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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him.
But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for
fear they would be put out of the synagogue, for they loved
praise from men more than praise from God.”
John 12:42-43 (NIV)
John writes of leaders who secretly believed in the Master’s teachings. These men feared being cast out of the Hebrew house of worship. He makes a bold statement about the reason these men were quiet about their thoughts “for they loved praise from men more than from God.”
Are we in the 21Century very different from the leaders who believed in Jesus but chose not to share their beliefs with those around them? I think not.
I remember hearing a story about a young man who found the Lord just prior to going away to college. When he came back to church over a school break, someone asked him how his friends on campus responded to his new faith. He hung his head and said, “They don’t know of my faith.”
Does everyone who knows us know of our faith? A church friend of mine has a burden for a neighbor who is unsaved and very seriously ill. As my friend prayed for guidance on how to reach this neighbor and her family, she received a two word answer—‘Live it.” This answer applies to each of us. We can say all we want to about Jesus and about God but, unless our neighbors see our faith lived out, we are ‘spinning our wheels’.
Several years ago, I read some of the writings of E. Stanly Jones. One point stood out to me. Surgeons and morticians can tell by talking briefly to a person whether a person is a Christian believer or not. When asked how this could be, one professional said it was by the way the person responded to his or her circumstance.
When we confess our faith before others, we also do it before God. If we keep our faith to ourselves we impede the growth of God’s kingdom. In my young adult years, a person who kept his or her status quiet was thought of as fence-sitters—never really taking a stand for the Lord.
As we begin a new year, we might want to take some time and evaluate where we are with our lives and our faith and seek the Lord’s guidance in improving what we see as dishonoring Him.
One area in my life I intend to work on is time management. I have had days and weeks that just rush right by me where I haven’t accomplished anything. Recently, I found an email in my inbox that talked about better managing time. Then this past Sunday, guess what our sermon was about, Time management. I believe God is talking to me about this. I intend to journal about this for a while as I enter the New Year.
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.
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