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- Apr 25, 2006
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16 August 2007
Psalm 71:12-16
God, don't be far off. My God, hurry to help me.
Let those who accuse me be ashamed and destroyed. Let those who are trying to hurt me be covered with shame and disgrace.
But I will always have hope and will praise you more and more.
I will tell how you do what is right. I will tell about your salvation all day long, even though it is more than I can tell.
I will come and tell about your powerful works, Lord God. I will remind people that only you do what is right.
When I went to university I was determined to have a good time. I was looking forward to enjoying the social life, being away from home and growing my hair as long as I wanted and washing whenever I felt like it.
The social life was great and playing rugby was great. The Christian Union was great. Then came a crunch decision, a big Christian Union event or a major rugby union semi-final. I battled for ages, thought about pretending to be injured so I wouldn't lose face and still attend Christian Union.
Eventually I decided not to fake an injury and to go to the Christian Union event. My rugby team mates teased me, they tried their best to make me feel "ashamed and destroyed" and cover me "with shame and disgrace". And they succeeded, with one comment they did it saying "We didn't know you were one of them (a Christian) - you just seemed like one of us".
I was gutted. I behaved that much like them that no-one could tell me apart from them. That's not how it should be. I stopped playing rugby and really began living more differently. That didn't mean I became a bore who walked around singing and clapping worship songs all the time - but I made the changes that meant I did stick out for being different. People began to ask why and gently I was able to tell them of the message of salvation brought by Jesus.
Being a follower of the Lord means standing out from the rest - how we live, act and behave marks us as different from others. However doing so can often leave us open to attack, but rest assured God will stand with us and help us especially as such situations are often the best opportunities for witness and evangelism.
Lord, its scary standing out. It can seem easier to just hide away. But if we hide we will not be sharing your message and will also be hidden from receiving your blessings. Enable us to stand out today and share your message of salvation.
Written by Andy Haynes
Psalm 71:12-16
God, don't be far off. My God, hurry to help me.
Let those who accuse me be ashamed and destroyed. Let those who are trying to hurt me be covered with shame and disgrace.
But I will always have hope and will praise you more and more.
I will tell how you do what is right. I will tell about your salvation all day long, even though it is more than I can tell.
I will come and tell about your powerful works, Lord God. I will remind people that only you do what is right.
When I went to university I was determined to have a good time. I was looking forward to enjoying the social life, being away from home and growing my hair as long as I wanted and washing whenever I felt like it.
The social life was great and playing rugby was great. The Christian Union was great. Then came a crunch decision, a big Christian Union event or a major rugby union semi-final. I battled for ages, thought about pretending to be injured so I wouldn't lose face and still attend Christian Union.
Eventually I decided not to fake an injury and to go to the Christian Union event. My rugby team mates teased me, they tried their best to make me feel "ashamed and destroyed" and cover me "with shame and disgrace". And they succeeded, with one comment they did it saying "We didn't know you were one of them (a Christian) - you just seemed like one of us".
I was gutted. I behaved that much like them that no-one could tell me apart from them. That's not how it should be. I stopped playing rugby and really began living more differently. That didn't mean I became a bore who walked around singing and clapping worship songs all the time - but I made the changes that meant I did stick out for being different. People began to ask why and gently I was able to tell them of the message of salvation brought by Jesus.
Being a follower of the Lord means standing out from the rest - how we live, act and behave marks us as different from others. However doing so can often leave us open to attack, but rest assured God will stand with us and help us especially as such situations are often the best opportunities for witness and evangelism.
Lord, its scary standing out. It can seem easier to just hide away. But if we hide we will not be sharing your message and will also be hidden from receiving your blessings. Enable us to stand out today and share your message of salvation.
Written by Andy Haynes
