file: /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread: db940903.txt
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OUR DAILY BREAD	                   
Saturday, September 3,1994
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READ: 1 Thessalonians 1


                      "YOU ARE A ROLE MODEL"

            Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. 

                        1 Corinthians 11:1


Charles Barkley, superstar basketball player for the Phoenix Suns,
said in a television ad, "I am not a role model." But, like it or
not, he is. Everybody is a role model for somebody else.

As we grow up, we have many role models, people who inspire us -
parents, teachers, athletes, political leaders, charac- ters in
novels and in the pages of history. 

The Bible also gives us many role models. The apostle Paul, for
one, is a challenging example of discipleship. In fact, he held
himself up as a pattern for all Christians to fol- low, "Imitate
me," he urged, "just as I also imitate Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). He
knew, of course, that he could serve as a godly example only if he
faithfully followed his Lord. 

Paul commended the Thessalonians because they followed him and the
Lord (1 Th. 1:6). They became examples to all the believers in
Macedonia and Achaia, and they were well-known for their faith in
God (vv.7-8).

As we copy Paul, who himself was copying the Savior, we in turn
become models who are being copied. What is the quali- ty of our
spiritual influence? Negative or positive? Remember, it can't be
neutral. No one can rightly say, "I'm not a role model."

Author: Vernon C. Grounds

                 We cannot live our lives alone,
                    For other lives we touch
               Are either strengthened by our own
                    Or weakened just as much.

                            - Anonymous

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
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The best role models, model Christ.

The Bible in One Year: 2 Chronicles 10-13 

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