“Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” Titus 2:7-8
Brennan Manning once said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
Do we practice what we preach?
Most assuredly you will know that if you claim to be a Christian, the world around you will 
hold you more accountable. I have witnessed people driving by me honking their horns, cutting people off and even giving someone the finger, only to notice that they had an ichthus fish (a Christians symbol) on the back of their car. What kind of witness is that? Will that attract people to Jesus? I don’t think so, in fact I think it will only drive people further from Christ.
In the book of Titus, the Apostle Paul reminds the reader to live consistently, that what we say should be backed up in what we do. So much so that those who would accuse us would have nothing evil to say about us. This is a tall order for all of us. I can confess that I have not always lived consistently this faith that I have in God. I regret the times when what I have said did not match what I did.
Jesus called the teachers of the law hypocrites because they didn’t live consistently. They told everybody else how to live, but they themselves did not follow through with those principles in their own lives. How about us today? How consistent is your faith in Christ? Do you honor Jesus with our lips, but your actions speak of something else entirely? Or are you living consistently for Him? It’s not easy to live in this consistency. But consider our witness to those around us. Who else is better suited to display Christ to those you meet than you and me? Can we back up our words with actions that match?
Charles Spurgeon long ago said this, and I think it hits home for all of us in this devotional thought for the day:“How often have you and I helped to keep sinners easy in their sin, by our inconsistency! Had we been true Christians, the wicked man would often have been pricked to the heart, and his conscience would have convicted him.”
May we choose this day, no matter how hard it might be, to live a consistent Christ-honoring life! May our words and actions match up, and may we honor God with a fully surrendered life today!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for this day that you have given to me. Help me to live for you consistently in it today! May I honor you not only with the words I choose to say, but in my thoughts and in my actions. Prepare the path this day so that those I meet might see you and not me. I long to be your very reflection so that others might seek and love you. Thank you Lord for loving and guiding me in my busyness and my hectic schedule. In your name I pray these things. -Amen.
Pastor's Ponderings 
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