DO YOU HAVE A FAITH THAT IS EXCITING AND FULL OF JOY?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and
even though you do not see Him now, you believe in
Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”
(1 Peter 1:8)

MEDITATION:
What is something that would cause others to be attracted to the Lord?
For one thing, the lost would be attracted if they see Christians enjoying
life and enjoying each other. When children fail to see joy in their home
or joy in your Christianity, they are not going be attracted to
‘giving their life to the Lord’.

They may see you excited about going to a ball game or watching
something on television, but dragging around when it comes to
spiritual things (such as worship, reading the Bible and praying).
They will get the idea that Christianity doesn’t mean much to you.

If they see you going to ball games, fishing, playing golf or any other
activities instead of worshipping with other believers on Sunday,
they will find it difficult to believe that Christianity is important
to you. The attitudes you have, will rub off on them. Our children
will not be attracted to Christ if we make worshipping Him seem
dull.

There are many children today who are making (or have made) bad
decisions, and some of them are due to their parents failing to show
how important God is to them. Some drop their kids off at church
but don’t attend themselves. Others don’t even take their kids to
church or encourage them to love the Lord and enjoy His blessings
as they fellowship with other believers.

Not only will our children have no interest in Jesus based on our
actions (or inactions), but others who know us will doubt the validity
of our faith. God saved us to use us in saving others.
    For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus
    to do good works, which God prepared in advance
    for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)

When we cause others to be disinterested in Him, we are not only
letting God down, and are not fulfilling our purpose as a believer,
but we causing harm to God’s earthy ministry, and the work of
others He has called.

We have a responsibility to influence others in the right way and we
can’t do that if they fail to see us enjoying our faith and belief in the
Lord. Some wonder how they can actually serve the Lord; showing
how important He is to us, is a great starting point for serving Him.

ACTION:
Do others know how important the Lord is to you? Can they see the
joy and enthusiasm you have in worshipping Him, or do they see a
casual faith that is merely a fulfillment of an obligation? Would they
say you are excited about going to worship, or would they say you look
like you would rather not be there? How do you feel about your own
faith and worship? Do you allow other things to take a higher priority
than worshipping Him?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for saving me. Forgive me if I
have caused others to think that a relationship with You is dull
and only a duty to fulfill. Help me to change my attitude and
habits so that others will see how appreciative I am for what
You did for me, how much joy I have in worshipping You, and
how I have given You top priority in my life. I pray that I will
live so close to You that those around me will see Your joy in me.”

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