Thursday; August 10

The other day I came across an observation by Tony Evans who said, “The church has failed to be a positive influence for good in our nation and our world.”. As I sat and stared at that insight, a couple things came to mind. First, is it really “the church” that has been the negative influence or those who merely play church? Anyone can call themselves a Christian, but it is only those who truly follow the will of God who are part of His church. When people are Christians in name only, we should expect that the name of the church will be besmirched. Secondly, I tend to agree with Dr. Evans because we have allowed bad influences to ruin our good name. When people have done things in opposition to godliness, we have not generated a resounding public outcry that they do not represent the true church of God. Too often, to suit some non-biblical agenda, we have allowed ourselves to be too closely tied to those who do not share our true values.
As we move forward, let’s not only protect the good name of the church, let’s promote the nature of Christ as well. I think it is interesting that when the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians on Crete, he challenged the young people to step up and be the leading voice for righteousness by observing, “Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.” (Titus 2:6-8). Whether we are members of the old guard or the youth movement, let’s make sure we live in a way that others can learn good from us and generate respect for God.
Think About It!

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