Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
9/28/2022

Audio Version

"Under the Influence" You may be the only Bible some will ever see.

As I looked in the mirror, I thought, how does the world see Christ in me
as I struggle with the pandemic, race, elections and…? 

What influences you to be more like Christ… what motivates one to the higher things of God?…
What urges us to press on in…or speak up about our faith in the face of fear, public isolation and public scrutiny, and even the possibility of violence?  People become irate or feel insulted that you would speak God things publicly.  How dare you…keep your hypocrisies in private.  
That happened to me this week.  
(All the while inflicting their feelings and demands for the opposite on you).  

So I ask, what keeps you silent?  What does one enjoy so much that is the opposite of Christ showing up in me?  As I watch political news or shows…”Those people”…don’t get it… But I do!  We start feeling good about “These People” but NOT “Those people” and we get angry.  As I examined myself introspectively, I think and talk like that to “Those people”… and that is certainly not Christ-like and certainly doesn’t influence anyone listening to be like Christ either…but the opposite.

Rom 12-2 says, Don’t copy the world.  Change the way we think!  – But the world is “Under the influence” of news, movies, horror, commentaries, podcast, and social media…but Christ says to show them his love and be Christlike instead.  Some of these do affect us negatively.  Maybe not hurting you physically but influencing your life negatively. 

People listen, to what we say, and it affects how they view faith.  1 peter 2:11-12 “Our actions refute their attitudes”.  Just like junk food influences our waistline, so do our words and actions affect lives.  All things filter down through us and become the outpouring of the same, be they man, machine, or the internet. So what is your filter?  

You may be the only Bible some will ever see. 

 
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What influencers are getting in the way of your Godly influence? Matt 18:9  He says if your eyes betray you…pluck them out.  Hebrew 12-1 says, “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”  In other words, get rid of those other influencers…spiritually, emotionally, mentally… take out the trash.  Replace them with the health of God’s word.  Phil 4: 8 speaks of scriptural fuels…intentionality…
engage in the positive actions of living out God’s guidelines. 

So, are we powerless? Is the quest for social change hopeless before we begin? Or can Christians exert some influence for Jesus Christ? I believe we can.  There is hope. We are called to be salt and light.
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This means the Christ Story must be told and if necessary use words.  

 
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We can do that by demonstrating vulnerability and honest reflection.
 God says he opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble Prov 3:34, 11:2) We cannot take a stand as holier than we are or that we’ve got it more together than anyone else. 

Stay positive and uplifting with your words.  Always have a loving thing to say or give away. We should follow Paul’s admonition: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). This is how we maintain our perspective in a world surrounded by so much negativity.
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And our attitude will have a significant impact on others in our lives.

The Christian life is both caught and taught. We need the influence of good solid teaching, but we also need mentors who will model the Christian life. This is why Paul tells the Corinthians, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
 

We need to seek out mature believers who will demonstrate what following Jesus looks like, and then we need to model that behavior to those around us.
The better we get at being a better influencer for Christ’s sake,
the more we’ll become salt and light.

Andra Love Can Save it All
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBcVPsTmG5I&list=PL3oW2tjiIxvTstLS9GlgaT_mqONT0WVDw&index=9