“Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities. And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land.” Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land.” Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.”
Memory Verse: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26
Often we hear alter calls inviting people to give their lives to Christ and at the moment when the introduction to confess Christ is being made, there is a decision reached to leave sin behind and begin to live in the light and life of Christ. This decision is supposedly taken with sincerity of heart followed by declaration in words which proceeds out of the mouths of the potential converts. Individuals responding to the alter calls confesses acceptance of Christ with their mouths with an intention of becoming new in every way but once that session is over, more often we see a reverse back to the old pattern and way of life.
Initial decisions we make in life are usually often taken with good intention but changes begin to happen only when those decisions are backed up by behaviors that matches those decisions.
When we give our lives to Christ, we become like babies in the kingdom and are expected to be fed with milk some of which when not administered properly we may not know how to apply to enhance growth. We see the likes of the people of Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, despite knowing there is a God in heaven who orchestrates the lives of men, they still lived like strangers in Samaria. They had no idea how to behave and no clue of what was expected of them because Samaria was different from their previous place of residence and with lack of proper guidance they began to mess up and suffer consequences of their ignorant actions.
Just like the Babylonians, Cuthahs, Avas and Hamaths, we call ourselves Christians but continue to behave like unbelievers and wonder why our lives have not moved in a positive direction. When we become a part of Gods family, we are expected to behave like children of God. We have a God given guide who is the Holyspirit, our new teacher, always there to teach us if we are ready to listen and point us in the right direction through conviction but mostly when the Holyspirit guides us, what we see ourselves doing is taking the path of less resistance until we get things messed up. We turn the deaf hear and follow our desire instead.
This family of God is not one we can become if we are not ready to learn how to live the life of Christ with the presence of the Holyspirit. God is not man and we cannot do the things of God living in the flesh. Jesus spent His time on earth doing a lot of teaching but his closest disciples were taught a lot of things including how to pray. They spent time with Him understanding how to be followers of Christ so they could behave appropriately, in a Godly manner.
When Jesus left ascending into heaven, His disciples began to behave like him. The people at Antioch called the followers Christians according to Acts 11:19-26.
Having surrendered our lives to Christ and becoming a part of him, everything we need to behave like Christians is in the word of God and in us through the Holyspirit. We cannot truly be a Christian and live our everyday life contrary to the word of God.
In light of that, can we say we are we truly behaving like Christians? We should do all to behave Christ like and live our lives as true ambassadors of Him. A true follower brings honor to the name and not disrepute.
PRAYERS:
- Father I thank you for a wonderful word of life
- Help me to be a true ambassador from today
- In every way I have turned back, behaving inappropriately, have mercy on me
- Help me to surrender to the guidance of the Holyspirit and make me a good example unto others
- Forgive me of my shortcomings o Lord and help me to live above sin
- Receive my sacrifice of praise for in Jesus mighty name I pray, AMEN.
