5.12.2009

encouragement

This chapter is one of the most powerful chapters in the New Testament. I love it. It serves as such an encouragement for followers of Christ - an encouragement to continue preaching Christ and pointing others to Him no matter what may come. Just a couple of things to note:

1. We preach Christ: It must be our goal to preach Christ, not ourselves. It is a temptation to think about how others view us and adjust accordingly. It is a temptation to work to have others follow us instead of Jesus. It is a temptation to build our own Kingdom instead of His. We must remain fixed on preaching Christ.

2. We are like jars of clay: We find ourselves getting knocked around in this world. Following Christ is a call to live a different kind of way than the rest of the world. Choosing that path will cause us to take some hits and get some bumps and bruises. But the power within us is greater than the powers outside of us. We are pressed, but not crushed...

3. We should never give up: Though our bodies are fading and weakening, our spirits are being renewed each day by God's own Spirit. God breathes new life into us each day, and empowers us to continue the way of Jesus. He gives us strength to continue pointing people toward Him.

The takeaway? Preach Jesus and point people to Him, not you. Realize that the message you carry is far more important than the 'jar' it is in. And be renewed each day by God's Spirit. Remember...

our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

1 comment:

  1. Yeah, I made a note to share that part at small group this weekend. Last week the conversation came up about our troubles in this world.

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