T H E O P H I L U S

“12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” – Luke 14:12-14

Being a Christian can often become a utopian-esque lifestyle in modern western society in a sense that it is easy for us to become very comfortable with doing the religious things rather than truly living out the gospel. Our lack of persecution and the notion that one could lose their life or be imprisoned if we proclaim the gospel and profess our faith is almost non existent in this hemisphere. Instead, we are quite busy with our own lives living out menial and ritual duties which have often become excuses and comforts away from living out the bold calling each believer was commissioned to live.

The church has often become a contained group of said “believers” who are busy singing and talking amongst each other about the power in the blood of Jesus, but can barely believe that God can work in them in practical application to reach out. Complacency of this generation has become one of the largest concerns – that not enough Christians live out a life of passion for the great commandment and commission. It is easy for believers just to be with other believers.

As believers then, we ought to be busy reaching out to the lost and carrying out the great commandment and commission. Not as a religious duty, but because we truly believe in the good news deep within our hearts and that the Holy Spirit is continuously at work in me. We need to stop praying all the time for more blessings, but instead as a result of our prayers and faith in God, each day we would become a blessing unto others even outside of our immediate circles to bring them in. If there is truly the powerful and transforming love of Christ within our churches and families, then we ought not to be afraid of bringing others in to share it with them.

Who are those who are in need around you? are there neighbors who have not heard and experienced the good news of Jesus Christ? Today, I will set out a challenge for you to reach out and witness the works of the Holy Spirit that comes in the heart of obedience.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8