When I say "making a difference that matters", I am referring to the only thing that really does matter - glorifying my God and bringing the message of hope and salvation to as many people as I possibly can. Am I doing that with my life? Is it my passion and mission every day from the time I wake up until I go back to bed again (naps don't count!).
This morning I studied Acts 17. In this chapter Paul starts by reasoning with the Jews in Thessalonica. Once they run him out of town he moves on to Athens where he eventually gets a chance to enter the Areopagus and speak to the Greek philosophers there. I was struck by a few things in reading about this today:
1) Paul was not afraid to talk to ANYONE about Christ, no matter where he was or what their reaction might be OR whether or not he thought there was a chance for them to be converted.
2) Paul was prepared to speak intelligently about his beliefs and testimony. He was able to use reason and logic to defend his statements. The most intelligent people in Greece were not able to beat his arguments.
3) Paul had amazing FAITH that what he was saying was the absolute truth and that God's Holy Spirit would guide him as he shared this message of hope and salvation.
4) Paul was ALWAYS on point. Every day he talked about Christ to anyone who would listen.
What I take away from all of this is that Paul was bold and stupid to think he could go into the furnace with Greek philosophers and Jews and have any chance of winning them over. But he did it anyway and he was successful!
I want to be bold and stupid like Paul. I want to do things that are "impossible" unless God gets involved. I want to be exactly where God wants me and I want to share His message with as many people who will listen.
I work in a "restoration movement" church. We claim that we want to restore the church we read about in the book of Acts. It would be great to see evidence of that in our actions, not just our words!
AMEN!
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