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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – The Power of Integrity

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That you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. —Philippians 1:10–11

In ancient Rome, fine pottery was relatively thin and fragile and often would develop cracks after firing. Rather than remake the piece, unscrupulous shops would fill the cracks with hard, dark wax and then sell it as new.

So you would take your purchase home and put it outside, and in the blazing Mediterranean sun, parts of it would start to melt. Then you would take that pottery back to the shopkeeper and say, “What have you done? This isn’t right. I want one without wax.”

That is what Paul meant when he prayed that the believers in Philippi would be “sincere and without offense.” Sincere is sometimes translated “without wax.” So Paul was essentially saying, “Move forward in your life without moral failure.” He wrote in 1 Corinthians 10, “Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. (verses 32–33). Another way to translate that is, “Don’t give an unbeliever a reason to not believe.”

Jesus saved his most scathing words not for struggling sinners but for hypocritical believers, those who appeared to be one thing but really were another.

So let’s make sure we are not people who bring reproach to the name of Jesus Christ. Each of us has a sphere of influence. Each of us has a group of people who are watching us carefully. They are scrutinizing every word and hoping we will mess up. When you walk with God, live a godly life, and do what He wants you to do, it drives some of them crazy. And so it should. It is the power of a good testimony.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Undeserved Praise

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Our Daily Bread

Luke 5:27-32

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. —Luke 5:32

Even before I could afford a self-cleaning oven, I managed to keep my oven clean. Guests even commented on it when we had them over for a meal. “Wow, your oven is so clean. It looks like new.” I accepted the praise even though I knew I didn’t deserve it. The reason my oven was clean had nothing to do with my meticulous scrubbing; it was clean because I so seldom used it.

How often, I wonder, am I guilty of accepting undeserved admiration for my “clean” life? It’s easy to give the impression of being virtuous; simply do nothing difficult, controversial, or upsetting to people. But Jesus said we are to love people who don’t agree with us, who don’t share our values, who don’t even like us. Love requires that we get involved in the messy situations of people’s lives. Jesus was frequently in trouble with religious leaders who were more concerned about keeping their own reputations clean than they were about the spiritual condition of those they were supposed to care for. They considered Jesus and His disciples unclean for mingling with sinners when they were simply trying to rescue people from their destructive way of life (Luke 5:30-31).

True disciples of Jesus are willing to risk their own reputations to help others out of the mire of sin. —Julie Ackerman Link

Dear Lord, give me a heart of compassion for

those who are lost in sin. Help me not to be

concerned about what others think of me but

only that Your holy name will be honored.

Christ sends us out to bring others in.

Bible in a year: Isaiah 62-64; 1 Timothy 1

Insight

The role of tax collector in first-century Israel was quite different from what we would think today. Ancient Rome operated on the back of the taxes drained from conquered lands like Israel. This was overseen by the local governor (or procurator), but it was actually accomplished by local citizens like Levi (also known as Matthew), who worked for Rome. These tax collectors, however, were not viewed as simple agents or bureaucrats. They were known to charge higher taxes than were due and to pocket the excess. They were despised as collaborators who had aligned themselves with the hated occupying force. The taxes they collected were a continuing symbol of the oppression the Jews felt as a conquered people, and the tax collectors were considered participants in that oppression.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Are you a “Bondo Believer”?

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Have you ever bought a used car? One thing you have to beware of is a car that has been in collisions and has a lot of “Bondo” on it. Bondo is a resin product that is used in the place of proper body work or to cover up some kind of problem with the body of the car. Sometimes I wonder if we have some “Bondo believers” out there. By that, I mean people who appear to be one thing but really are another.

The apostle Paul wrote what his prayer was for the believers living in Philippi. “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:9-10).

A definition of the word sincere that Paul uses would be “without wax.” The origin of this goes back to ancient Rome, when they would make fine pottery, which was relatively thin, and fragile cracks would develop after firing. So, rather than remake the piece, unscrupulous shops would fill the cracks with hard, dark wax (first-century Bondo). This would be revealed when the object purchased was placed in bright sunlight, as the wax would melt.

So Paul uses this phrase “without wax” to speak of being a genuine, not a fake believer. As we wait for Christ’s return, let’s pray that we are not “Bondo believers,” but rather genuine followers.