Can They Tell :: Monday E-Devotion

Happy Memorial Day to all (praise the Lord for those who have fought for our freedom, and be encouraged to pray for our troops and our nation)...

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16 (NASB)

Can they tell? I mean, do people know who you are and what you are? A football player wears a jersey, and he is proud of it. A policeman wears a uniform, and with it comes responsibility, authority and pride. A nurse wears one of those medical type shirts and pants, and we glad to see them when we have a great need.

But can they tell who we are? No, there aren’t any Christian uniforms or standard dress. Yet our language, responses and attitude tell a person much about us.

My prayer for this week, and beyond, is that as people see you and me that they can tell we belong to Jesus.

Jesus said, "If you understand what I'm telling you, act like it— and live a blessed life." John 13:17 (MSG)

Here is a little story to prove my point (thanks to my guitar-pickin, awesome-servant, dude-of-encouragement Brad for sharing this with me):

Police aren't perfect, but this cop comes close to winning the ingenuity award.

A driver did the right thing, stopping at the school crosswalk even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection. The tailgating woman behind him went ballistic, pounding on her horn and screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to drive through the intersection with him.

Still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed and placed in a cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell

and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm awfully sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping the guy off in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. That was when I noticed the "What Would Jesus Do" license plate holder, the "Follow me to Sunday School" bumper sticker, the chrome plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk and the "My Boss is a Jewish Carpenter" decal on your back window....... Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car.

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One of the most powerful preachers, writers and leaders of our time, in my opinion, is Francis Chan. His first book, Crazy Love , revolutionized my thoughts about God's love as well as my interacting with God. Now it is time for a brand new book from Chan being released tomorrow, September 1st. The book is Forgotten God . This is a phenomenal book about the power that Christians and the church can and must tap into. All of it is within the Holy Spirit. Francis talks about the power that was seen in the book of Acts when the Holy Spirit began to move among people. It is true that many have avoided or maybe forgotten what the Holy Spirit is all about. And like the Savior who poured out His life and blood so we have reason to rejoice, we were made to lay down our lives and give until it hurts. We are most alive when we are loving and actively giving of ourselves because we were made to do these things. It is when we live like this that the Spirit of God moves and ac...

inspiration from C.S. Lewis

There are many people, past and present, who get our attention by what they write or say or share. For me C.S. Lewis is one of those. He was a prolific writer who continues to grab the attention of thinkers from many different points of view. Lewis first grabbed my attention when I was in 5 th grader, and our teacher, Mrs. Foy, shared The Chronicles of Narnia with our class. It was a powerful time that this dreamer opened doors to thinking like I had never lived before. He wrote of faith, of far off places and of strong figures who found their character rooted deep in God. C.S. Lewis was born in 1898 and died in 1963, 7 years before I was born. It wasn’t until his 30’s that under the influence of his friend Tolkien that he came to be a Christian. He was raised in a traditional church going home, turned away from God as an Atheist in his teen years and through trying to stay away from God and faith returned to God with...

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Michael Harrison's e-devotion

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