There are some letters that were written many years ago that if we cared to read them would give us some priceless advice and wisdom. They were penned by a man named Paul who was willing to die for the words he shared and the convictions and beliefs that he lived by.
Paul wrote about how to live above our circumstances and at peace, free from selfishness and thinking we are better than everyone else. He encouraged compassion, giving and kindness, and for people to work together with a purpose and to know what really matters in life. He advised to do everything without complaining and arguing and to live like shining lights in a crooked and perverse world. Paul advised his readers to give thanks, to pray about everything and to watch out for those who would try to steal their joy and value before God. He wrote that we can do all things through Jesus who gives us strength and that the work God starts in us He will be faithful to complete so that we become the person we were created to be. (Philippians 1-3)
The thing about Paul’s words is that they were inspired and revealed to him by his relationship with Jesus and times of encountering Him. They weren’t merely a man’s words, but God’s and therefore worthy of our attention.
Read for yourself the words penned by Paul who was willing, and did eventually die for believing and sharing them, and consider as he advised how you are living with regard to your relationships, behaviour, words and attitudes.
(You can read Paul’s letters in 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Phillipians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Timothy in the bible for a start)
The world around us is a very poor measuring stick on how to live well. However Jesus’ example and the words and lives of those who followed after him are not. They demonstrate lives well lived, full of purpose, kindness, humility and power. They’re living letters of a relationship with God and what and in whom they believed.
Perhaps it’s time for each one of us to look deeply and intently to Jesus, (the one who Paul knew, wrote about and was prepared to die for), so that He might instruct, challenge and guide us with His words and ways. Then perhaps we too can become like living letters, written out clearly for all to see in the way we move, talk, relate and treat others.
“If someone claims, “I know him well!” but doesn’t keep his commandments, he’s obviously a liar. His life doesn’t match his words. But the one who keeps God’s word is the person in whom we see God’s mature love. This is the only way to be sure we’re in God. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.” (1 John 2:5-7 The Message)
Prayer: Lord please help me to spend time with you, to listen to your words and to follow your example so that I can become like a living letter that talks about you. Forgive me where I haven’t been doing that, and help me as I draw closer to you and allow you to work more deeply in my life. In Jesus name Amen.
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