I Got Proof Part 3

Welcome to part three. I'm going to jump right into the message and recap afterwards.
(BTW this series was based on the song “I Got Proof” by Katalyst and Lecrae” (A).

GENTLENESS

In other translation of the bible, the word meekness is also used. The words gentleness and meekness often make people think of being weak and fragile, but that is not the case. For Christians, gentleness means empathy/sympathy. Gentleness is about understanding other people’s need, wants, and so on. A gentle Christian knows how to approach a person at his or her level. Without gentleness, a Christian cannot affectively interact with others; especially non-believers.

FAITHFULNESS

What if there is no heaven, no God, what if the bible is a lie, what if everything you believe is a lie? Ultimately, a Christian without faith will crumble at question like this. Faith is something that gives Christians assurance when attacked by doubt. Simply put, faith is what gives Christians the ability to believe and what motivates them to seek God in everyway.

SELF-CONTROL

"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control" Proverbs 25:28. A city without walls has no defense from an onslaught. A Christian without self control will fail to obey God and will quickly fall into depravity. Christians need to know how to control their mind, body, and emotion. Self- control is not limited to spiritual matters, but also to how people managed their funds, how committed people are to getting work done, and other such things. As a Christian becomes more mature with these early things, they will become more responsible to God (1 John 4:20 (B)).

Doing this three part series has been a great pleasure of mine. By no means is what I say an absolute truth, but it is biblically sound and practical. It is very easy just to say a person is a Christian, but other Christian should be evaluating themselves and other members of their church to confirm this title. When I look at a duck, I look for feathers, a bill, a quacking sound, and so on. If nothing in a person’s life matches up with Christian characteristics, how can that person possibly be called a Christian? In conclusion, if you are someone seeking to live a Christian life, here are some useful questions you can ask yourself to help with your daily walk:

Do I love everyone as if they were Christ Jesus?
Do I find joy in being a Christian?
Do I seek God’s peace in trouble?
Do I show patience?
Do I serve others out of kindness?
Do I display goodness through obedience?
Do treat others with gentleness?
Do I exhibit faithfulness towards God?
Do I have self-control?

A:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsb-I2x12NU
B:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20john%204:20&version=NIV

I Got Proof Part 2

Only God can truly say who is a follow of Christ and who is not, but there are still ways that people can prove their faith. I am not talking about one time prayers or baptism but lifestyles. The way people conduct themselves on the daily is what proves their devotion to God. For the sake of this blog, I will continue to use the Fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23(A)) as the basis for proving one's faith. Last week, I talked about love (treating all people with the same love we would show God), joy (the celebration of being a Christian), and peace (finding rest in God). For this week's installment I will address: patience, kindness, and goodness.

PATIENCE:

Patience should be the easiest one of these fruits to obtain, but it is not. Patience requires just doing nothing; allowing things to happen then acting when appropriate. As the bible says, "Be still, and know that I am God (Psa 46:10)." However, worry and anxiety tend to override people's ability to patiently wait for God to act. Instead, people try to figure out a way to take control of their lives rather than humbly stepping aside and letting God wok. I am not saying that we are to be lazy (Pro 13:4(B), Ecc 10:18(C)), but rather put trust in God's power and plan. People do have daily worries, but a Christian does not let the worries of tomorrow interfere with the worries of today (Mat 6:34(D)).

KINDNESS:

There are many ways to display kindness, but my favorite is service. Many Christians think the only way they can serve is by going on mission trips, feeding kids at soup kitchens, or some other organized activity. Kindness, however, should be a regular occurrence in one's day: making cupcakes for everyone, holding a door open, taking time to help someone with work. Kindness though service does not have to be a big flashy show for it to be pleasing to God. It's like what Matthew 25:40 says "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

GOODNESS:

It is really easy to get pessimistic about goodness when you read certain verses (Rom 3:10,23(E)), but Christians can act out goodness in their everyday lives. Consider the story of Jesus and the rich man in Matthew 19:16-28(F). When asking what good thing he must do to get to heaven, Jesus replies, "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." As Christian, we have been given certain parameters to live by, and it is through this obedience that we display the goodness of God.

That wraps up the second edition of "I Got Proof" the final part will be posted next Sunday.

A:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gal%205:22-23&version=NIV
B:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=prov%2013:4&version=NIV
C:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ecc%2010:18&version=NIV
D:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mat%206:34&version=NIV
E:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rom%203:10,23&version=NIV
F:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mat%2019:16-28&version=NIV

I Got Proof Part 1

Christians are expected to defend why they believe what they believe. As a result, many Christian gather facts, do research, and try every possible avenue to prove that Christianity is true. I applaud this effort, but my question for Christian is a smudge different. How do Christians prove to others that they are actually Christian? Easy answers include baptism, praying Jesus into your heart, and similar arguments, but these are one time occurrences in a person’s life. How can doing just one or two things in one’s life prove they are a Christian? Christianity is a long process that must produce fruit, so, with that said, over these next three weeks I will be taking a look at The Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23 _(A)) and how they prove is if a person is Christian. For the first installment, I will look at love, joy, and peace.

LOVE

I could make this section real quick by just saying go to Romans 12:9-21 _(B) or 1 Corinthians 13_(C). These two scriptures give the most concise definitions of love found in the bible, but I want to take it a step further. This past weekend I have been grumpy and rude because of (insert excuse). Because of (insert excuse) I thought it alright to be short tempered jerk. I was then hit with a spiritual left hook: “if the people you have been mean to today were Jesus, how would you treat them?" This thought humbled me good. As a Christian I should be treating people with the same love that Jesus gives me and should not allow my sinful nature to prevent me from loving others. To sum up what I said, go read 1 John 4:19-21_(D).

JOY

First off, we have been saved from sin, been promised a heavenly home, and have been made heirs along with Christ Jesus. This alone should make Christians joyful daily, but I forget about this sometimes. I get so wrapped up in all the wrong I do and how undeserving I am that I forget to celebrate how great a God I have. This celebration is not something reserved for church worship or party, but should be an everyday part of our lives. God has given us so many reasons to be joyful that Christians need to stop frowning and down casting their heads and start enjoying the blessing that God gives us (within reason).

PEACE

Peace is something I find very easy. I put my full trust in the lord and know that he has made me a promise to succeed (Romans 8:28_(E)). Peace is something that everyone needs. Life is stressful and many people turn to different things to realize stress (smoke, video games, etc.) These things are worldly though, and they will fail. God however does not fail. He will always be there for us in and out of times of need. Furthermore, it is hard trusting the unseen, but to hold onto the promises he has given us in his word (Psa 23_(F)) (Lam 3:22-28_(G)) is something we need to do to truly have peace in our lives. A true Christian will be able to see beyond worry and stress and will fix his or her lift to the comfort that is the lord Jesus Christ.

This wraps up “I Got Proof Part 1” come back next week for the second installment.

A:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gal%205:22-23&version=NIV

B:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rom%2012:9-21&version=NIV

C:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20cor%2013&version=NIV

D:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20john%204:19-21&version=NIV

E:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rom%208:28&version=NIV

F:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psa%2023&version=NIV

G:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=lam%203:22-28&version=NIV