23 Sept 2017 - Are You Pretending to Be Someone You're Not?

A Practicing Christian ch 20 - Are You Pretending to Be Someone You're Not?

Questions

1. How have you "put on a mask" pretending to be someone you're not?
1. I try not to do this anymore and just be myself, but I sometimes find myself hedging whenever I find myself doing poorly, whether academically, financially, spiritually, emotionally, etc. I don't want people to realise what state I'm in; I'd rather them think I'm keeping up with the pack.
   Increasingly, though, I find I have more freedom in being transparent of where I am.
2. How can being phony hurt your Christian witness?
1. How we deal with hardship is part of our witness. How can we show the power of God in every situation if we mask the situations in which we need God?
3. Relate 1 Samuel 16:7 to how we sometimes judge others by outward appearances.
1. I mean it's pretty clear. God has indicated that He considers the contents of a person's heart to be of greater value than their external appearance. To judge by outward appearance it to judge incompletely or too early.

2 Timothy 1:13-18

"Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who lives in us, that good thing entrusted to you." - vv. 13-14

Something that stands out here is the example Paul makes of Onesiphorus in contrast to the believers who have left the faith. Onesiphorus, it appears, was a great comfort to Paul in Rome, seeking him out to share in his company and encourage him while he was imprisoned/under house arrest .