- Commentary on Zechariah 5 - August 31, 2015
- Commentary on Zechariah 4 - August 31, 2015
- Commentary on Zechariah 2 - July 31, 2015
If you have spent much time in some of the largest cities across the world chances are you have travelled on their mass transit system, possibly their bus system to get where you were going. Once you have your ticket you are basically secured a spot or a seat on the bus.
We may feel that once we obey the gospel and become a Christian that our ticket has been punched and we find our seat and mind our own business. We may even feel that we are not capable of being much of a contributor at all nor stretching from our comfort zone.
It’s time we each take a long hard look at what we must do in order to settle in and get to work. Sometimes it takes us a while to get to know those whom we are unfamiliar as we are looking to join ourselves to a local work. It’s not difficult to get to know those who are very outgoing but it is more difficult if you consider yourself an introvert, not very outgoing.
Paul made a choice not to just join a local work and “settle in”, Acts 9:26. His choice was far different as he didn’t wait around for things to become comfortable. Paul decided to jump in with both feet, after his conversion he got busy immediately, preaching in the synagogues that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.
The Bible says that Paul was threatened by his own countrymen along with the Hellenists who were Jews that were heavily influenced by Greek culture. The Scripture also states that Christians were even afraid of Paul and didn’t believe that he was a disciple. This was because of the reputation he had earlier with the church, persecuting and casting many into prison, Acts 9:1, 2.
Talk about having the odds seemingly stacked against him, Paul could have decided to let it all go and give this challenge to someone else. We know that was not what he did, he continued to preach even more boldly as was confessed by his new found friend, Barnabas, Acts 9:27.
My encouragement for the youngest to the most mature, (in age) of Christians is that we reach deep within and find something to become more engaged in our Lord’s precious church that He gave His life for. Where in lies your talents, Matt. 25:14-30. Make use of them and let us rise up and build as Nehemiah stated, Nehemiah 2:17-18 when he saw that the walls of Jerusalem lay in waste and needing much attention. In honor and respect for all that God had blessed all of Israel over the years, he rose up with many great people and not only begin to build the walls but finish the work that needed to be completed. To further gain great inspiration please read Nehemiah 1 – 6.
It is certainly easy to get on the bus as well as to get off the bus, let us be sure that we are not guilty of taking a sabbatical on the back seat of our spiritual bus. It’s time that we each step up and relieve the driver and prepare to build at whatever level you can contribute.