What does the word Christian mean to you? What makes a Christian?
Maybe a Christian is someone who;
- Reads their Bible
- Owns a Bible
- Believes in God
- Goes to Church
- Knows all the songs in Church
- Always reads and quotes the Bible
Actually, these things don't make you a Christian.
Being a Christian is a lot more courageous than people think. There's this Christian preacher called Francis Chan who once described what he felt being a Christian was. He said,
"If I had a small balloon and a BB gun, how many of you would be confident that I could shoot the balloon from 3 feet away?" When he said this, nearly everyone there raised their hand and believed that he could.
Then he said "If I asked you to come here and hold the balloon at arms length while I shoot it, how many of you would do it?" Less people raised their hands.
Then he asked "If I asked you to come here and hold the balloon between your teeth while I shoot it, how many of you would have faith I could do it?" Two people raised their hands.Those two people who raised their hands and believed that he could shoot the balloon were like Christians. If you speak the word of God to a group of people, everyone listens. Everyone has the ability to believe in God. Less people are willing to believe when they have something to loose, and even less people are willing to completely devote their lives to Jesus instead of doing things on their own.
In Luke 8:4-8 Jesus tells the parable of the farmer and the sower.
"While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 'A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among the thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.
And in Luke 8:11-15 Jesus explains what the parable meant.
"This is the meaning of the parable: the seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for awhile, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce crop.
Now if you're reading this and you're thinking "Oh my goodness that's me! I'm one of the seeds that have heard God's word but don't listen to it anymore!"
Maybe you've gone through trouble, lost a loved one, or just grown away from God. There are things we can do to re-affirm our faith. We can;
- Pray about it - Prayer is 100% effective. Jesus prayed all the time - and he lived an utterly sinless life and is the Son of God. Think how much we, as silly humans, need to pray!
- Pray with others - Grab a friend and ask them to pray with you. Pray for each other. Grab some more friends and have a prayer meeting. Go to your Church's prayer meeting - Prayer is good.
- Ask Jesus for help - I think some people still think that prayer is only for the times that you feel good. You Pray when you're angry, pray when you're upset, pray when you feel like you can't go on - as well as when you feel good. Jesus wants to get to know you - good and bad parts. In Mark 2:17 Jesus said that 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'
I end today with Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and he will make your paths straight."
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