Acts 11:26 The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

This is indeed an inflection point in history, because words matter. There has been a good bit of discussion over why they started being called Christians at this point, and indeed, just what “Christian” meant at that point. The Japanese Bible says “person/people of Christ,” which seems straightforward enough, but in English I’ve heard people insist that the Greek would be better translated “little Christs.” To me, the best explanation is simply that they were constantly talking about Christ, so the name was applied to them. In northern Japan there is a grave that the locals say is that of Christ, that he came there, married a Japanese woman, and eventually died. By far the most logical explanation for that is that he was a Nestorian believer from China, who talked about Christ so much that the name was applied to him. Thinking of all of that, how much do we talk about Christ? Several years ago I heard it expressed this way: “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” “Cultural Christians” are an issue around the world. Even in Japan religion is often seen as a family affair, so you are whatever your parents are. That makes youthful rebellion an excellent time to evangelize, because people are much more open to abandoning their parents’ religion. In any case, most people today seem unlikely to talk about their faith, whatever it is. In contrast, adherents of the “religion” of transgenderism can’t seem to stop talking about it! When those who are deceived by the devil are so vocal, what’s with those who know the truth? The love and grace of God through Jesus Christ should be our main, consistent, topic of conversation.

I’m talking to myself here. As I have written before, the evidence I had that God had indeed been true to His Word and baptized me in His Spirit was that I was talking to a total stranger about Jesus. Since I desire to be filled constantly with the Spirit, I need to let that be an indicator of my spiritual health. I will talk your ears off about just about anything, since I have broad interests and fairly broad know­ledge. I need to be less of a “walking encyclopedia” and more of a “fountain of life!” For that to happen, my thoughts need to be filled ever more with Christ, because just like Jesus said, “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34) While we were in seminary my wife drew a cartoon figure that was filled with words like fear, joy, pride, kindness, and the like. The caption was, “Whatever you are full of will spill out when you are bumped.” (We currently have that framed and on our wall.) I want to be so full of Christ that He will “spill out” consistently and abundantly, giving real meaning to the title, Christian.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me consciously choose to think and speak of Christ until it becomes fully automatic, informing people of Your grace and love and drawing them to repentance and faith, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!