Proclaiming Christ

S. "The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man."  Luke 23:47(NIV)

O. The response of the centurion (and I am sure others) to the scene and the death of Jesus causes me to have two different reactions. I have always been "glad" the centurion made the statement and declaration that Jesus must have been who he said he was. His claim that he was a righteous man was in contrast to someone out for his own good and agenda.

But I am also saddened by the timing of the response. How many times had this soldier seen or heard about Jesus and yet he did not believe. Was it peer pressure that made him reject Jesus, or ignorance to more of who Jesus is.

I am afraid we have too many people today who are like this man. They have made excused after excuse as to why they have not proclaimed Christ as Lord…they are filled with knowledge and experiences that have open up truth and knowledge about Jesus, but have never taken a step toward accepting Jesus as Lord of their lives. We are afraid of what other might think of us or who they would react to us at school and work. Maybe it is not the popular thing to do…so we put it off even more. We will all come to a point when we will have to give account for our lives and who and what we belived…why not start now and let the belief impact your every move and step today!

I must also be reminded in these verses that I must put myself in a position to be able to hear and see the truth of Jesus. The centurion was watching and taking it all in…and I must be in a spot where I can see what is going on!

A. I will look for opportunities to knowledge the work of Jesus in my life today and will encourage others to do the same.

P. Lord Jesus, thank you for going to the cross and dying for me. I proclaim that you are the Christ…the Son of God who came to take away my sins. I accept your forgiveness and offer my life to you today. Amen.