God's Mighty Men A friend of mine (Steve CZ) suggested a book that I might enjoy reading “The Way Back: How Christians Blew our Credibility and how we get it back”. He was right I really enjoyed it and it challenged me in several areas.
The first part of the book went back to the beginning of how we became Christians and what they did to have an impact on the World. Basically they did not try to impose their beliefs on others but were an example of what Life should be like. They met the needs of all of those around them so that people looked and knew there was something different about them that they wanted. They also suffered for their beliefs.
They were examples of Christians who loved and served.
The book gives seven examples of what we as Christians can do to get back our credibility and live the example of what a Christian life should look like. We need to just not talk the talk but actually live the talk.
The Seven S’s
| 1. Surrender: |
| · Is Jesus really the number one Priority in my Life? |
| · What are examples? |
| · How often this week have I allowed outside distractions to become my first priority? |
| 2. Scripture: |
| · How many times this week have I spent significant time in the Word of God? Is that amount of time growing as time goes by? |
| · How often do I explore Scripture for answers before I consult other sources? |
| · Am I reading randomly, or do I have a structured guide to help me study? |
| 3. Submission: |
| · Am I honestly submitted to the authority of Scripture? |
| · Do I respect and submit to my Pastor’s authority? |
| · Am I submitted to my spouse and family? |
| 4. Service: |
| · How do my actions reflect my faith? |
| · What have I done this week for someone who could never pay me back? |
| · Do I have any friends who can do absolutely nothing for me? |
| · Do my nonbelieving friends notice that there is something different about my life? |
| 5. Sacrifice: |
| · Is there anything in my life that has a stronger hold on me than Jesus? |
| · Would I be willing to answer God’s call even if I knew it meant losing everything? |
| · When was the last time I fasted or gave up something important in exchange for finding a deeper relationship with God? |
| 6. Simplicity: |
| · Do material things have the right priority in my life? |
| · Does work, food, alcohol, hobbies, possessions, or anything else stand between me and God? |
| · What can I give up that might be a distraction from loving others? |
| · What does my bank account say about my Christian life? |
| 7. Suffering: |
| · How often am I sharing my faith with others? |
| · Have I done anything this week to help those being persecute in other places? |
As you can see that I bolded one item out of each of the Seven S’s that I would like to work on. I would ask that you to do the same…. and maybe buy the book and read it.
Bobbyg
