ALL – Psalm 75:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 24:17-20
OT – Jeremiah 1:1-2:30
NT – Philippians 4:1-23
Interesting passage for the day: Dear brother Christians, I love you and long to see you, for you are my joy and my reward for my work. My beloved friends, stay true to the Lord. – Philippians 4:1, The Living Bible
Thought: What more can I say? I’m in total agreement with this verse. I’m so thankful that God has put me in touch with all the brothers and sisters He has given me. I’m thankful for YOU, if you’re reading this. I am so thankful to know you. I wish we could see each other more often, and my deepest desire for you is that you be completely faithful to Jesus.
Question: Who has God put into your life as a result of your obedience to Him? How can you express your gratitude—not only to God, but to those you’re thankful to know?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
Showing posts with label people. Show all posts
Showing posts with label people. Show all posts
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
People-Pleaser Evangelism
ALL – Psalm 34:11-22
ALL – Proverbs 21:14-16
OT – Nehemiah 11:1-12:26
NT – 1 Corinthians 10:15-11:2
Interesting passage for the day: That is the plan I follow, too. I try to please everyone in everything I do, not doing what I like or what is best for me, but what is best for them, so that they may be saved. – 1 Corinthians 10:33, The Living Bible
Thought: People-pleasing is often perceived as a bad thing. And it can be. When a desire to please people rises above a desire to please Jesus, we can be tempted to do shameful and foolish things. Because sometimes what pleases people is shameful and foolish.
But sometimes what pleases people is honorable. It may be honorable and ignorant, but it’s honorable. What do I mean by honorable and ignorant? I mean that sometimes people ask us to live up to really high standards—unnecessarily high standards (U.H.S.). People may be unaware (ignorant) of the fact that such high standards are unnecessary. But still, they are devoted to their high standards, and their high standards are honorable. Unnecessarily high, but honorable. And living up to those standards when it feels (is) unnecessary for us is another form of people-pleasing.
In Paul’s day, he dealt with whether or not to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Some people’s U.H.S. said that no one should ever eat meat sacrificed to idols. In our day, we deal with things like whether to ever drink beer or wine, for instance. Some people’s U.H.S. say that we should never touch the stuff. And these are not the only U.H.S. There are many more. But when people ask us to live up to these expectations, they are not asking us to be sinful or shameful. In such cases, people-pleasing can be honorable.
So the next time you feel like saying, “Uh… you know you don’t have to worry about that, right?” perhaps it would be better to follow Paul’s rule. Do some people-pleasing. Some honorable people-pleasing. Please others not just for the sake of making them happy, but so that you help them to see that Jesus Christ is more honorable than any standard they can set. Please people so that they can be saved and please Jesus.
Question: Why do we not want to live up to other people’s expectations? What do you think of people who are zealously disciplined about their standards? Why would you not want to be associated with that?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
ALL – Proverbs 21:14-16
OT – Nehemiah 11:1-12:26
NT – 1 Corinthians 10:15-11:2
Interesting passage for the day: That is the plan I follow, too. I try to please everyone in everything I do, not doing what I like or what is best for me, but what is best for them, so that they may be saved. – 1 Corinthians 10:33, The Living Bible
Thought: People-pleasing is often perceived as a bad thing. And it can be. When a desire to please people rises above a desire to please Jesus, we can be tempted to do shameful and foolish things. Because sometimes what pleases people is shameful and foolish.
But sometimes what pleases people is honorable. It may be honorable and ignorant, but it’s honorable. What do I mean by honorable and ignorant? I mean that sometimes people ask us to live up to really high standards—unnecessarily high standards (U.H.S.). People may be unaware (ignorant) of the fact that such high standards are unnecessary. But still, they are devoted to their high standards, and their high standards are honorable. Unnecessarily high, but honorable. And living up to those standards when it feels (is) unnecessary for us is another form of people-pleasing.
In Paul’s day, he dealt with whether or not to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Some people’s U.H.S. said that no one should ever eat meat sacrificed to idols. In our day, we deal with things like whether to ever drink beer or wine, for instance. Some people’s U.H.S. say that we should never touch the stuff. And these are not the only U.H.S. There are many more. But when people ask us to live up to these expectations, they are not asking us to be sinful or shameful. In such cases, people-pleasing can be honorable.
So the next time you feel like saying, “Uh… you know you don’t have to worry about that, right?” perhaps it would be better to follow Paul’s rule. Do some people-pleasing. Some honorable people-pleasing. Please others not just for the sake of making them happy, but so that you help them to see that Jesus Christ is more honorable than any standard they can set. Please people so that they can be saved and please Jesus.
Question: Why do we not want to live up to other people’s expectations? What do you think of people who are zealously disciplined about their standards? Why would you not want to be associated with that?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
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