Cornerstone

Acts 24:24‑27 (27)

Peer pressure is defined by Dictionary.com as social pressure by members of one’s peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values, or otherwise conform in order to be accepted.  It exists for all ages.  By itself it is neither negative or positive.  In study after study of adolescents, however, peer pressure is connected to at-risk behaviors such as cigarette smoking, truancy, drug use, sexual activity, fighting, shoplifting, and daredevil stunts.  Peer pressure may cause one person to strive to achieve excellence in the work place while it will bring another to embezzle funds from their company or become involved in an illicit affair with a co-worker.  White collar, blue collar, clergy collar, or dirty collar, it makes no difference. People are influenced by others.  We all have choices to make.  Whether you are Pontius Pilate, Felix, or Miss. California Carrie PreJean you will face pressure from friend and foe to make decisions for which you alone will be responsible.  Knowing that we are vulnerable because of the opinions of significant people it underscores the importance of the careful choice of influencers in our lives.  Proverbs 12:26 says that, “A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”

by Dr. Gayle Woods

Luke 10:25-37

Sometimes I wonder if God shakes His head in dismay.  As He observes our attempts to be good Christians there have to be times of divine discouragement.  We seem to learn rules and ritual more rapidly than right behavior.  As I read the following account shared by one of my online students I actually felt sorry for God.  A divine tear must have fallen on His royal robes as he watched this man in his attempt to be a responsible Christian leader.  Read and weep with God.

“When I first came to Christ, I was a real legalist.  Things had to be done a certain way or you were going to hell.  I did not give anybody any slack.  I not really interested in help serve people.  I just want to tell the truth of the Gospel and not really move to much farther beyond that.  That was until I had a unique experience happen to me in college.  When I was in college, I accepted Christ and got involved in the local Student Union.  After I was there for a few months, I volunteered to lead a Bible Study on Campus.  One day I was running late, so I grabbed my materials and ran up the hill to the building where the Bible Study was being held.  As I approached the top of the hill, A homeless man started toward me.  When I saw him, I moved to the other side of the street.  So he moved to the other side of the street.  I switched sides a few time, but he always followed me.  In my mind I said, “I do not have time for this.  I am late.  Maybe I can give him a few bucks and he will leave me alone.  So as I approached him, I pulled a few dollars out and handed it to him.  As he took the money, he grabbed my hand.  He would not let it go.  He said’ “Before you go, I have a quick question to ask you”.  I thought, “Ok here comes this guy’s sob story.”  He asked me “Do you know Christ?”  My heart sank.  He said’ “I see college kids go by all the time and I wonder if they know Jesus.”  At that moment I felt 2 inches tall.  Here I was going to teach a Bible Study about Christ and missed an opportunity to minister to someone else.  As we talked, he told me that it was hard to share with people because he did not have a bible.  I had some with me so I gave him one.  I walked away changed that day. “

Now it is time for us to pray.  Can we be changed like this young man?  Can we understand and order our priorities so that they follow God’s plan rather than our preconceived notion of what it means to please God?

by Dr. Gayle Woods