Reading your Bible for today

October 26: 1 Corinthians 4:14-16

KJV Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 4:14
14 I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.

Devotion:
Do you ever like being told off? Do you ever like being told you are doing things wrong? I doubt any of us do, but there are times when we will have to be told that we have done things wrong... There are many ways of being told off... I can remember my school days when some masters would simply send you off to get the cane, some would give you the “evil eye” and at least one would throw the chalk duster at us! Each had their own ways of getting your attentions when we did wrong and each were effective in their own ways; most, however, were not endearing!

Whilst we could take a similar approach with Christianity and not allow anyone to think anything else, never mind do anything else; it would not make us very popular. In fact, it would do the exact opposite to what we are trying to achieve by chasing people away rather than bringing them in. If we want to show people Christ is a living caring God, then we have to go about it in the right way. Bringing our earthly ways into His realm is not going to show others neither His will nor His ways.

Take a look back in your life as a Christian and think about all the people who have told you about God. Some of them would have told you one thing and done another, others would have been faithfully doing as they taught... but every one of them has made a difference to you. You have learned from them. Which ones have you learned the most from? Which ones have made the biggest difference? Each one of us will have very different answers to those questions because of our different lives.

Don’t try to bring people down to teach them about God. Lift them up to hear God’s Word. Show them love and understanding just like Jesus did. If you want them to be Christians, you are going to have to show them how it should be done so they can imitate you...

Points to Ponder:
Do you like teachers that say one thing and do another?

Jesus always did what He said!