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Titus 2:7 NLT

'And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.'

A challenge in communicating about the Christian faith is the temptation to present things in a way that increases their inherent value. I know as an enthusiastic young Christian working with Youth for Christ I often ‘sold’ some legitimate Christian truth from the platform I’d been given well ahead of my knowing the true value of that product. So I marketed the miracle of prayer, and yet my own busyness as an evangelist drove prayer far from my regular daily practice. I was not myself the total beneficiary of the product I promoted. No surprise that I crashed and burned age 27 with physical exhaustion.

I recently bought a small chainsaw for cutting up logs, and general garden maintenance. It came with a ‘buyer beware’ warning, for it’s a dangerous weapon as well as a practical tool. The salesman spent a good deal of time helping me understand how to use this equipment safely. We are to approach the Christian toolkit the same way. Prayer can turn situations around. We take a stand against evil that pushes back against us with every intention to harm us, and we’d better know what we are getting into.

We must learn how to wield the tools of our faith over time and diligently apply them with care and consideration. We must develop a consistency and become both an inspiration and informal coach to others starting out and developing their skills in living out the heartbeat of revelation through their lives.

QUESTION: What spiritual tools has God given you, that you think are underused in your life?

PRAYER: Lord, I pray that the gospel will produce good works in me so I may be an example to others of the goodness of your grace.