Here's a Good Example

Here’s a Good Example
“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭2

When I was a teen there was a family in the church I grew up in that had three children. One, their oldest was my age, she and I were friends from 3rd grade until graduation and they lived close to us. She and I would hang out sometimes because she lived a stones throw away from my best friend. We lived near an apartment complex that you would say was very rough, we called it Brick City as that all the apartments were all brick. My best friend, and this young lady would go and play basketball there when the courts were usable. My friend had a younger brother, by about 2 years, but he was big for his age and in our early teen years he would play too. Now I lived about a half a mile from Brick City, but my young friend lived adjacent to them. He started to build some friendships with a pretty rough crowd and was heading down a pretty dark path. I at the time was one of the leaders in my youth group and was in preaching and singing competitions. I went soul winning every week with my dad. I knew all the right words and just how to represent a “good christian” teen. My young friend’s mom who had known me for a long time was very worried about her son. While I was over at their house one day, just as we were all about to leave, she asked me to stay and talk for a moment. She then asked me to really try hard to watch over her son and be a strong influence in his life. Of course I told her I would...but I didn’t for more than a week. I know, it sounds like I was not a good friend and certainly not a good christian. Did I mention that I was not a christian? I was a big phony. I could put on a good show, but I did not know Christ, and I really didn’t care if her son went the wrong way or not.

I am not nor will I ever be the example for someone else to follow. Jesus is the Good example. God proclaimed it when He came out of the water after His Jorden baptism. He said, “this is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. There will be no one else that will ever please God. This is why it is SO important to be IN Christ. My friend’s mom had great intentions in asking me to help her son walk the way I did, but she found a bad example. God desires us to walk as Jesus walked, in love, so others will see what God sees. If you don’t know what that is, you need to find a Good Example. You need Jesus!
Pastor Larry Hof

Here is a Great Song for Today!
https://youtu.be/IBVEZeCP3KI