Love to hear from and know who is listening
When I was a child, in our back yard, between us and the neighbors, was a low spot and when it rained hard it would turn into a small stream. One of my favorite past times was to go outside after a hard rain with anything I thought would float and play in the water, chasing my homemade boats down the stream. When I came back to the house my mother could tell exactly what I had been doing because I would be covered in mud and wet from my head to my toe... If you have grown up in a rural community like I have, then you know what it is like to tromp through a muddy barn yard to feed the livestock. When you return to home it is evident by the mud on your boots and jeans, and the pungent small of the barn yard exactly what you had been doing. If you have ever had a task to do outside on a hot summer day and you forgot to put on any sunblock your bright red sun burnt skin is a dead giveaway that you spent a to much time in the sun.
Is there anything in your life that immediately points out to the world that you are a bible believing Christian? Is there enough evidence in your lifestyle choices that the world knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that you believe in God? In Acts Chapter 4 verses 1-14 Peter and John are standing before the court of the Sanhedrin for teaching and proclaiming the name of Jesus and for healing a lame man. The court asked Peter and John, by what power and in whose name were they doing these things? In Acts chapter 4 verses 8-10 Peter said this: “Filled with the Holy Spirit, he said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed....” However, it was the response of the men of the Sanhedrin that I find most interesting!
Acts 4:13 NIV When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
Unschooled and ordinary, I certainly fall into that category. Whoever do my actions make it apparent that I have been with Jesus? Unfortunately for me sometimes my actions may cause you to think just the opposite! My sarcastic wit, hateful comments, crude speech and selfish actions might lead you to think that I have been far from Jesus. There was another time the bible that speaks to the change that being in the presence of our Heavenly Father has on a person. In Exodus chapter 34 Moses was bringing down the 10 commandments from Mount Sinai.
Exodus 34:29 NIV When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.
So what are some things you can do that will change you in such a way that the world will know you have been with Jesus. First of all, don't go it alone! Surround yourself with other believers.... Where are you going to find these people? In Sunday School, in church and bible study. If the doors of the church are open, then be there! By being closely connected in the fellowship of other believers your attitude will change. You will become more loving, more forgiving, more like Jesus. The problems of this world may not get any easier, God may not lighten your load, but he will give your a stronger back to carry the load. The more time you spend studying your bible and spending time with Jesus, the more evident it will become to the world that you have, “Been with Jesus!!!”
