Undaunted Christian

And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the Name of Jesus, and let them go.  And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name.  And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.  Acts, Chapter 5, verses 40-42.

My son was committed to raising money for “Jerry’s Kids.”  I tried to encourage my children to be sensitive to the needs of the less fortunate.  This fourth grade student went from house to house all weekend long collecting money.  Undaunted by those who were unable or unwilling to contribute, his determination led him to collect a record amount for this worthy cause.  Earlier, I had suggested that he had done enough and should think of quitting but he wouldn’t give up until he felt he had done his very best for this cause.  I need to be an Undaunted Christian, dedicated to my beliefs, regardless of what others think.

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.

Lame Excuses Christian

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.  But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?  Whiles it remained, was it not thine own?  And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?  Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?  thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.  And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.  And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.  And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.  And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much?  And she said, Yea for so much.  Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?  Behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.  Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.  And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.  Acts, Chapter 5, verses 1-11.

I’m very fortunate God that has this story of Ananias and his wife pop in my mind from time to time, especially at times when I’m trying to find an angle to beat the system.  An example would be my planning to have my college daughter come and eat at the breakfast buffet in my hotel when I come to her town to visit.  Since I’ve realized how I was calculating this in my heart, I now go to someone at the hotel and offer to pay for my daughter to join us for breakfast.  It’s not that anyone minded or would have missed the food.  What matters is that I contrived this plan in order to save a few bucks on my daughter’s breakfast and God knows what’s in my heart.  He knows when I’m making up lame excuses for why I’m not going to church on a particular occasion or why the sales person deserved my less than patient response to the store’s policy, etc.
It would be nice if God didn’t need to remind me so often.  That’s not the case.  Satan works in very subtle ways and finds ways to sneak into our lives through our planning and scheming and our making excuses for our choices.  I’m so thankful that God takes the time to remind me.  I don’t ever want to let these subtle things work into my life and slowly lead me astray as a Lame Excuses Christian.  I need to maintain a focus on God and the reminders He puts in my mind (some people call it a conscience), which help to refocus me.

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.

Possessed Christian

And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.  And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.  Praising God, and having favour with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.  Acts, Chapter 2, verses 44-47.

It’s difficult for me to imagine such total dedication to sharing the Word of God.  That would mean selling my house and giving the money to someone else.  That would mean not having a TV, VCR, furniture, bank account, etc.  Every aspect of my life would be focused on delivering the message of Salvation to others.  It makes me realize what a worldly life I still am leading even though I go through the motions of being a follower of Christ.
When it’s difficult to give up worldly possessions, it seems like they possess your soul!  Definitely something I need to work on, especially since I’m thinking about getting a new computer while I’m editing this rather than focusing on the message that this has for me.  Boy, I don't want to be a Possessed Christian and need to get my priorities straight immediately!

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.

What's In It For Me Christians

When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?  And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in His own power.  Acts, Chapter 1, verses 6-7.

Although this isn’t really what this passage is about, it reminds me of when one of my grandsons was younger and we would ask him if he wanted to spend the day with us.  He wanted to know what we were going to do before he would commit to coming with us.
I don’t think it’s positive for us to foster the attitude that if we do something exciting enough, then he will grace us with his presence.  Out of stubbornness, I didn’t tell him what we were doing before he made his decision.  If he decided to go with us, he could do all the interesting things that we were going to do.  If not, that was okay too, because he has the ability to make his own choices.
Well, I think that God works in much the same way.  God doesn’t give us the dates of the major events of the world.  Or else we might reply, “Well, if I know what’s in it for me first, God, and I think it’s to my advantage, then I will consider being Your follower.”  God wants us to be His followers out of blind faith and love and not be What's In It For Me Christians.

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.