Be yourself

At first, David tried to face Goliath in Saul’s armour. Then he realised, ‘I cannot go in these… because I am not used to them’ (v.39). So he took the armour off. He decided to be himself. This is such a lesson in life. It is no good putting on someone else’s armour. It always looks artificial and unnatural when we try and present ourselves as if we are someone else. There is great power in authenticity. Oscar Wilde said, ‘Be yourself; everyone else is already taken!’ You are at your most effective when you are being yourself. As St Catherine of Siena put it: ‘Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.’

God looks fir availability

Joyce Meyer writes, ‘God is not looking for someone with ability but someone with availability… keep your heart pure by refusing to allow hatred, offense, bitterness, resentment or unforgiveness to stop you.’

How we think of God

As A.W. Tozer put it, ‘What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.’

My Peace I give you

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27 NIVUK
http://bible.com/113/jhn.14.27.NIVUK

The Holy Spirit

The Greek word parakletos literally means ‘one called alongside’. It has a multifaceted meaning – counsellor, advocate, comforter, encourager, helper, someone to stand by you, he who is to befriend you. A mother is a paraclete for her child. She takes away the anguish of loneliness. She brings presence, security, peace and communion. The Holy Spirit now lives in us to give us new strength and new love – so that we, the church, can continue the mission of Jesus to the world.

What does a righteous life look like?

What does a righteous life look like? Listen to parental advice ‘A wise child heeds a parent’s instruction’ (13:1). Honouring parents is high on the list of God’s priorities. Family life and good parenting are so important. I recommend The Parenting Book by Nicky and Sila Lee. Guard your lips ‘Those who guard their lips guard their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin’ (v.3). It is impossible to overestimate the importance of your words and of controlling the tongue. Work hard ‘The desires of the diligent are fully satisfied’ (v.4). Work is a blessing. Success can be hard work. It requires diligent perseverance. Winston Churchill said, ‘Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.’ Love the truth ‘The righteous hate what is false’ (v.5). We are to hate dishonesty and love the truth. Mark Twain once said, ‘If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.’ Be a person of integrity ‘Righteousness guards the person of integrity’ (v.6). Integrity does not mean being perfect. It means being honest, real and authentic (it is the opposite of hypocrisy). In his book, Integrity, the clinical psychologist Dr Henry Cloud writes that integrity ‘is the key to success. A person with integrity has the – often rare – ability to pull everything together, to make it all happen no matter how challenging the circumstances.’

Love

Love is more than a feeling or an emotion. It is a decision about how we treat one another. Jesus was the supreme example of love in the history of the world. He tells us to love God, to love one another (John 13:34–35), to love our neighbour as ourselves and even to love our enemies. He demonstrates all this in his own life through loving everyone (even Judas who betrayed him as we see in today’s passage), and laying down his life for us all in love.

Jesus sets before us this amazing challenge: ‘As I have loved you, so you must love one another’ (13:34). Jesus loved you by laying down his life for you. He says that you are to follow his example and show self-sacrificial love. This is the mark of a true Christian. ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another’ (v.35).

Love is the most effective form of evangelism. When people see real love they see God. The best way to start to tell people about Jesus is to love them and to love other followers of Jesus.