to sharing it?

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Grace, Oversight and Direction Spell G-O-D

I am inviting you to sign-up for the RSS feed to this site. You will be notified each time there is a post. You will receive excerpts from the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” Just click on the icon right after the title to do that.

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I am sharing another excerpt from the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World. ” It talks about the grace of God, and how we sometimes ignore it and feel we are doing fine on our own. Dr. Phil might ask, “How is that working for you?

The book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” is on sale on this site. In the bookstores it is $19.99, but here it is only $15.99, and the shipping has been cut in half. A total savings of over $6.00.

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Chapter 34

 

Grace, Oversight and Direction

Spell G-O-D

 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:8–10

 

As I have grown in my Christian faith, I have seen some disturbing trends in Christianity. One that particularly disturbs me is that we have so many what I call “Sunday Christians.” Oh sure, they’re in church on Sunday—they even may teach a Sunday school class or usher or be the preacher—but on Monday they go back to telling their raciest jokes, padding their expense accounts, cutting corners in business deals and doing things that would make even the average pagan blush.

They attend church on Sunday and then disgrace themselves—and their Savior—the rest of the week. Saying someone is a Christian just because he goes to church is the same as saying you’re a hamburger just because you eat hamburgers! (Yes, this is a bumper sticker that I used earlier. You are very sharp!)

 

I read a book called “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” by Philip Yancey.1 He is a wonderful writer who doesn’t pull any punches and goes directly to the heart of the matter on any subject. He talks about people who avoid grace.

Grace is one of the most important things God has provided for us. He showed His own tremendous grace by sending His only Son down to earth to die for us.

But people avoid grace because grace brings about change. It causes them to live righteous lives. It causes them to love their neighbor. It causes them to give their hearts away to God. It causes them to give up their sinful desires for power and lust. And, frankly, some people don’t want that kind of change in their lives because it totally rearranges their lives.

We see these people in our churches. They have an outer face of love and grace, but on the inside they are greedy and selfish, and wonder what they can do to help themselves look more important. They come because it is the proper thing to do, and it makes them look good in their community.

Experiencing true grace is seen in the account of the prodigal son. He knew he was wrong. He knew that he had wasted all his inheritance. He was ashamed of everything he had done. The only thing that saved him was his father’s grace. He realized he needed to go back to his father and ask for forgiveness, hoping (no, knowing) his father would extend grace.

The truly gracious person was the father. Instead of turning his back on his wayward son (which he had every right to do), he ran toward his son with tears in his eyes, embraced his son and welcomed him home. He even had the best calf in his herd slaughtered to celebrate the occasion.

However, the brother of the prodigal son hated him because of the disgrace he had caused the family. He was livid that the father accepted him back without punishing him. His hatred and envy were not very far below the surface of what probably looked wholesome and loving.

Think of the prodigal son’s father as our God and how He will accept us back no matter what wrong we have done. His grace is every day. He loves us seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day—not just on Sundays.

Not only does God extend His grace to us in providing salvation and welcoming us into His family, there are two other things He wants to do for us—the last two things in the acrostic at the beginning of this chapter: He wants to provide oversight and direction in our lives. Those are things we must give Him permission to do for us.

We can accept His salvation and then decide we’ll simply go on with life, using our own intuition and “smarts” in plotting the course of our lives. But that’s not very smart. He has a so much wiser plan for our lives. It’s in our best interest to turn that part of our lives over to Him as well.

 

God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8

 

Further Adventures

If you were given grades for your commitment to going to church, helping others, or loving God, what would those grades be?  (I love giving out grades since I once was a teacher.) Would you get an “F” for going to church? Have you decided there is no way that going to church can make a difference in your life? Do you think that you can grow spiritually on your own? What about helping others? What grade would you receive for giving to the poor, or helping a homeless family?

Now for the most important grade that will help you pass your requirements to go to heaven: How much do love and serve God? Are you a non-believer? Are you an occasional churchgoer who believes in God but doesn’t seek to grow? Are you a dedicated Christian who seeks more knowledge about God and tries to help others to do the same?

Think on this: Study up on the real meaning of life by reading the Bible. Learn how to be compassionate to others in their time of need. Place God first in your life, and be in fellowship with others who have also put God first in their lives. Then you’ll be in line for the final BA (Bible of Advancement) degree that will advance you into heaven.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that when we show grace enough to help others shine, we begin to shine ourselves?

 

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Are you a Just a Church Goer, or an Actual Spiritual Member?

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The book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, ” is on sale now at the bookstore on this site. In the stores it is $19.99, but here it is only $15.99, and the shipping is cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00. Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page to take a look.

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Today’s excerpt is asks the question, ” Are you just a church goer, or are you you an actual spiritual member?” Many people come to church just to let others see they are going. They may not even bring a Bible. The spiritual members come to worship and praise.

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Chapter 30

 

God Doesn’t Want Shares of Your Life;

He Wants Controlling Interest

 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

 

I’m sure there are people in your church who make you wonder why they’re even there. They’re critical about everything—the music, the organist’s clothes, the length and wording of the prayers, the color of the rug, on and on ad nauseam. They gossip about others or sit through the service without listening to the sermon.

In The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren talks about these types of people. He says there are two types of people who go to church: the church attendees and the church members.1

The churchgoers come just to be able to say they go to church in order to impress their clients or neighbors—or as a promise to their mother. Often the churchgoers don’t even bring a Bible with them. Instead, they study the church bulletin the whole time, whisper to the person next to them or make out next week’s to-do list. They come only to show others they are going to church—and then they leave. You could ask them right afterward what the sermon was about, and they wouldn’t be able to tell you. They come in order to meet up and go out to lunch with someone from the church after the service is over.

“It is not what you show on Sunday that counts. It is what you show on Monday!”

The other type of church people are the spiritual members. They are members of the body of Christ. They are the ones who come humbly to church to truly worship God. They have their Bibles. They listen carefully to the sermon, taking notes to learn from it. They also are the ones who reach out to the “churchgoers,” to try to help them learn the true joy of learning about God.

When the church attendees come before God on judgment day, God will not ask them if they went to church. (He already knows everything you do.) He will ask them what they have done to deserve to be a part of His kingdom. What close encounters did they have with God? Did they totally worship Him not only on Sundays, but on Mondays also? They will try to convince God that they were very loyal, but He will say, “I do not know you; be gone!”

True members of a church reach out to those in need. They spend hours praying. They get into small groups to study the Bible. They help in the church by being an usher, singing in the choir, greeting at the door, etc. They also worship with the whole body when they are done serving. The members of a church are all part of one body, and we need to help the weaker parts of the body realize that if we lose even one finger from our body, we will suffer. We need the whole body being strong together.

I want to make sure you understand. I am not talking about a person who joins a church by having his or her name added to the membership list. I mean a member of the body of Christ.

I learned from one of the members of my Bible Study Fellowship group that a pastor of a church he knew had borrowed some money from one of the members and then never paid it back. The pastor tried to avoid the church member every Sunday so he wouldn’t have to talk to him about the money he owed the other member.

This member—even though he’s the pastor—isn’t a healthy functioning body member. Instead, he is one of the weaker parts of the body that needs help. Just joining a church “on paper” doesn’t make you a part of the body. All believers are part of the universal (transcending time and place) body of Christ and hopefully also healthy functioning members of a local body of believers called a “church.” It is too easy to “join a church” and then live off the title without ever being a part of the body of Christ.

We each need to decide if we’re going to be a church attendee/churchgoer/“pew sitter” or a true member of the body. If we are a part of the body of Christ, we will want to be in fellowship with other believers in a local church where we can be consistent in our worship of God and service to others. 

Each of us can become a prayer warrior, or be part of a Bible study group. We can help people find their seats or greet people at the door. Or we can just come humbly before God to worship each Sunday. After all, it is called a worship service.

Then we need to take God with us on Monday. Each day we can thank Him for His love. And we can look at others who might be simply “church attendees” and help them to grow into healthy functioning members.

It is often very difficult to approach the church attendees because they seem to resent anyone who challenges them. We need to convey to them that we love them enough to want them to take further steps in their live, to become a stronger part of the body. That may anger them at first, but they may thank us later when they become an integral part of the body and love God more than they ever dreamed possible.

 

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

 

Further Adventures

Take a “home inventory” of your own family. Are they all “members,” or is there one who is only a church attendee? If all families worked on having all their family becoming church members, there would be no need to have other church members try to help you. Even your children can be strong parts of the body of Christ by being examples to the other children in church. They can also get involved by being counselors at youth camps, singing in the youth choir, or helping in a Sunday school class.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that if you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything?

Remember: Never, ever, give up!