20-DAY CHALLENGE: LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (DAY-8)

20-DAY CHALLENGE: LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (Day-8)

READING GOD’S WORD SHOULD BE A DELIGHT FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather,
in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your
own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
(Philippians 2:3-4)

MEDITATION:
Reading the Bible should be
a daily desire (more than a habit) of every Christian.
Why?
Because as believers, we are called to emulate Christ,
and in order to do that, we need to know how Jesus
views everything and what we should do His representative.

In addition, when we read the Bible we can discover
the importance of how various scriptures work together
for the good of all people.

For instance, in Paul’s letter to the Philippians,
he tells them (and us) to put others first.
That is contrary to a world philosophy
that encourages us to think only of pleasing ourselves.
Jesus walked in a different direction
than the world and we are called to do the same.

In addition, as we become more familiar with
the scriptures, we discover that Paul’s instructions
for living as followers of Christ, are closely linked
to important words from our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Look at what Jesus said about our consideration of others.
He tells us that when we see Him face to face,
we will be held accountable for the way we have treated others.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels
with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will
be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from
another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will
put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who
are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom
prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was
hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and
you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you
invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was
sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came
to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see
you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something
to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in,
or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you
sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for
one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did
for me.’
(Matthew 25:31-40)

We have seen the benefit of emulating Christ
and His concern for others, but we are also given
the cold hard truth of the consequences for those
who choose not to follow the guidelines in God’s Word.
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are
cursed,into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For
I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you
gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me
in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison
and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help
you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the
least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal
punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:41-46)

ACTION:
If you are a Christian, are you reading the Bible on a daily basis
and are you delighting in the absorption of these God-inspired words?
More importantly, are you adjusting your habits, attitudes,
words and actions to emulate the One you are following?

The life of Jesus was an expression of love for
others, and we are called to love others as He loves us.
He has shown us what love looks like:
putting aside our self-interests to do something for others.

Whenever we see an example of something being done,
it becomes possible for us to do things that seem
unusual and take us out of our ‘comfort zone’.

Jesus gave us a visible example
of a life filled with pure love and pure service.
He served undeserving people
at a great personal cost to Himself.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I admit that I have been living way
too long under the influence of worldly values that have
caused me to think mostly of myself. I want to change
and start emulating the life of the One I have chosen
to follow. Help me to make this transition and realize
the impact I can have on others by the things I do and
say. Forgive me for the things I have done that caused
others to doubt the sincerity of my faith. Help me to replace
these worldly and selfish habits with Godly and unselfish
actions that assure others that my faith in Jesus is ‘real’,
and that I am not just playing at being ’religious’. Thank
You, Jesus, for setting the example for me to follow. Help
me to love and have concern for others in the same manner
You love and have concern for me.”