Your Life Is An Open Book

This devotion really spoke to me. I hope it blesses you.

Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee (I Timothy 4:12-16).

As a Christian, you're a marked person - because you have claimed to be a child of God. People are watching you to find out what a child of God is like. How does he react under pressure? What does he do when the going gets rough? What does he do when there seems to be no way out?

At work, at school, in your neighborhood, people are watching you. They are watching you, because they have problems and they want answers to their problems. Christianity promises an answer. You're a Christian, so they want to see if the answer works.

Whether you want to be or not, you're an example of a believer to those people around you. They're watching you, because they don't know what a believer is all about. They assume that you're what a believer should be.

Being a Christian is a glorious thrill! God has washed away my sins and written my name in the Book of Life. It is also a fantastic responsibility. People are watching me to find out what a Christian looks like, what he acts like, and what he is.

Many people will never read a Bible, but they're going to read your life like a book. They'll be watching every chapter to see what it says. Be thou an example, not to the believers, but of the believers. By the way you're living, people are determining whether or not they want to believe in Jesus Christ. Is your life drawing people to Him, or are they walking away from Him, saying, "Well, I thought maybe Christianity has the answer, but I guess maybe it doesn't."

"Answers For Today"
Chuck Smith

Promoted To Glory

This weekend we lead worship at Calvary Chapel Creekside. The senior pastor, Eric Sorian (pictured left) wasn't there. In fact, he hadn't been there for several months. Eric had been fighting a difficult battle with brain cancer.

After we played, we went to visit him. Michael had walked into the facility with his guitar to sing some worship songs to him. But when Michael got to his room he discovered that than hour earlier pastor Eric had been promoted to a personal worship experience with the King Himself.

Words failed me as his wife, Susan, and the family wept over his body. All I could do was hug her.

We are so happy that Eric is with Jesus, but do keep his wife and family in prayer. Susan is now a single mother of 8 children, no income, no life insurance and thousands of dollars in medical bills. Though her situation seems impossible, I know there is nothing too big for our God.

Life Is But A Vapor

Besides our music ministry I have had the privilege of assisting in a assistant pastor role at Calvary Chapel Hemet. God has been stretching me in many new areas of ministry.

I met Tim back in December when he came in for some pre-marital counceling. He had recently surrendered his life back to the Lord after discovering he had serious cancer. I started to prepare for the possibility of officiating at my first wedding ceremony. The couple did not end up staying together and Tim's condition got worse. Tim went home to be with the Lord a week before Easter. The family asked if I would preside over the memorial and I agreed.

Little did I know when I first met Tim that instead of preparing for a wedding that I would be preparing for a funeral service. The Bible says that our life is but a vapor (James 4:14). None of us know how long we have in this life. I rejoice that Tim was wise to realize this and commit his life back to the Lord.

We are to make the most of every day because every day is truly a gift from God. Serve him with all your heart!

Blessings...Michael