Our Actions Reveal What Is Really In Our Heart

Our Actions

1 Peter 3

In this letter, Peter is speaking to us about the way we should act: to our spouse, to other believers, but really to everyone. IF we belong to Christ, we ought to look like Him. Our love for Christ should overflow from our hearts.

I don’t think we really consider the power of our actions. Our actions have such affect on other people that the Bible says: “indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty.” WOW! Don’t you want that to be true of you? That you would be SO like Christ that it draws people to want to know Him?

He also warns us in verse 7 that our prayers can be hindered if we are not treating people correctly.

I have been listening to Mud and the Masterpiece: seeing Yourself and Others Through The Eyes of Jesus by John Burke. In this book, he seeks to examine Jesus’ interactions with imperfect people; how they were drawn to Him and forever changed. Jesus saw people with love & mercy. He valued these messy people regardless of the mud that covered them. He saw them as the original Masterpiece He created them to be.

ARE WE WILLING TO LOVE & VALUE MUDDY PEOPLE?

Before you answer, think about how you would react to someone not like you:

  • A homosexual
  • A homeless person
  • A drug addict
  • A convicted felon
  • A liberal
  • A conservative
  • A _______________ (fill in the blank with whatever you have a natural push-back to)

Results of a national survey by the Barna group, completed last year, shows how your own attitudes and actions compare to Jesus and the Pharisees. Sadly, our actions do not reflect God’s grace overflowing into loving actions in our lives. Here are some disturbing numbers from that study:

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I refuse to prove that study correct! I am determined to seek God’s power to see people through the His eyes. I want Jesus glasses! I want to be willing to meet people where they are & love them in the midst of their mess. Christianity is NOT a list of do's and don'ts. It's all about love.

Broken people need to know the saving grace of God. They need believers to be willing to offer restorative relationships to muddy people. They need to know that God can restore the most damaged masterpiece; that their value is not in what they have done.

Lord, help us act like your children:

  • Be of one mind
  • Sympathize with each other
  • Love each other as brothers and sisters
  • Be tenderhearted
  • Keep a humble attitude
  • Don’t repay evil for evil
  • Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult youI
  • Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing
  • Keep your tongue from speaking evil
  • Keep your lips from telling lies
  • Turn away from evil and do good
  • Search for peace, and work to maintain it

 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.  -Colossians 3:14

JeaneneJeanene Hill |Office Manager | Children's Ministry Director

Jeanene and her husband Lester moved to Hutto in 2005. They have three children: Jacob, Dylan & Adam. As a teenager, Jeanene accepted Christ and committed to seeking a life that honors Him. She has spent many years working in the pregnancy resource and childcare fields. Currently Jeanene works as the Office Manager and volunteers as the Children’s Ministry Director. Contact Jeanene Hill: [email protected]

 

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