Take ~5 minutes to read this 'COUGARS Daily' which contains snippets from A Slice of Infinity. Invite your family and friends to participate in reading with you daily. Then, consider sharing your comments or faith questions at CougarsDaily.blogspot.com
- Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! (1 Peter 3:13-17)
I have little doubt that the single greatest obstacle to the impact of the gospel has not been its inability to provide answers, but the failure on our part to live it out. The Irish evangelist Gypsy Smith once said, "There are five Gospels: Matthew Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian, and some people will never read the first four." In other words, apologetics is often first seen before it is heard...
...The skeptic is not slow to notice when there is a disparity, and because of that, may question the whole gospel in its supernatural claim. Yet when they are met with gentleness and respect, we will help meet the deepest longings of the heart and mind, and they will find where true discovery lies. Let us live so accordingly.
Chad's Comments:
How quickly I can identify with the many times I have not given respect or gentleness when someone asks me a question. Often, I feel attacked and respond in anger and fear. We need not be fearful. Christ is sitting at the right hand of the Father and the Holy Spirit will give us words to say when HE decides we need them.
Ben's Comments:
I thought todays slice really applied to what we were talking about at breakfast on Saturday. Loving the skeptic. And answering them with "gentleness and respect." A great cross reference to this was a verse in Col I was looking at a couple of days ago. Col 4:5-6 "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Our conversation should be full of grace. An unbeliever will run the other direction if we don't first build a relationship with them and converse with them with grace on our tongues. Jesus was our example of this. He took time to go to people's houses even when he was busy on a trip.
I will do what I can to be sure this snippets version gets out tomorrow. We will be traveling to my brother-in-law's wedding in Kansas City. - Wouldn't it be cool if I ran into Jim and Elaine at a gas station or something (Jim and Elaine receive this blog announcement and live in K.C.) If I don't get it out, that doesn't get you off the hook for not reading the slice. =)
* Make Space for friends in your life. Enjoin them to belief.
* Post your stories of God's intervention on the blog.
* Look for ways to share Awe and Wonder with children - leave suggestions at CougarsDaily.blogspot.com
* Consider joining Life-Devotions (a group of about 100 catholics and protestants sharing their faith through daily devotions and discussion - strong pro Life content)
* The Street Church
* Voice of the Martyrs
- Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! (1 Peter 3:13-17)
I have little doubt that the single greatest obstacle to the impact of the gospel has not been its inability to provide answers, but the failure on our part to live it out. The Irish evangelist Gypsy Smith once said, "There are five Gospels: Matthew Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian, and some people will never read the first four." In other words, apologetics is often first seen before it is heard...
...The skeptic is not slow to notice when there is a disparity, and because of that, may question the whole gospel in its supernatural claim. Yet when they are met with gentleness and respect, we will help meet the deepest longings of the heart and mind, and they will find where true discovery lies. Let us live so accordingly.
Chad's Comments:
How quickly I can identify with the many times I have not given respect or gentleness when someone asks me a question. Often, I feel attacked and respond in anger and fear. We need not be fearful. Christ is sitting at the right hand of the Father and the Holy Spirit will give us words to say when HE decides we need them.
Ben's Comments:
I thought todays slice really applied to what we were talking about at breakfast on Saturday. Loving the skeptic. And answering them with "gentleness and respect." A great cross reference to this was a verse in Col I was looking at a couple of days ago. Col 4:5-6 "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Our conversation should be full of grace. An unbeliever will run the other direction if we don't first build a relationship with them and converse with them with grace on our tongues. Jesus was our example of this. He took time to go to people's houses even when he was busy on a trip.
I will do what I can to be sure this snippets version gets out tomorrow. We will be traveling to my brother-in-law's wedding in Kansas City. - Wouldn't it be cool if I ran into Jim and Elaine at a gas station or something (Jim and Elaine receive this blog announcement and live in K.C.) If I don't get it out, that doesn't get you off the hook for not reading the slice. =)
* Make Space for friends in your life. Enjoin them to belief.
* Post your stories of God's intervention on the blog.
* Look for ways to share Awe and Wonder with children - leave suggestions at CougarsDaily.blogspot.com
* Consider joining Life-Devotions (a group of about 100 catholics and protestants sharing their faith through daily devotions and discussion - strong pro Life content)
* The Street Church
* Voice of the Martyrs
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