Playbook For Christian Living - Be A Living Witness

Play Eight: Living As A Witness For Christ
12.13.15

In Mark chapter 5 we read a story of a man who is demon possessed. This man lived among the dead and wiled and moaned all hours of the day and night. He was in misery, alone, isolated, and dejected. Then Jesus came into his life and things changed. He was restored, reborn, and returned to his sanity. This man naturally wants to follow Jesus, but Jesus tells him to stay and share what God has done for him. Jesus is essentially asking him to be a living witness of what the Lord has done in his life.

Four things I believe we can learn from this story:

1. Tell Who You Were

The man in the graveyard's actions were described as "night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones." The people of the town knew who he was an how he acted. Perhaps your story is less dramatic. Maybe you were like me and you started attending church at birth. You grew up in a stable home and for the most part did what was right. Or maybe your story is one of reckless abandon, isolation and broken relationships. Either way, we should be prepared to tell our story honestly and sincerely. "All have fallen short of the glory of God" according to Romans 3:23, so we all have a story of life in sin to tell.

2. Tell What Jesus Did In Your Life

In Mark 5:15 we read that when the people from the city came to see what had happened, they found the demon possessed man sitting there dressed and in his right mind. In your story about the journey you have had with Jesus there will have been times when you needed him. Perhaps it was courage or hope or strength, it does not matter what it was that Jesus did for you - tell about it! If you find that there is nothing you can find to tell I suggest one of two situations: One, you do not have a relationship with Jesus and therefor have no story to tell because yours has not started yet. Or two, you need to pray to have eyes to see what He has done for you. Once you have your story, tell it, write, and perfect it. It is your testimony.

3. Share As Jesus Leads

Jesus was on a mission. He was telling people far and wide about the coming Kingdom of God. He had thousands who followed him. He had a core twelve that he mentored.So why not one more? Yet when this man who had been radically saved asked to tag along, Jesus told him to stay. "Go home to your people" Jesus told him.  The man followed the directions of Christ and went to his home town and began to tell what Jesus had done. If you were like me, when I was younger I was certain that if I told Jesus I would tell others about him it would have to be in a far off country. Sometimes that is true. But often what I see is a commitment for Jesus to start right where you are. Your family, friends, neighbors are all in need of Jesus too, follow Him and tell where he leads.

4. Be Ready To Be Amazed

This ambassador for Jesus, this living witness, followed the lead of Christ and told his home town people about what the Lord had done. The result? Verse 20 in Mark 5 tells us that "all the people were amazed."

What about you? Have you met Jesus? Has he changed your life? If so, great! Go and tell! Be a living witness! If not, consider watching the video below as it explains how you can begin your story now.

Playbook For Christian Living - A Life With Good Deeds

Play Number Seven: "Good Deeds Done Right"
12.6.15

Good deeds are completed by millions everyday. Some of those deeds are conducted by Christians, others are not. Today I want to explore some of the reasons why those deeds completed by Christians are different than those of non-believers. As we play out the Christian Playbook, we see that it is important that our Good Deeds are Done Right.

In Ephesians 2:10, Paul writes:

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

When we set our minds to do good, we must recognize that we do these things in accordance to the plans that God prepared for us. There are four truths I want to share concerning our service to God and the Good Deeds we accomplish for Him.

1. We Are Shaped By God

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful.

Psalm 139:13-14

This verse has been used numerous times to explain our physical development. I would extend this shaping and knitting as the Psalmist writes it to also include our personality, talents, intelligence, and other quirky traits that make us who we are as individuals. God shapes each of us to fit into his plan for the sharing of the Gospel and the ultimate glory he desires and deserves. We see this expressed in the passions and commitments of various Christians, churches, and groups to champion a variety of causes and needs. God makes us all unique to fit together and be the Body of Christ - his church. 

2. We Are To Be Useful And Valuable

In Matthew 25 we read a story that Jesus tells his followers of a king who left town and set three servants in charge of some resources of his to be watched over in his absence. When he returns, he asks them for an accounting of what they did with the resources he left in their charge. When the first servant returns his portion with great interest by wise investing, Jesus tells us that the king responded, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" 

In the children's book series, Thomas The Tank Engine, the highest praise the little trains can receive is the praise that they are "really useful engines" by their company's owner, Sir Topham Hat.  The author, Reverend Wilbert Awdry, used these stories to convey the biblical truth that God, the owner and operator of our life, has a purpose for each of us and as we fulfill that purpose we are recognized as being "very useful". 

3. Our Good Deeds Are To Be Practical And Purposeful 

Later in Matthew 25, Jesus tells another story of the day when he will separate those who believed in him and those who did not. He commends those who truly believed by telling them:

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

There are numerous things we can do for God. Here we read simple, practical, daily activities that we can conduct ourselves in which result in eternal value. The simple acts of charity such as drink, food, clothing, etc. can have everlasting rewards if done in the name of Jesus and for him. This is where Christians separate from others who do good: the core reason we do good deeds is the spiritual value. 

4. Our Good Deeds Brings Glory To God

Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:12 that we should live a life among non-believers so that "though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." 

Our good deeds should bring glory to God, not us. Sure, there may recognition here on Earth, but the final glory will and should go to God. Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew  that those who do good things for the sake of receiving glory here on earth will receive their only reward here in this life. When we store up our rewards in heaven, we can be sure that they will not diminish or tarnish, but be available to us for all eternity. 

So whether you care for someone who is sick, or crusade to end an illness world-wide, the key to being successful and Doing Good Deeds Right, is doing them for the LORD.