Living Witness
Title: Living Witness
Subject: Witness
Mrs. Ruth Graham tells the story of when her children were young. She says, "I remember one time when Bill was away. We had four children then and none were good sleepers. I used to get up 3-7 times a night. I awoke one morning looking a wreck. My hair was a mess, no makeup on. Franklin was a baby and I did not bother to change him; I just picked him up and plopped him in the high chair. That morning every time Gigi, the oldest girl, started to say something, Bunny, the youngest girl, interrupted her. Finally Gigi slammed down her fork and said, ''Mother, between looking at you and smelling Franklin and listening to Bunny, I'm just not hungry.''"
People have a way of spoiling others'' appetites. Looking at, smelling, and listening to some Christians has left the lost world saying, "Thanks, but no thanks." Christianity, which should be irresistible like Jesus, has been given bad press by those of us who bear the name of Christ.
How are you looking? Not by a physical mirror but a spiritual mirror. The Bible is the mirror to the soul, the real you. When you measure your life against what the Bible says how do you look? John tells us not to judge by appearance (John 7:24) because what matters is a changed heart. There are a lot of good-looking people in churches today. There are a lot of good actors there too. A business sign on US 19 reads "Well done is better than well said." I'll take a sermon lived over a sermon preached any day of the week. That goes for a Sunday School lesson taught also.
How do you smell? Paul tells the Church at Corinth that we are the fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15). It is a shame that some Christians have the smell of a locker room floor about them by the way they act and live. I know a few Christians who motto seems to be "Don't forget to kill the flowers along the way."
How do you sound? Jesus says, "For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." Cuss words should not be a part of a Christian's vocabulary. I am glad that in the end we win, because the answers to these questions reveal that the Church is way behind right now. Let's just hope that our looks, smell, and sound don''t find us on the losing side come judgment day.
People have a way of spoiling others'' appetites. Looking at, smelling, and listening to some Christians has left the lost world saying, "Thanks, but no thanks." Christianity, which should be irresistible like Jesus, has been given bad press by those of us who bear the name of Christ.
How are you looking? Not by a physical mirror but a spiritual mirror. The Bible is the mirror to the soul, the real you. When you measure your life against what the Bible says how do you look? John tells us not to judge by appearance (John 7:24) because what matters is a changed heart. There are a lot of good-looking people in churches today. There are a lot of good actors there too. A business sign on US 19 reads "Well done is better than well said." I'll take a sermon lived over a sermon preached any day of the week. That goes for a Sunday School lesson taught also.
How do you smell? Paul tells the Church at Corinth that we are the fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15). It is a shame that some Christians have the smell of a locker room floor about them by the way they act and live. I know a few Christians who motto seems to be "Don't forget to kill the flowers along the way."
How do you sound? Jesus says, "For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." Cuss words should not be a part of a Christian's vocabulary. I am glad that in the end we win, because the answers to these questions reveal that the Church is way behind right now. Let's just hope that our looks, smell, and sound don''t find us on the losing side come judgment day.