2 Timothy Ch 2 v 1-2: You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. 

We are all called to be ‘fishers of men’ and because we are all unique each of us will have our own preferred method of evangelising to our family, friends and non-believers. Only a few of us will be called to be Church leaders or open air evangelists. Just because you may not be called to “full-time” (paid) ministry or feel that you’re not good enough, does not mean that God will not use you in your areas of strength or gifting i.e. hospitality, words of encouragement, acts of good deeds or being there for people in their time of need. When we perform an act of kindness which may be at an inconvenient time for ourselves, this may well demonstrate God’s love in your life and hopefully provide you with an opportunity to share the Good News.

For those us who are called into some form of Church leadership role we are reminded in James Ch3 v 1: Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. I remember reading this when I first began to lead youth group sessions and it really made me consider my life choices and made me question as to whether my life outside of Church reflected that which I was advocating in the youth group sessions.

We need to remember Church leaders are human like ourselves and sin just like us. Subconsciously I feel we can at times place ‘Church leaders’ we on pedestal, expecting them to live perfectly pure lives without sin. Only one person has ever walked this earth sinless and blameless and that was Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. However if one does find themselves in a leadership position we do need to take heed at the verse in James Ch3.  

As most readers of this blog will know there are various denominations within the body of Christ and sometimes denominations within denominations. Within the various Church denominations there are variations / interpretations of the Bible verses, but virtually every denomination agrees that Jesus sacrificed Himself in order to save us. Unfortunately there are some people who will utilise or contort certain Bible verses to suit their ‘agenda’, or may dilute the meaning as they are “too afraid” of the potential backlash from social media, their friends, work colleagues etc. We need to remember we each are answerable to God for our response to his Word. 1 John Ch 4 v1 tells us to test that which is said against scripture and not take everything at ‘face value’. Personally, in the past I have heard teachings that don’t easily sit with my spirit. This has indicated to me it may be being taught or given in the wrong context and has prompted me to go away and test such against Scripture, leading me to find my own conclusions.  

As today is Easter Sunday we are reminded of the ultimate sacrifice in that Jesus died for us no matter what we’ve done if we are truly sorry our sins we are forgiven.

Thought for the week

When you talk to your family, friends, work colleagues, non-believers about what Jesus has taught us in the Scriptures is it a ‘watered down’ / socially acceptable version or is it the truth which can be received by some in a negative way?