Day 194
Matthew 26:73 Amplified Version
"After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, You certainly are one of them too, for even your accent betrays you."
As Peter tried to deny his assoc1at10n with Jesus, bystanders insisted he was a disciple. Afraid for his life, Peter denied having anything to do with Jesus. Finally, someone said to him, ''Your accent betrays you." The way he spoke identified him as a disciple of Christ.
Can we be accused of being a disciple of Christ today? Is there anything that would betray us? Let us be conscious of how we speak and conduct ourselves. People looking at us in a group should be able to identify who we are. If someone felt they needed a Christian to help them or pray for them, they should be able to pick us out of the crowd. Something should give us away. Although we may have a witnessing T-shirt or button on, that should not be what we depend on to identify us as children of God. They should recognize us because, as Jesus said, we love one another. They should also notice that we act like Jesus. Jesus demonstrated the characteristics Paul described as the "fruit of the spirit." This "fruit," described in Galatians 5:22-23, is made of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Peter seemed to be a disciple, because of the amount of time he spent with Jesus. If we think about it, it has always been easier to act like Jesus when we have just come out of a time of fellowship with Him. That lets us know what we need to do to make it easier for people to identify us with our Lord.
I will practice frequent fellowship with God. I will live In such a way that people will positively identify me as a disciple of Christ My speech and conduct will give me away.