Issue 1542 – Can I get a Witness – September 5, 2024

He was driving his brand new, very expensive sports car like a maniac. He was traveling way too fast for the road conditions and swerving in and out of traffic.
I could not hear what he was saying to the other drivers, but I could read his lips, and the words were not pretty. The first time I saw him, I thought he was racing off to an emergency.
I have seen him several times since then, and he always drives the same way. That car is pretty hard to miss (no, it’s not the one in the picture; I don’t have an image of the actual car.)
Two things struck me. The prominent Christian fish logo was on the rear window; the other was a bumper sticker about loving Jesus. Watching him drive by, I was almost embarrassed to admit I was a Christian.
I thought about what a terrible witness that is and condemned him. Then God called me up short, and I remembered a number of times and places where my witness was not much better.
We all fall short at times. We have all said and done things that likely made other Christians cringe. We all stumble, and that sometimes makes people think less of Christians or confirms their preconceived ideas that Christianity does not work.
Those stumbles have been paid for at the cross. None of us is big enough to single-handedly thwart God’s plan for someone’s life by our stumble. God is not surprised when it happens; He had a contingency plan for the situation long before the beginning of time.
Knowing that truth, though, does not negate the fact that, as believers, we are to be witnesses for Christ.
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
We are always ambassadors, sometimes better ambassadors than others. When we stumble and fall, we need to get back up and strive to be the best witnesses we can be.
Will we be perfect at it? Never! Yet, if we strive for obedience and to show God’s light, He will reward those efforts. He does not call for perfection, simply faithfulness.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.
__________________________________________
Please share this post with friends and your circle of influence. Also, feel free to comment.
Did you know that we have an email version? It has the same great content but in a different format.
Subscribe today: https://mailchi.mp/f27bbeb09c22/gleanings-1
___________________________________________
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV)
Until next time, rejoice; as God’s ambassador, you have been given a rare responsibility and honor.