I heard it said once that “you may be the only Jesus some people may ever know.” Meaning that some people may never go to church, read the Bible, or be exposed to Christianity in any way other than running into you at the mall, gas station, hospital, etc.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:27, “You are Christ’s body and each of you is an individual part of it.”

Since Jesus ascended into heaven, Christians have become the physical presence of Jesus’ will on earth. In a way, we are his hands, feet, and voice until he returns. So in addition to the Great Commission, “go and make disciples,” we are also the way Jesus can physically show his love to people in need, through our actions.

Dear Lord, you can give us the tools we need to be your physical presence on earth. Help us look for your will and act in faith, so if we are the only Jesus some people ever see, they will see and feel your love through us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Have you ever been driving in heavy traffic, and realized, too late, that your exit was coming up. Traffic was too heavy for you to make it across the lanes and you miss your exit? Or have you been in a sports stadium or concert venue walking in a large crowd, and realize that you walked right past your section because you were moving along with the crowd.

In some ways life can be like this. We get so wrapped up in things of this world, chasing earthly things we think will make us satisfied, money, power, experiences, that we neglect our relationship with God and fall away. When we neglect our faith, we become more vulnerable to temptation and can be easier led astray. In Matthew 7:13,14 Jesus says, “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

It is essential that we keep our eye on that “small gate and narrow road” Jesus describes by maintaining our faithful relationship with God.

John writes in 1 John 5:21, “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.”

Dear Lord help us keep our focus on you and put the energy into maintaining our faith so that we don’t end up blindly following the easy path to destruction. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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You may have heard this expression, and may have even experienced the phenomenon. When trying to make a decision, we wait and wait looking for one more piece of information or insight that will motivate us to decide, and begin.

Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 11:4, “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.” The Living Bible version translates this verse as “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.”

God is telling us through Solomon’s writing, that we need to act in faith. Particularly when it comes to those things we feel God calling us to do.

There is an expression that goes, “The will of God will never lead you where the love of God will not support you.” We need to remember that God will be there to support us if we move forward in faith.

Dear Lord, Thank you for your guidance, direction, and support. Help us remember to listen for your call, then act, and not wait for perfect conditions. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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In the US Military, soldiers are deployed, sent away to different places, for various lengths of time. The military makes a distinction between the types of deployments and moves. There are acronyms for each type. TDY means Temporary Duty; the soldier is deployed for a few days to a few months, PCS means Permanent Change of Station.

On a TDY, the soldier maintains his or her affiliation to the home unit, wearing the insignia on his or her uniform of the home unit. In contrast, during a PCS the soldier has a new “home unit” and becomes part of the new organization.

I use this illustration, because as Christians, we are TDY here on earth, on a “temporary assignment.” Our home unit is with God. In John 15:19 Jesus tells his disciples, “As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world;” and in John 17:14 Jesus is praying for his disciples, he asks God to protect them and says, “for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” Just like soldiers on TDY, we are away from home, but we represent our home unit; our behavior and performance reflect either positively or negatively on our home unit, Christ and other Christians. As the song goes, “I am but a stranger here, heaven is my home.”

Dear Lord, be with us while we are on this temporary assignment. Help us bring glory to you while we are here. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

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You have probably seen those crystal figurines in jewelry stores, one of the most famous brand is Swarovski. It is amazing how these sculptures sparkle and reflect the light. Although the crystal is just glass, it sparkles so much more than ordinary glass because it has a “secret” ingredient, lead, added to the sand that is melted to form the glass. It is the fact that the lead is in the glass that makes it different and more dazzling.

In a similar way, Paul writes about God’s mystery and secret in Colossians 1:27, “And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you the assurance of sharing his glory.” It is this secret ingredient in Christians that makes them different, and which makes us look different to God. He does not see the ordinary person, he sees us with the “dazzle” of Christ in us.

Dear Lord Jesus, It is only by the “secret” of your grace changing our appearance that we can be seen as acceptable to God, and saved. What an assuring mystery this is for us. Help us embrace this secret and live our lives demonstrating Christ living in us. In His name we pray. Amen.

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