The word Christian was a compliment and came from the
concept of Christ-followers (Acts 11:26). However, I am starting to like
the title "Born Agains" better. Sadly this title denotes more of a
commitment, authenticity and unique peculiarity (1 Peter 2:9) than
most people portray who call themselves Christians in today's society.
Christianity is often sorrowfully synonymous with hypocrites. The dead works of
most “Christians” give God a bad reputation.
The name of Christ is defamed due to the behavior of His
so-called followers, most of whom He does not even know (Matthew
7:21-23). They do not represent the life and works of Christ in
their life. When we Christians rely on our human strength and goodness, we
constantly fall into sin. We break the heart of God with every act of
compromise we perform. Even if we follow our heart, we sin, because the heart
is dreadfully wicked and deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9).
In addition, humanistic people in the world have a false
concept of who Christ is and what He teaches. They call authentic Christians
hypocrites, because they consider Him a cool dude who preached love, acceptance
and tolerance, when the opposite is actually true (1
Corinthians 6:9-11). They also call people hypocrites who
uncompromisingly live according to Biblical principles.
God’s Word tells us to beware of the traditions of men and
of rejecting the truth of Christ (Colossians 2:8; Acts 17:11). God
sends us trials to bring us to the end of our self. We look in the mirror and
we do not even recognize the weary face looking back at us. That is when God
offers us His peace and His joy as our strength (Philippians 4:7; Psalm
28:7). Through the trials of life, Born Again Believers learn that we are
not as invincible as we once thought we were!
No one can make it in life all alone; no one is an island;
we need our Savior. We learn compassion, empathy and sympathy through the
things, which we suffer. This makes us a better friend and Christian.
Persevering in our faith in God’s faithfulness helps us to traverse every trial
with proven character (Romans 5:3-5). We come out of the fire as pure
gold (1 Peter 1:7-17). When our soul enters God’s rest we realize that
our spirit is united with His and He is our very life (Hebrews
4:10; Colossians 3:4).
Prayer:
Father God, break our heart when we sin. Cause us to feel
the pain that our disobedience causes You. Rend our soul until we cry out in
anguish and throw our self on Your mercy and grace. Our failures are simply the
result of our disobedience to You. In our weakness, call us to look to You and
rely on Your strength. In our doubts, teach us to believe. Lead us into Your
truth and cause us to know Your mercy and loving kindness every morning (Psalm
92:2, 143:8; Lamentations 3:22-23).
Thought for the Day:
God offers us His
vast resources, once we finally run out of all of our human assets.