Stand In The Gap

Stand In The Gap

"If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."
James 1:26

So often during the years I have seen people who were considered to be the stalwarts of the church, that were stumbling blocks to bringing people to Christ. Their words and their actions were not representative of being a Christian. I can recall one gentleman who was a deacon in his church, and always was proud of this, and made sure that all his coworkers knew about this honor. He was forever inviting people to come to church with him on Sunday, but his speech and his behavior were just the opposite of what a Christian should be. This man was simply no more than a Sunday morning Christian, as he forgot about God after church, and let the worldly things control his life. There is a scripture in the Book of Ezekiel (22:30) that says that we are to "stand in the gap" for God. This means that our walk must represent our talk. We cannot claim to be a Christian, and then not represent Him in our speech, our actions and all our behavior. If we are going to represent Christ, we must be consistent and Godly in all things. People we associate with must know that there is something different about us, and that we reflect the love that God has given us, and that we are passing this love on to them. When we are standing in the gap for God, our example must respect the reverence we have for Him, and the people around us need to see this as well. Remember that you are representing God, and are standing in the gap for Him in all that you do, so let God shine brightly in you.