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View Full Version : To live or die for Christ? That is the question.


oxquo
3rd September 2008, 05:46 PM
The churches are filled with people wanting to die for Christ, I know, it's part of the reason I strayed away. To Me it is Christ who will decide when and how I perish, also it is His will that I live for Him and Glorify Him in what I do. I know that all too well. Dying for Christ is not the reason He suffered on the cross, it was so We could be cleansed and glorify Him in all ways. I do home repairs and upkeep for senior's and those unable to do their own repairs. For years I had been giving the glory to myself. Yes they were still good deeds and no, I certainly don't make much money. The point is though, how much better are those deeds when done for Christ, to be His hands and help others giving glory to God for the works that were done?

Here is the sad part, every Sunday twice a day I saw hundreds of people, Christians walking past the house in need of a dire paint job, the home owner could not get on a ladder, they didn't have an excess of money either, yet if every Christian walking by that house laid a simple brush of paint across it, the house would have been painted in No time. What an opportunity to display the love of Christ to that home owner. What bothered Me is that the same people walking by would fly hundreds of miles to repair a home destroyed by a hurricane. Trust Me, I would'nt mind if I never got another job call again and had to change careers because of it. I only do it because others prey on the elderly and disabled so badly. Next time You walk home from church, look around You, not at the opportunities to die for Christ but the opportunity to live for and Glorify His name. Next time You see someone in need of help, ask Yourself this, would Christ pass them by? Absolutely not. To be a Christian is to be Christlike so lets live not by faith alone but by example and live for Him till Our time is up on Earth. Even a worse case scenario is when family members come over for dinners at a house I'm working on but never lift a finger to help their Gramma or Grampa, Mom or other. We pass up opportunities to glorify Christ almost everyday, keep Your eyes peeled, I think You'll see that the glory is truly in living for Him as He's already done the dying for Us. Could you imagine the witness that could come from a church fixing a wheelchair ramp or painting a house for no reason? Shoveling someones sidewalk or offering to mow someones grass as soon as you can change clothes and get back on the way home from church is as good of witness as Jesus could ask us to give on His behalf. Let Us live for Him and magnify Him in Our works so We have both faith and deeds to show for Ourselves.

cakewalk
11th October 2008, 03:53 AM
That's a very good point. Dying doesn’t always mean graveyard dead. What about dying to the flesh, that is, laziness, selfishness, and unconcern for others.
A little sacrifice can go a long way.
Here is something awesome – You are the only Bible, some people will ever read!

UNCHURCHED
11th October 2008, 10:51 AM
Paul says "I Die Daily" (1 Cor. 15:31). If this was a graveyard death it would not make any sense. Because of our sin nature, we tend to peel ourselves off the cross and recrucify Jesus everyday. To die Daily implies that we place ourselves on the alter as a living sacrifice to Jesus (Rom. 12:1). By doing this, it is no longer I that lives But Jesus who lives in me (Gal. 2:20). Now, we live for Jesus, through Jesus, and He in us! This is actually part of why salvation is 3 parts.
He HAS saved us (regeneration) – (Eph. 2:8) For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
He IS saving us (sanctification) - (2 Cor. 4:16) Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
He WILL save us (glorification) - (1 Peter 1:5) who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

This can go into Much more detail but thats another thread!

Mack7
11th October 2008, 03:18 PM
Greetings and God bless. You are correct indeed but even we as the children of God need to be encouraged from time to time also. It is with this encouragement that we learn to constantly pray for one another. Pray for God to speak to our minds and our hearts as one, so that we all meet that great cause in the name of Jesus.

We are advised scripturally to encourage. It is written in Deuteronomy 27:28, "But charge Joshua, and ENCOURAGE him, and strengthen him:..." Amen? We can be encouraging also through advice, compliments and setting examples ourselves. As written in Isaiah 41:7, "So the carpenter ENCOURAGED the goldsmith and that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the soldering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved." Amen?

Also written in 2 Chronicles 35:2, "And he set the priests in their charges, and ENCOURAGED them to the service of the house of the Lord." Amen. We all have a role to play in serving our Lord but sometimes just a little encouragement is all thats needed to get the ball rolling. As children of God, we should fight the good fight together through faith as one in God. Keep praying for one another. Be blessed in the Lord, always.

windcatcher
11th October 2008, 05:25 PM
That's a very good point. Dying doesn’t always mean graveyard dead. What about dying to the flesh, that is, laziness, selfishness, and unconcern for others.
A little sacrifice can go a long way.
Here is something awesome – You are the only Bible, some people will ever read!

Amen! To die for the Lord IS really the reason we live. At least to me.

He gave all to me. Shouldn't I give all to Him? I think seeing His glory is my life itself. To see it and if I have to die for it, I think it's a good deal.