Happy Friday

Doing What Comes Naturally

Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! - -1 Corinthians 9:16

There is a saying in management circles that "people do not do what you expect but what you inspect." Today's passage of Scripture indicates this is not true of the personal witness of a motivated Christian. For some Christians, witnessing is reserved for the one night a week when they go out calling in the visitation program. They talk to people about Christ, but that's it for the week.
What a contrast with the report in Acts 8:4-5: "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there."
We find Philip in the city of Samaria, apparently alone, with no apostle looking over his shoulder, witnessing to the entire city. Later, in Acts 8:26, we find Philip out in the desert, responding to the Lord's prompting to catch up with an Ethiopian man in a chariot. The man was seeking the Lord, and Philip had the wonderful privilege of introducing him to Christ.

I believe the key to this kind of ongoing witness is found in the preceding chapters of Acts, where we see the apostles and other believers filled with the Holy Spirit, being unable to contain themselves when it came to talking about Christ. For them, witnessing was the natural thing to do. 
 
When Christ fills our hearts and minds, we will naturally share Him. We don't need an external manager to inspect us in order to get us to perform. The motivation comes from within, from Jesus.

Prayer
Lord, give me a vision for the lost so that my witness for You isn't a duty but the natural product of my relationship with You. Amen.

True witness for Christ is not coerced or forced; it is the overflow of a life of fellowship with the Savior.



Daily Smile:
A little boy was attending his first wedding.

After the service, his cousin asked him, "How many women can a man marry?"
 
"Sixteen," the boy responded. His cousin was amazed that he had an answer
so quickly.
 
"How do you know that?"
 
"Easy," the little boy said.
 
"All you have to do is add it up, like the pastor said,
4 better, 4 worse, 4 richer, 4 poorer."


I Will Sing The Wondrous Story

I will sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ Who died for me.
How He left His home in glory
For the cross of Calvary.

Refrain

Yes, I’ll sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ Who died for me,
Sing it with the saints in glory,
Gathered by the crystal sea.

I was lost, but Jesus found me,
Found the sheep that went astray,
Threw His loving arms around me,
Drew me back into His way.

Refrain

I was bruised, but Jesus healed me,
Faint was I from many a fall,
Sight was gone, and fears possessed me,
But He freed me from them all.

Refrain

Days of darkness still come o’er me,
Sorrow’s path I often tread,
But His presence still is with me;
By His guiding hand I’m led.

Refrain

He will keep me till the river
Rolls its waters at my feet;
Then He’ll bear me safely over,
Where the loved ones I shall meet.

Refrain

In The News:

Christians Bombed, Burned Out in Kenya and Tanzania
Kenyan police are investigating a deadly attack on a church in the capital city of Nairobi, CBN News reports. One child was killed and at least three seriously wounded when an explosive device was set off in a Sunday school class full of children. "We heard a blast from outside on the side of the nursery school and people started stampeding and scampering all over," said Jackson Mwangi, who was worshipping in the church when the bomb went off. "The kids who were injured ... the congregation started taking them to the hospital." Police believe the Somali Muslim group al Shabaab is behind the attack; churches in Kenya have been a target of al Shabaab since Kenyan forces moved into Somalia last year to fight the militants. Meanwhile, just south of Kenya in Tanzania, Christians are also under attack: Voice of the Martyrs reports radical Muslims burned six houses and several cars belonging to a pastor and other Christians, as well as burning alive 60 pigs that belonged to Christians.

U.S. Embassy Warns Female Missionaries in Egypt
The U.S. Embassy in Cairo has posted a warning on its website for American citizens living in Egypt, particularly female missionaries, CBN News reports. Officials cautioned on the embassy's website that the government had "credible information suggesting terrorist interest in targeting U.S. female missionaries in Egypt" and warned Americans to "exercise vigilance, taking necessary precautions to maintain their personal security." The embassy in Egypt has been the scene of fevered anti-American demonstrations in recent weeks, and the climate has also deteriorated for Egyptian Christians, as a Coptic priest claimed Friday that a group of Christian families had fled their town in the northern Sinai after threats from Islamists.

Swing Voters Dismayed by Obama's Abortion Record
The Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) released poll data Sept. 26 showing that 54 percent of swing voters say they're less likely to vote for President Obama after learning he opposes laws protecting babies who are born alive in abortion clinics, WORLD News Service reports. The poll, conducted by the polling company inc./WomenTrend, shows 69 percent of swing voters also reject the new federal mandate requiring business owners to cover contraceptives and potential abortion-inducing drugs under their insurance plans. "We are really encouraged by the results," SBA List communications director Mallory Quigley told CitizenLink. "We're going to use [them] to educate voters leading up to the election." The data indicates that once people learn about Obama's history regarding taxpayer funding of abortions, they are most likely to turn away from him, she said. That information could prove critical in a tight race: The Committee of Justice predicts that should Obama be re-elected, he will likely be able to appoint at least one replacement for a retiring conservative justice on the U.S. Supreme Court -- potentially tipping the balance of its makeup to the far left.

California Governor Signs Law Banning Sex Orientation Therapy for Teens
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Saturday a bill banning what is known as "reparative" or "conversion" therapy for minors -- a controversial therapy used to help those struggling with same-sex attractions combat their unwanted desires, the Christian Post reports. The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, says no mental health professional will able to provide to anyone under the age of 18 therapy that seeks "to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex" -- regardless of the "willingness of a patient" or a "patient's parent." Mental health providers who violate the law will be subject to discipline by whatever group regulates and licenses them. The organization Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, who opposed the bill and called it unconstitutional, wrote in an open letter in August to the bill's author, Sen. Ted Lieu: "As parents of gays and ex-gays, we are ashamed of your willingness to take action against parents, children, and the family in order to support gay activists. California is not a socialist state and our children do not belong to the government, subject to the ideology of the state over the objections of their parents."

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