Jesus was different. He ministered to all types of people, both poor and rich, no matter what nationality. He was never biased. He touched lepers and he challenged the ways of the religious leaders of His day. Today, I want to share with you some more people that those two fish (see previous blogs) represent.
First, the disciples or apostles. In Acts 2 we see them being filled with the Holy Spirit and Peter begins to preach about Jesus and how the Jews were guilty of crucifying Him. There were about 3000 souls baptized that day and the church had begun. The church, also known as “followers of the way.” This was what you were labeled if you left Judaism (the old way before Jesus died on the cross) to follow Jesus. Not long after Acts 2 we see a trend taking place—persecution. The apostles, and the church, were persecuted on a daily basis. Slapped around, beaten, heads cut off, are just some of the things they endured. Why? Because they chose to swim in the opposite direction. They didn’t want to follow “what was normal,” or what people thought to be normal.
Then you have Paul and Barnabas. Two guys who traveled all over their area and started churches…from scratch. Paul had been trained as a Pharisee, well versed in the Old Testament scriptures. He even had Christians put in prison and killed! He once swam with the Judaizers. But when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, his whole life changed and he started swimming in the opposite direction. He too was persecuted. He was beaten, scourged, stoned, etc. yet he persevered. People would actually chase him from town to town trying to kill him! Why? Because he was different. He didn’t do what people thought was normal. He didn’t fit the description of what they thought should be happening. He went into their synagogues and instead of doing the same old rituals that they do week after week, he preached Jesus and Him crucified. Then he went into the markets and into people’s homes and preached Jesus. No. He didn’t sit in church buildings waiting for the lost to come in…he went out and got them!
I don’t know about you, but I want to be like these people. People who made a difference. And how did they do it? By being like Christ. It’s that simple. Take a look at your life, your spiritual life. Are you like these people? Or are you just one of the crowd. Do you choose to be different or do you just follow along with what ever? I want to be able to say, “I have the attitude of Christ,” but when I look within myself, I see that I have a long way to go.
Thank you Lord for your patience with us. Thank you for your grace and mercy. Thank you for being the Potter and forming this lump of clay. Continue to shape and mold us into YOUR likeness and not ours. In Jesus name…Amen. Randy
Philippians 2:1-7 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
The Humbled and Exalted Christ 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
No comments:
Post a Comment