Weekend Words

My internet has been down (all fixed now), and I also have the flu (slowly getting better), hence no Weekend Words last weekend.

From Beside the Still Waters...

Show and Tell - Read: Titus 2

"Let no man despise they youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." - 1 Timothy 4:12

School students are sometimes asked to prepare for a session called Show and Tell.  They bring items from home to show their classmates and tell something about these articles.  The students may tell how the things are made, how they function, or how they were obtained.  If the item is an animal, the student may explain its habits.

The Christian life is a continual Show and Tell exercise.  We should show by our words and our works what God expects of His children.  We should not only tell others about salvation through Christ, but also show how saved people live.  The four Gospels describe a paramount Show and Tell session with Jesus as the example.  From Him we learn how to conduct our own Show and Tell.

The verb tell has two basic aspects to be considered.  First, we proclaim the Gospel to tell others how to be saved and live for Christ (Matthew 28:19-20).  Second, we tell others "how great things the Lord hath done" for us (Mark 5:19) - as Jesus directed the man who had been possessed of demons.  In Luke's account, Jesus is quoted as saying, "Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee" (Luke 8:39).  So the account in Mark uses tell, and the account in Luke uses shew.

These two, show and tell, to together.  In God's sight they are inseparable.  But the emphasis in our day seems to stress telling at the expense of showing.  Jesus' way of witnessing included both showing and telling, and we should make it our obligation to follow His example.  Each soul converted through learning from our Show and Tell is one more individual who can conduct his own Show and Tell!

Dennis Martin - Smithville, TN

From Amish Peace...

Be My Disciple

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.  And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." - John 8:31-32

What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ?  It means to believe what He says, to trust in His son Jesus, to accept His presence, and to follow His way.  To be a disciple takes discipline.  It means no matter how old you are, you're still a pupil and, like the Amish, still passing on what you believe.  Author Steven Nolt writes,

"With their rejection of automobile ownership, public utility electricity, and the fads and fashions of Madison Avenue, they annually attract countless tourists and academics who see in Old Order people everything from images of nostalgic conservatism to icons of postmodern environmentalism.  Yet the Amish are really none of these things.  They are not timeless figures frozen in the past, nor the poster-children of political activists.  Taken on their own terms, the Old Order Amish are a living, dynamic church - a committed Christian community whose members have taken seriously the task of discipleship and group witness."

How seriously do you take discipleship?  Do you consider yourself to be a pupil of Christ?  The purpose of discipleship is to replicate the one you are following.  It's to embrace truth in order to share it.  The Amish live within the confines of their community, and as Christians we live within the confines of what can seem like "rules and laws".  Yet when we choose to follow God's way, we discover unexplainable freedom.  We can live pure lives, and we are free from guilt, shame, and painful consequences.  And when we live with frugality and simplicity, we can get free of debt and clutter.

Discipline takes commitment and focus, but the reward is freedom and right living.  Only a good God could come up with something as balanced and wonderful as that.

Dear heavenly Father, the more I follow, the more I walk in freedom.  Thank you for not leaving me alone but for allowing me to follow in Your steps and be filled with Yourself for the journey.

From In Green Pastures...

Divine Discontent

The ideal Christian life is one of insatiable thirst, of quenchless yearning, of divine discontent, wooed ever on by visions of new life, new joy, new attainments.  The trouble with too many of us is that we are too well satisfied with ourselves as we are.  We have attained a little measure of peace, of holiness, of faith, of joy, of knowledge of Christ, and we are not hungering for the larger attainments.  O pray for discontent!  With all the infinite possibilities of spiritual life before you, do not settle down on a little patch of dusty ground at the mountain's foot in restful content.  Be not content till you reach the mountain's summit.