Don't Shove, Show Love

Point of View:
As we begin to submit to God and start reading our Bibles daily, the people around us (schoolmates, friends and family for example) will start to notice change in our lives. And I can promise you one thing: with change come questions! When I started to live my life for the Lord I remember being asked all the time, “Why are you acting different?,” “You’re a Christian!,” and “You actually believe in that stuff?” Some of these questions got me upset because the crowd I rolled with at the time liked to crack jokes, call names and bust on me a lot for being a follower of Christ. It was tough to be gentle towards them while they where making fun of my Savior. And to be honest, at times I’ve slipped up. Trust me though, Proverbs 15:1 (listed below) is the truth, and we have to learn to show peace to our friends and family as Roman’s 12:18 commands us to do.

The Challenge:
When the tough questions start coming in as the Lord transforms you, answer them gently and “turn away wrath”. It’s easy to just lose our cool. But if possible, let’s try to live at peace with the people we come in contact with daily. Remember, God’s forgiven us and kept His cool with us. We can at least do the same for those around us.

Prayer Points:
- Thank God for keeping His cool with us, even though we don’t deserve it.
- Ask the Lord for wisdom and patience to be gentle with others when they ask
hurtful or tough questions.
- Pray that as we continue to read our Bibles daily and dig in, nobody would
be able to hold us back from becoming the new creations God is making of us.

The Word:
Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.