Life

We’ve been studying the book of Acts on Sunday mornings in the Youth Ministry. Acts has been a fun study for me as I’ve taught it over the past few months. There are a number of different themes that you’ll find but one that comes back more than any other. “The Message of Life” is a theme found just about on every page as you thumb through this book. This has really spoken to me as I examine my own life. Every message preached was this Message of Life. Death is involved in this Life but it isn’t the focal point.

This is where I started to examine my life and the message that I present each person I encounter. Are they hearing the Message of Life or the Message of Death when they see my reactions to daily life? What do they see when they experience my life? Death? Life?

We are the people who are the Temple. The people where Heaven meets Earth. The people who are marked by the Holy Spirit. If Heaven is the reality of the presence of God, and we have Him inside of us, do our lives reflect this Message of Life? When people experience us, they need to catch a small glimpse of Heaven. The reality of God’s Presence needs to flow out of us into the people around us. We should look different from this world because of this mark we have, the Holy Spirit.

Paul spent a lot of his time going back to the churches he had visited or planted, encouraging them. I think his encouragement would have been centered on bringing the reality of Heaven into your daily life. To live Life. To live the Message of Life.

If you were to encourage someone today what would you encourage them to do? What would you encourage them to be? How would you encourage them? What would you say? What would you do?