Church

CAPA Corner: Yard of the Month

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    My wife and I drove up in our driveway a couple of weeks ago and discovered the ‘Yard of the Month’ sign in our flower bed.  We actually thought some kids from the neighborhood pulled it out of someone else’s yard and stuck it in ours as a joke.  Our yard isn’t horrible, but wasn’t sure we were worthy of yard of the month.  We found out that is was legitimate and we have been named ‘Yard of the Month’… yeah!
    Well I didn’t think too much of it and had no plans of cutting the grass the weekend after we received the sign.  I worked all day Saturday and had full intentions on taking a shower and doing nothing the rest of the day when I got home.  That all changed when I pulled in my driveway and saw the sign again – ‘Yard of the Month’. I had a sign declaring that my yard was special. I felt like I needed to represent it well.  As tired as I was, that sign motivated me to cut and weed eat the grass.  I had to live up to the new name, right?
    This reminded me of something. Everyone who has put their faith in Jesus Christ has been given a new name. We have been declared sons and daughters of God, children of the most high. We have received the name of Christ. Are we representing well?  Are we living up to the name?
    What if you woke up tomorrow morning with a sign around your neck that said, “Christian of the Month”? Would you feel worthy? How would that affect your life? No matter how tired we are or what kind of day we had –  would we be more careful in our behavior?  Would we see the name we bear and watch what we say and how we say it?  Would we represent it well? Would we live up to the name? Would friends and family agree with the sign?
    The truth is we shouldn’t need a sign around our neck in order to live a life that glorifies God. His grace is sufficient.  That ‘Yard of the Month’ sign reminded me of his grace.  I didn’t feel worthy of the new name but it motivated me to live up to it.  God’s grace does the exact same. His grace motivates me to live a life that glorifies him. I want to live up to the name he gave me.
    God was gracious and gave us a new name. Read Isaiah 62:2-4.
    We do not need signs written in ink or religious symbols declaring who we are, for the Spirit of God has been imprinted in our hearts  by faith in Jesus Christ. Whatever is on the inside will be revealed and made manifest on the outside.
    II Corinthians 3:2-3:  Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.
Kenny Kepper
Berean Ministries
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