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In our world today the Good News of Jesus is very present in so many places. When people are selfless and put themselves before others, that is a big example.If someone is having a tough day, but they see someone else is also struggling, that person could help them which is selfless. Jesus' Good news is also reflected in not just people who go to church, but those who really try to live out their faith. Those people also try to spread the word of Jesus and are true disciples. Another way that Jesus' Good news is present today is when people put themselves before other people.

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The Good News is truly being lived out by the people who wrote this article. They talk about how it is okay to be persecuted for our faith. To be Catholic you must stand up for what you believe in no matter what, even if it means you could be persecuted. Also it mentions how for people to spread the Gospel, they must show the Good News through their actions as well as their words. The importance of our faith in all things in our life is also talked about.

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You've probably heard the quote, "Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary." It is often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order.

This exhortation implies that it is more effective to communicate the gospel by example than by simply sharing it verbally.

Regardless of who first uttered these words, the truth is we are called to live out the gospel in both word and deed. The apostle Paul tells the Colossians,

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col. 3:17).

Expressive Faith

But in our current culture, living out our faith in word and deed, is becoming more difficult.

A recent article in Time chronicles what has happened to some Christians who have publicly acknowledged their faith.

Some of the faithful have paid unexpected prices for their beliefs lately: the teacher in New Jersey suspended for giving a student a Bible; the football coach in Washington placed on leave for saying a prayer on the field at the end of a game; the fire chief in Atlanta fired for self-publishing a book defending Christian moral teaching; the Marine court-martialed for pasting a Bible verse above her desk; and other examples of the new intolerance. Anti-Christian activists hurl smears like "bigot" and "hater" at Americans who hold traditional beliefs about marriage and accuse anti-abortion Christians of waging a supposed "war on women."

While living and working as a Christian in our often-hostile culture is fraught with risks, God clearly calls us to live in the world but not be "of the world" ( John 17:14-18). Jesus and the authors of the New Testament clearly understood the tension expressed in this statement. And history shows that by living this way, Christians through the centuries have had a positive influence on Western Civilization.

Standard Bearers

Activists like Wilberforce, early scientists like Copernicus and Newton, and those in the arts like Michelangelo and Vivaldi lived out their Christian faith in ways that positively related to the culture around them and served the common good. This stands in stark contrast to those in the church today who would see us at war with the culture or call us to withdraw from the culture completely.

As Ryan Nelson suggests, an often-used metaphor that describes this biblical, historical perspective can be summed up in the following statement: "As Christians, we are Christ's ambassadors ( 2 Cor. 5:20)-we represent another world, while we live in the midst of this one."

God created a world and put humans in it to create culture that would bring about flourishing to his creation ( Gen. 1:28). It was God's original intent for us to create culture that would positively shape the world. But because of the fall, we now create culture that glorifies idols like sex, wealth, and power, instead of God.

Christ's ambassadors-you and me-must be fully engaged in the culture around us, doing good work but always pointing back to the one we serve. We do not have to agree with everything in the culture. As Nelson writes,

...we learn to understand it and speak its language, identify its true desires-all with the intention of showing how Christ is the only one who can correctly fulfill those well-meaning (though often misplaced) desires.

Dr. Bruce Riley Ashford suggests in his excellent new book, Every Square Inch,

Every cultural context is structurally good but directionally corrupt. For this reason, we must live firmly in the midst of our cultural contexts (structurally), all the while seeking to steer our cultural realities toward Christ rather than toward idols (directionally).

In a way that might describe Daniel and his friends' lives in Babylon, Ashford goes on to say:

Every dimension of culture, whether it is art, science, or politics, is an arena in which we can speak about Christ with our lips and reflect him with our lives. We thank God for the existence of culture and recognize whatever is good in it, while at the same time seeking to redirect whatever is not good for Christ.

This is why we must combine our words and deeds (work) in a meaningful way to positively impact the culture around us.

Using the Opportunities We Have

Here's one recent example. If you stayed up late enough to see the interviews after this year's NCAA national football championship, you would have heard the following from Tua Tagovailoa during a post-game interview with ESPN:

Excuse me, first and foremost, I'd just like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. With him, all things are possible. That's what happened tonight.

Tua, a little-used unknown freshman quarterback, came off the bench in the second half to lead his team back from a significant deficit to win the most important game of the year. The high caliber of his play won him MVP, yet the first thing he wanted to do in the interview was connect his work to his faith. (See the interview here.)

This should be a great inspiration for us all to do excellent work and then confess that we do it to the glory of God.

Editor's Note: Our work on Mondays is no less important than what we do at church on Sundays. Read why in How Then Should We Work? Rediscovering the Biblical Doctrine of Work.
Would you join us in helping more Christians understand why their work matters to God? Support IFWE today.
© 2019 Institute for Faith, Work & Economics. All rights reserved. Printed from http://tifwe.org/how-to-be-productive-in-2014/. For reprint permissions, contact info@tifwe.org.

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Living Out the Gospel in Both Word and Deed

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You've probably heard the quote, "Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary." It is often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order. This exhortation implies that it is more effective to communicate the gospel by example than by simply sharing it verbally.

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This article displays someone trying to help build up peace for others. All types of people are allowed in this group because they want everyone to feel welcome. Even people who might have been stereotyped to be "football hooligans" of some sort should still be welcome.

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Three lessons I've learned from building peace as a young person

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Being from Kosovo, and growing up in the 90s, I know intimately the development challenges that arise post-conflict. Rebuilding societies torn apart by conflict is more than just about silencing guns. The real complexity lies in working to restore trust and reconstruct the shattered social fabric.

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We want more followers of Christ!
Reward: $500 to anyone who brings someone into the Catholic church

Anybody is welcome to become part of our church. We want more people to worship and love God. Please look out for people who you think would like to be Catholic!

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A women gives up something to help another young women.Even though just simply lending someone their phone is not a big deal, little acts of kindness like that help people.  This reflects the Beatitude "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God".

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It was late night, around 10pm. A young lady (Thea) was looking uneasy at the strain station. She was waiting for the last train to arrive, when she heard her phone rang. It was her brother. The line was suddenly cut off when she answered, and the phone did not ring again. The lady waited for a call back, but her phone did not ring. She sat on the bench, holding her phone. She was definitely uneasy and paranoid. She was looking around, looking for a phone loading station, but since was already late, the stalls were already closed. She had no choice but to wait till the train comes and wait till she gets home.

A young lady at her late 20's approached her. She was very sincere. She asked what was wrong. The lady looked at the stranger's eyes and said "nothing". But the other lady was just so sincere and wanted to help.
She took out her cell phone from her shoulder bag and handed it to Thea. The helpful lady said, " Here's my phone, it has extra load, you can make a call." " is it ok?" said Thea. " Yeah" she said, looking directly into her eyes. Then Thea, in a very shy manner, slowly dialed a number and talked w/ someone on the phone. A smile was on her face. "Thank you so much, you took my worries away." "No worries girl, It was not me who took your worries away, it was HIM."

The next Sunday, Thea went to church. Cried to God and thanked God for His faithfulness to her.

Christianity can be shared at any time at any place. Sharing God's love and touching hearts are things that can fulfill us as sons and daughters of God.

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It was late night, around 10pm. A young lady (Thea) was looking uneasy at the strain station. She was waiting for the last train to arrive, when she heard her phone rang. It was her brother. The line was suddenly cut off when she answered, and the phone did not ring again.