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The Masks We Wear

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In our neighborhood, and I suspect in yours, in October the kids put on costumes and go trick-or-treating. Most kids wear the mask of their favorite comic book hero to hide their identity and hopefully get a treat.

The sad thing is that many of us adults do the same type of thing. We put on the mask of a pious Christian. We go to church on Sunday. We say all the right things. We pretend to be faithful. We pretend to be a “good Christian.”

The apostle Paul attacked this imitation of Christian living. In 2 Corinthians, he says that “unlike so many, we do not peddle the Word of God. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity like men (and women) sent from God.” Paul is telling us to take off our masks. To stop trying to deceive others. To stop trying to cover up our sins.

God can see through the masquerade that keeps us from walking openly with Him. Its only when we open our hearts and allow Christ to make us the kind of people He wants us to be that we can stop pretending to be someone were not and truly let the world see Christ through us.

Christ’s Ambassadors

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Its easy to get discouraged in evangelism, isnt it? Sometimes youre criticized, given the cold shoulder, or cant see the fruit of sharing your faith. When were feeling low, we often forget that God has called each of us to be His ambassadors.

Second Corinthians 5:20 says, “We are therefore Christs ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” Thats so important to remember!

What does it mean to be Christs ambassador? First of all, an ambassador doesnt invent the message. His president tells him what to say. This means that you dont have to come up with the message. You simply give out the beautiful Good News Gospel, wherever God has put you.

Leave the rest to the Holy Spirit. Also, since youre an ambassador, youre not just some nobody praying for your neighborhood. You have power. You have authority. You have an important mission to spread the Good News message to your world!

No matter how people may respond, it doesnt change the way God sees you. You are His messenger – His ambassador. So keep sharing Gods message of Good News, with dignity and power. After all, thats exactly what an ambassador is called to do!

Working Together

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Do you remember what the Lord Jesus prayed the night before his crucifixion? He was going to the cross the very next day, and yet, in the Garden of Gethsemane, what did Jesus pray about? “Father,” Jesus said, “I pray for those who will believe in me, that they may be one as we are one, so that the world may believe that you sent me.”

That was the cry of the Lord Jesus – that Gods people will act, and function, as one, “so that the world may believe…”

It pleases the heart of God when Christians work well together. Its a clear message to our world that we belong to Christ. And, by teaming up with other believers, you can do great and powerful things for Jesus that you could never do alone.

So, do you have a dream of doing something big for God in your neighborhood, town, or even country? If so, remember you cant do it alone! Of course youll need Gods blessing and leading and wisdom; but youll also need fellow believers to help your dream become reality!

Were most effective when we pull together, not apart. When we work with other Christians, “as one,” the world takes notice. And the result is that many may choose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Body of Christ

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Many Christians today are in the habit of not going to church. Most are good-hearted believers, who simply dont think they need the local church. But Hebrews 10:25 tells us, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.”

Why do we need church? Because the local church is Gods way of shaping us, molding us, and then using us to reach our world. Although there may be people there who rub us the wrong way, thats part of the genius of Gods design!

He wants to stretch us, and cause us to grow. We may get bothered by the style of this, or the sound of that. But its good for us! Its humbling, its purifying, its “iron sharpening iron.”

As we are sharpened by others in the church, we become more like Jesus Christ. We also learn how to work with those who are different than us. And working well with other believers is one of the best expressions of Jesus Christ to our world.

So, dream great dreams for your church! Be faithful to it! Pray for it! And get involved. Ask God to use your church to reach your neighborhood, your city, your country for Jesus Christ. Thats exactly what He wants to do!

Win the Mountains

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Before my own ministry in evangelism launched years ago, I met with Billy Graham at a pre-crusade breakfast. He discovered my ambition was to preach in evangelistic crusades. And he advised me to stay with the big cities.

“Paul (in the Bible) always went to the centers of population,” he told me. “And D.L. Moody used to say that the cities were the mountains; and if you won the mountains, the valleys took care of themselves.”

What was Mr. Graham trying to tell me? Simply that cities are important. According to urban missiologist Ray Bakke, the word “city” occurs 1,250 times in the Bible. Cities matter to God because people matter to God.

Do you live in a city? Do you live in a neighborhood? More than likely, the answer is “yes.” The point is, you have people all around you. The Lord Jesus has compassion on these individuals and wants to save them!

Psalm 116 in the Bible states, “The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.” Pray to God; ask Him to give you His compassion for others. He will begin to use you to reach your community, your city, and your world with His love!