The last few weeks, Holy Spirit has repeatedly placed this thought in my mind: Remember: You may be the only Bible they read. This statement is SO true! I can profess that I am a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ—the One, True King and Son of God—with my mouth, but living my faith by demonstrating it through my behavior is what really speaks the loudest.
Be compassionate. I’ve heard it said that people don’t care much until they see how much you care. Showing compassion to others is one way to show people the principles of the Bible in a tangible and meaningful way. Do you care? Are you willing to help me?
Treat others the way that you want to be treated. I’ll go one step further; treat people like you would want them to treat your Mom. See what I did there? It doesn’t cost us anything to be gracious and kind except a little effort. Being considerate and practicing a tiny bit of common courtesy goes a long way in demonstrating the good news of the Gospel.
Say what you mean, mean what you say. Jesus makes it plain: let your yes be yes and your no be no. Be careful not to make promises (or vows) that you can’t keep. Nothing promotes The Word like keeping your word.
Guard your integrity closely. Begin by seeing the paragraph above and then add not playing loose with the words that leave your lips. This is especially true when handling the words of the Bible. Being inaccurate diminishes your integrity. But guarding your integrity is more than simply watching your words. You’ve got to be careful about avoiding compromising situations that damage your testimony.
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 (English Standard Version)
Don’t cause your brother (or your sister) to stumble. Be congruent with your words and in your deeds. Do your best to live a godly lifestyle that is above and beyond reproach. Set an example others want to follow and be someone who others see as trustworthy.
I have found that my being the Bible is closely related to how much time I spend in the Bible. Staying close to the Lord through constant prayer is also critical to showing people the Gospel. The further away I am from God, the fuzzier my walk with the Lord becomes. Before I know it, I am not any translation of the Bible that I would want you to read.
Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15 (New Living Translation)
Read the Word and then go Be the Word.
May you have a blessed time observing Holy Week!
May the Lord shower you with His favor.
Love in Christ,
The Devotional Guy™
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The Devotional Guy™ 
“Remember: You may be the only Bible they read.”
wow………………..now there’s a challenge we can’t simply skim past
thankyou!
Interestingly we tried a church last night. lots of reasons why it’s been quite a while for us, but they were HUGE on compassion. Sadly, they seemed to focus on that more than on Jesus… ;-(
I’m not sure they really mentioned Jesus other than in passing at the church service, and that was coupled with a passover meal too…my middle son said if that he had to, he’d sum up the church as ‘formerly inspired by Jesus’…I’d concur.
it’s good that they’re doing good things, but regardless of what they’re doing for the people they serve, those folks still need Jesus more than a meal.
Andy B
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Thanks for commenting, Andy and sharing your thoughts. Congratulations on trying out a new church, even if it wasn’t all you’d hoped. Terri and I have been searching for a new church home since the end of 2020, so I get how challenging it is. I will say that we’ve had to give a couple of them a few visits as it is hard to ascertain who they are and what they are all about even though the outside trimmings may look inviting. During our search we’ve come to realize it is simply going to take time.
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We’re also at two years now too…last night was our first time in a church for a very LONG time, and was such a sad disappointment too 😦 and that one was our plan B! lovely building…but we couldn’t see Jesus…..using the sentiment of your post, if they were the only bible we got to read, we’d be still looking for it. makes me sad to be honest that this is the state of a church in the UK. not surprised, just sad…
somehow we’ve found another one to try next week, which seems to have been hidden from both of us and our many searches these past 6 months or so (i wonder of God had helped us not spot that one?)
we’ll see how it goes
Andy B
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I hear what you’re saying, Andy. I will be praying the Lord reveals a place you and your family can worship at. We are certainly not lacking for options here in Dallas, but it has been challenging. Some is due to God working on us too as we grow in our faith.
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we’re very lacking……………………
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praying for you too my friend, and your wife, to find a home to love and be loved
Andy B
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Thank you.
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🙂
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An interesting post and comments here Rainer! The older I get I have become more convinced that “being the bible” is the most effective evangelism we can do. Being able to quote verses is nice and hand out a tract too, but people are more likely to be touched by the love of Christ in and through you than any literature. Thus I wholeheartedly agree with your conclusion brother.
On church, I am struggling with my present church in that there are many who simply ignore new people…I have to make the first move and that doesn’t guarantee a good response it seems. The preaching and the worship is very biblical though, praise the Lord. May God continue to guide and bless you and Terri each day 🙏
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Thank you for your prayers, Alan, and your encouraging comment. We can talk about it all we want but if we don’t actually live it out our profession of faith doesn’t amount to much. Biblical preaching and worship are key to a good, healthy church. I’m sure you’ve tried, but perhaps there is a way to make new people feel more welcome. I’ve wondered, at times, why we don’t feel new people feel more welcome, aside from one visit or two, at best. From conversations I’ve had, I know there are many who are struggling with their church, especially since the pandemic. Thanks again for commenting, Alan.
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Thanks for a good post. I just quoted the ‘only Bible most will ever read’ in our small group a couple weeks ago! Seek the Lord and be His even in. Disappointing church establishments. That’s what we have decided to do.
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Thank you for responding to my post, Molly. Your thoughtful comments are much appreciated.
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Thank you for reading and commenting Molly. Yes, we need to guard our witness in all circumstances and situations.
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