Dear Rangers,
Here is another devotion for you to think about.
An Effective Lifestyle.
By Adrian Bonham.
On the weekend my son, James, tried to load a pirated copy of a game. This
crashed the whole system. We had to reformat our hard drive, which meant
deleting everything (luckily we back up everything first). Just one little game caused
so many problems, just like virus. I started to think about the whole thing and
realised that what happened was like making bread. One of the things I love to do
during summer is to make bread. One of the most important ingredients is yeast.
Without it it�s just a damper (It�s a large scone). Yeast can ruin the food. It is the
same in our lives as Christians. A little sin can stops from being effective for Jesus.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 �Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a
little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that
you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover
lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast,
the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of
sincerity and truth.�
What stops us from become effective witnesses? The answer is sin. Sin in our lives
stops from praying effectively, it hinders our witnessing, it will effect our
fellowship
with other Christians. Just as a little yeast makes the whole mixture rise, so does
sin. It will rise to the surface and ruin the work the Lord is doing in us. So, let�s
get
rid of any sin that would hinder us. In 1 John 1:9 we read �If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness.� So we become righteous in His sight. We can communicate with
Him effectively. So the first step in becoming an effective Christian is to get rid of
all
our sin.
The next thing is there are areas in our lives that do not reflect God�s glory. It
could
be you have a bad temper or be caught in an addiction. We must hand these thing
over to God so He can deal with them. When we first become Christians we are
like rough diamonds. They need to be washed so all the dirt is gone. This is true
repentance. Next the stone is handed over to the Master Jeweller, which is the
Holy Spirit, for cutting. A jeweller will not go straight in and start cutting away
because it will destroy the stone. He will take a small piece at a time. The Holy
Spirit does the same in our lives, slowly getting rid of the things that would hold us
back. Over period of time the jeweller finishes his work and we have a gem of
great value. It is the same with us, we are precious to the Lord and He wants to
shine through our lives. Are you prepared to have the Master Jeweller work on
you?
Can you imagine the impact of 12 people who are effective witnesses for Jesus?
Just take a look in the Book of Acts and you will see it. Now if 12 men can turn
the whole upside down (Acts 17:6 KJV) what can a Church of millions do? We
must put away our old self and become new creations (2 Cor.5:17) and dressed
for battle (Eph. 5:10-20). The Lord love each one of us so much He adopted us as
His sones and daughters. Just like a true father we will discipline us when we need
it (Heb.12:10). This is a part of taking away the things that will hinder our effective
lifestyle that will see many come to know the Father as we know him
There's a storm coming, our Storm.
PROCLAIMING GOD'S LOVE TO A DYING WORLD
Say to the captives, 'come out,' and those in darkness, 'Be free!'
Isaiah 49:9
Love in Jesus
Adrian Bonham aka Morning Light, The Larrikin
I looked to the heavens to where God dwells
I looked into my life to see he lives there as well.
Outpost 49
Hawkesbury Royal Rangers
Windsor, N.S.W.
Australia
F.C.F. 94
Cyber Pow-Wow Camp Commander 2001
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