Winning

Happy Sunday!

Proverbs 11:30 says, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise."(KJV). 

Are you winning?  Are you winning souls for Christ?  If you were arrested and taken to court, would there be enough evidence to prove your Salvation, or your Christianity?  God has called us and commissioned us.  Jesus said, "You, then, are to go and make disciples of all the nations and baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you and, remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”(Matthew 28:20, Phillips).

Are you leading others closer to God, or are you causing them to move away from God?  Jesus said, "But if anyone abuses one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him to have a heavy boulder tied around his neck and be hurled into the deepest sea than to face the punishment he deserves!"(Mark 9:42, Passion).  Ouch!  We don't want to be on the wrong side of this scenario.  It makes sense then that the Apostle Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to, "Abstain from all appearance of evil."(1 Thessalonians 5:22, KJV).  Other translations of this scripture say, "Keep away from every kind of evil."(Living Bible).  Not that he wanted us to be disingenuous, but we have to be unselfish.  God cares about me, but it's not all about me.  You may want to read that again. 

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."(KJV).  We learned this scripture in Sunday School, but do we take time to feel the weight of it?  God loves everyone.  His love is not superficial.  It's not just a sweet thing to say, or emojis in a text message.  He put His love and His Son on the line with no guarantee the love would be accepted, or reciprocated.  He wants everyone to experience everlasting life.  In Ezekiel 33:11, "The Lord God says: By my life, I swear that I don’t enjoy seeing people die—not even evil people! I don’t want them to die. I want them to come back to me. I want them to change their lives so that they can really live."(Easy-to-Read Version).  We are here to show that love to the world, and win others for Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14 says, "But I thank God, who ALWAYS leads us in victory because of Christ. Wherever we go, God USES us to make clear what it means to know Christ. It’s like a fragrance that fills the air."(God's Word Translation).

Love and prayers, Cynthia