Good morning, friends! I hope you’re having A terrific Monday morning! I am up and praying about many things today already, for there is much to be concerned about in the world.
I started my day with Facebook feed, which is a mistake…there is so much hatred and enmity going on right now that it would be wise to distance… but I did encounter the above quote on a friends page.
Encounter Gods goodness… I have … and am… encountering Gods goodness. He has blessed me in ways I can scarcely understand, for reasons I cannot fathom.
In his sermon yesterday, our pastor talked about being witnesses for Christ… and said that, sadly, many people do not know how to do that. He shared that a youth pastor took his students, one by one, and asked them how they would share the gospel with someone and every one of them stammered but couldn’t really articulate how they’d do it…. church kids.. Sunday school kids who’ve been taught the gospel message their whole lives..ok I get it… they’re young and it can be intimidating to be “different” among peers…
He also talked about pastoral students at Bible college being asked how they’d lead someone to Christ, and many could not answer. Bible college students, who are studying to go into full time ministry could not articulate how they’d share Jesus with someone.
My friends, the simplest and most effective tool you can use to share Jesus with someone is by your personal experiences… sharing your personal encounter with the Creator. When yours is the life transformed… and you know what you were before and you know what you’ve become through God’s Grace alone, you WANT to share Jesus with people!
It’s not that I think Sunday School and Bible colleges aren’t important or aren’t teaching Gods word… but we can’t loose sight of the experiential transformation that happens with a personal encounter with Jesus Christ.
I’m old enough now to be able to look back and see phases of my life and spiritual growth… there were times that I was very inward focused on all I didn’t have.. or all that had happened to me (victim mentality), sucked into the abyss of depression and despair. When God delivered me from that, He began to transform my mind from all the negative thoughts and garbage I had polluted it with to be enable me to see things as they can be, not as they are. He began to give me a vision for what someone or something could become by His Grace… and He began to give me a passion for helping the lost find Him.
For me, it’s less about a “formula” for sharing Jesus, and more about being real with people about the Power I’ve seen!
Maybe the problem isn’t that we haven’t taught our kids enough Bible… maybe the problem is that we haven’t taught them to experience Gods transforming power, the personal encounter with the One True Living God, who can transform lives.
Maybe then we would raise a generation ready to go into all the earth to share the gospel message…
I truly want to shout from the rooftops sometimes to let people know God can change lives! He changed mine. He’s changed the lives of those who are close to me. He can change you too.
How have you encountered God’s goodness? would you be able to share it with others?
Be blessed today, my friends.
SB
Journey-For-Life 