His message was teaching on the scripture verses of 1John 3:19-24.
"And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us."
The gist of the message was that Christians should exhibit LOVE (1 Cor. 13) as the dominant characteristic of our life in Christ. My pastor expounded to describe the confidence that is found and developed through living in love.
The word that caught my attention today was WINSOME. My pastor said that, "we (Christians) need to be winsome in love". He added that our love (demonstrated in action) should be sweet and acceptable to others. In this manner, we can represent and share Christ in a way that will attract others to Him.
As I thought of the word, WINSOME, I immediately thought of the root word, WIN. The Holy Spirit quickly nudged me with the thought, "Yes, followers of Christ need to love in a 'winning' manner", so that others may see that there is a PRIZE to win, a reward to gain, a hope to live-out and a future to inherit!
To confirm this word from the Holy Spirit and gain a better understanding of this Truth, I looked up the word, WINSOME at dictionary.com and found that WINSOME means to be: sweetly or innocently charming; winning; engaging: as in "a winsome smile".
Ut oh... Now I had to evaluate my actions, words, even motives in light of this descriptive word.
- Do I LOVE others in a way that they (or others) might be drawn to Jesus?
- Do I "engage" others through loving acts, or do I tend to alienate myself or others?
- Is my demeanor "sweet", or sour and bitter?
Whew....I have a LONG WAY to go! Praise God for His mercy and grace and "Thank-you" for the Holy Spirit, who teaches and shows us the way to live!
1 comment:
Good morning Lindy,
I sure do enjoy your blogs and always look forward to reading each new one.
"Winsome!" This word has an uplifting ring to it when you pronounce it, doesn't it. We are involved in "The Truth Project" and Dr. Tackett uses "winsome" frequently. It seems to roll off my tongue as I say it and certainly leaves me with very pleasant thoughts.
...sandy <><
Post a Comment