Have you ever been in a situation where you hear about someone having a problem with you, but they never come and talk to you about it. That would drive me nuts! My personality cannot stand having someone upset with me or mad at me. If that happened I would be compelled to go and try to fix whatever the issue was. As Christians though, it can be so difficult to win favor with the rest of the people around us. This can be due to many things, but I believe that hypocrisy in the Church is something that turns many people away from Christianity. If we could go straight back to the beginning of the Church as spoken of in Acts Chapter 2, I think we might see a change. Take a look at verses 46-47, "And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved." I love the excitement that comes from that verse….especially the part about having favor with all the people. Now in the end who should be more concerned about…finding favor with God or with men? The answer is always God. The point here is that the people SAW these early Christians living like Christians are called to live….in brotherly love…lifting one another up….praising God….studying the Word….being in the world but not of the world. In today’s world…what differences do you see in yourself or other believers compared to the rest of the secular world around us? Are there any differences? A friend sent me a great quote yesterday from Ghandi that said: "If Christians simply acted like Christians there would be no need for other religions." I thought that was interesting. Another quote from DC Talk says, "The biggest problem with Christianity today are Christians who praise God with their lips but deny Him with their lifestyles." Friends, the world is watching each and every one of us….what do they see? I challenge us today to take a close look at our lives and really begin to really LIVE the life we are called to live. It is freedom….it is joy….and it is most importantly lived with HIM! Have a wonderful day!