Monday, March 29, 2010

Watch Your Influence

"Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord." Leviticus 10:1-2 NLT

At first reading the judgment on Nadab and Abihu seems harsh but they were spiritual leaders for the people. It was early in the spiritual life of Israel and God wanted to impress on His people the importance of careful obedience. God holds those who lead to a high standard of accountability. The leaders attitude toward God will be reflected in the lives of the people. If the leader treats God as holy by carefully obeying His commands then the people will do the same. If the leader is careless about obeying God's commands then those who follow will do the same.

Who is looking at your life as an example of what it means to follow Christ? We all have influence, that is leadership, over someone. It may be a child, a co-worker, a classmate, a neighbor, or someone else we regularly come in contact with who looks at us as an example of the Christian faith. Your attitude toward God as revealed in careful or careless obedience will influence their attitude toward God. God takes our spiritual influence seriously and so should we.

Father, keep me from sinning against you and dishonoring you in the eyes of those over whom I have spiritual influence. Help me to regard you as holy through careful obedience today.

I'm praying for you.
Pastor Mark
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4 comments:

  1. 枝妹March 30, 2010 at 12:54 AM

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  2. francieMarch 30, 2010 at 10:27 AM

    Good Morning Pastor Mark, Thank you for the reminder of how important it is to live a life that honors God. I know God will hold us accountable if we cause any of these little ones to fall. I pray that we will all be aware of that. Love in Christ Francie

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  3. UnknownMarch 30, 2010 at 10:43 AM

    It is important to remember that we, as Christians, must serve as the example for those that don't know Christ yet. I do the best I can to serve as a real example for my children and my friends/co-workers. I try my best to make God relevant for them and to let them know that having faith in Him can change their lives like it has changed mine. Thank you for the reminder.

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  4. Be a BereanMarch 30, 2010 at 12:34 PM

    Pastor Mark, This is one of my favorite lessons in Leviticus.It reminds me of how we are to approach a sovereign holy GOD.We must approach HIM on HIS and only HIS terms.We as the creation do not get to dictate to the creator as to how we worship or fellowship with HIM.It always reminds me to check if I'm offering strange fire or genuine worship to the ONE who worthy of worship.

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