Being The Right Example

The morning glory devotion begins with a prayer of gratitude for God's presence and guidance. The topic of the devotion is about being the right example, using the story of Zacchaeus as an illustration. It emphasizes the importance of positively influencing others without compromising one's own values. Believers should strive to be examples of Christ's love and transformation, letting go of old habits and allowing themselves to be transformed by His word and spirit. The devotion concludes with a prayer for grace to be a positive influence in the world. If it had not been for the Lord on our side, let Israel now see. We thank God that He has not left our side and that He continues to be with us, our families and the church. Shalom, beloved. You are welcome to our morning glory devotion and our time of fellowship in the Word of God. Let's share a word of prayer. Father, we thank you, we give you praise for another opportunity to be a part of the great things that you are doing. We acknowledge your sovereignty over our lives. Thank you for this morning, thank you for all that you are about to teach us. We open up our hearts to receive from you, in Jesus' name, Amen. This is Pastor and Mrs. Amwase and we are blessed to facilitate this morning glory devotion. The topic for this morning is being the right example, being the right example. But let's take our confession together from the book of Joshua, chapter 1, verse 8. This book of the Lord shall not depart out of my mouth, but I shall meditate in it day and night, that I may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then I will make my way prosperous, and then I will have good success. Praise God, Amen. A scripture reading for the morning shall be taken from Luke, chapter 19, the verse 1 through to 10, and I read from the New King James Version. Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but he could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house. So he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. But when they saw it, they were all complaining, saying, he has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner. Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor, and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold. And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost, being the right example. Beloved, many a times we hear some people share their desire to reach out to the lost, be it in their families, in their workplaces, or in their homes. We have the sincere desire to positively influence the people around us whom we deem lost. These desires are good, because Christ instructed that we should go out and make disciples for him. However, we also hear some of these people making statements that suggest that in saving the lost, there is a need to compromise once in a while to be accepted by them in order to make the necessary influence. Some cite the example of Jesus Christ, just as we read, saying that he sat in the midst of unbelievers and befriended them just to reach out to them. Beloved, this is true, there is a need for us to meet them at their level of understanding in order to make impact. However, the difference here is that Jesus Christ went to them to be an example. He was the driver and he was in charge of those conversations and those encounters. He didn't condemn them in any way, neither did he condone their wrong actions or decide to compromise on his standards just to reach out to them. As believers and people of influence, we have the responsibility of being examples, of being the light of the world. Let's take this scenario, in our workplaces, we are expected to be kind to others, to be gentle in our speech and to be patient with others. However, we are not expected to entertain or take part in ungodly chatter just so that we can preach the gospel to them, because that rather increases onto more ungodliness. As stated in 2 Timothy 2.16, I wish we shall empty chatter, for they will proceed further in ungodliness. Beloved, let us show them love and reach out to them and still maintain our standards, because if we fail to do that, we cease to become the examples that we are meant to be. Once we compromise on our standards with the intention of reaching out to them, we end up losing sight of our initial intentions. Beloved, being an example doesn't mean that you fake the godly life just to please others or to win them over. But as a growing believer, your daily desire is to grow and to become more like Christ. You let go of old and wrong habits and allow yourself to be transformed through His Word and His Spirit, hence you spontaneously live out the life of Christ, and this is a sure way of winning the lost and rightfully influencing the people that God has brought us to. Beloved, we are the light of the world, like the analogy that Jesus Christ gave as He taught on the mountaintop. If you are a lamp that is lit, you should not be put under a basket, so do not allow your light to be covered by the basket of darkness of this world, but rather allow Christ to place you on a lampstand where He Himself can fully influence the world through you. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. Our memory verse for the day is taken from Matthew chapter 5, the verse 14 and 15. Matthew chapter 5, the verse 14 and 15. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house. Amen. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for this Word this morning. We pray for the grace to go out there to be the right kind of influence to our world. We pray that we'll talk like You, be like You, and reach out to the world like the way You did. In Jesus' name, Amen. God bless you so much, beloved, for tuning in. Continue to stay connected on Radio HCI today. Recommend it to your friends and to your colleagues. Throughout today, there's spirit-filled content for your spiritual edification. You are blessed. In Jesus' name, Amen.