Is Your Life a True Reflection of Your Values?

It is time to engage those warring against biblical Christianity by taking a bold stand. And by a bold stand, I mean living out a biblically based passionate bold faith-resilient, immovable, and incredibly effective in the last days. Doing anything less neutralizes the church, rendering it ineffective in fulfilling its calling to spread the gospel and make disciples of Jesus Christ. It causes our faith to cease being relevant, useful, or capable of being salt and light. In a word, bold!

Today the challenge for ever Christ-follower is this: Are you willing to take our Lord at His word, believe what He says, and take a stand? Will you decide to make a difference? I urge you to say yes for this reason: However small your efforts may appear, heaven takes a far different view. Believe me when I say that what you do now matters in eternity.

Formulating a strategy for a bold and courageous stand requires a clear understanding of the strength and vitality of what you’ve become in Christ.As you encounter biblical truth, may you make honest assessments and, when needed, pray, “Lord, please work this characteristic or that way of thinking into my life. From this day forward, help me to never back down or surrender in the fight to uphold the truth of Your Word. O Lord, make me courageous. Help me to develop a bold faith that is equal to taking on these darkening days.”

YOU ARE IN CHRIST

When someone turns to you and says, “Look at what you’ve become,” what are they saying? And how are they saying it – with admiration, or sarcasm? Are they witnessing a changed life?

For better or worse, people will make assessments about us based on what they observe regarding our Christianity. That truth should encourage you to ask yourself, Has my faith changed me? To help you answer that question, how would your family, friends, or employer say that God has changed you? Those who live with us and around us should experience this firsthand.

If my neighbor texted me a picture of oranges from his tree and asked if I wanted some, I’d say yes because I know they are consistently juicy and flavorful. But suppose he sent me two unremarkable photos, one of a man and the other of a woman, and asked if I would vouch for their character? What could I discern about either of them? Nothing. Could I determine their worldview or what they believe about Jesus? No. Is there anything that I could expect from them? Again, the answer is no. I couldn’t expect anything from either of these people because I don’t know them.

I cannot determine anything about those two individuals unless I get into their world and live with them. But, if I lived with them 24 hours, seven days a week, for a month, I could tell you a whole lot about each. I could tell you if she’s insecure or not. It would be apparent that he’s a gamer or mathematically gifted – brilliant, in fact. She likes to paint in her free time, and he plays soccer every weekend. He looked subdued in his picture, but he has a bad temper when pushed. And she has issues when it comes to trusting people.

Now, what if someone stepped into my life? What would they conclude about my Christianity? Do my claims about my faith match what others see? How about yours? When you say that you are a believer, what does that mean?

You cannot say you know Jesus and that your life is under His authority and yet have your life remain the same. If Jesus cannot change us from what we used to be, then what is the difference between what He does and what is accomplished through a self-help seminar? But we know there should be a distinct difference in a true believer because Jesus truly changes lives! “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).