PRETENDING
Today's reading: Acts 7-9

"When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They thought he was only pretending to be a believer!" Acts 9:26 NLT

Pretend-to give a false appearance of being, possessing or performing; to make believe; to claim, represent or assert falsely.

Dear Church,

Could we, the blood-washed throng, ever be accused of pretending to be Christians?

Are we even playing the part well enough for evidence to be stacked against us?

Do we even commit enough for it to be said we 'play' church?

Do our Sunday performances override all we do Monday through Saturday?

Is the world afraid of us for pretending to be believers--or do they laugh at our attempts?

Are we giving false appearances of being His, possessing His power or performing in His name?

Are we living lives that make Christ and His work believable, or as made-up as Mr. Rogers' trolley-stop neighborhood?

Are we falsely claiming the name of Jesus as our source of power? Are we embarrassingly representing Him?

The early church was afraid to trust Saul/Paul because they thought he was merely pretending to be changed by the blood of Jesus. The world today mistrusts us because for the most part we are saying we are changed but are showing very little evidence of it!