Dear all!
Hope you have been doing your devotions consistently! We’re nearly halfway through the first 14 days!
Today’s devotional passage might look familiar to those of you who went for Encounter, but this is such an important lesson that we need to look at it twice :)
I think most of us are convinced that God wants us to share the Good News with our friends and family who do not yet know God. However, obeying God in this area is very challenging – we are (at least, I am!) afraid of how people will respond, etc.
Today’s devotion shows us several ways we can be involved in helping others know about God:
1) "Who will pray for them if you fail to intercede?": Sometimes the best way to bring people to God is not to just go rushing out to shove the Gospel up the noses of anyone and everyone you meet, but to pray first and ask God to show you when and to whom to speak.
We can faithfully pray for God to soften the hearts of our family and friends. Surely He cares more about them than we care about them, and He will show us when to share the Gospel with them!
2) "Not only must you tell others of what Jesus did for them on the cross, but you must also be an example of Jesus in your actions.": Sharing the Gospel is more than talking to people. The Bible says that we can share the gospel with others without even saying a word!!!
1 Peter 3:1 "Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives."
We are a Letter of Christ ("You yourselves are our letter...known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ..." - 2 Corinthians 3:2) through our actions. So we can share the gospel without being eloquent speakers :)
1 Peter 3:15-16 "...Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."
4) Lastly, if you are afraid that you may suffer for obeying God's command to share the Gospel, remember this:
1 Peter 3:14 and 17 "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil."
Matthew 10:28 "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
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There will be times when we do not “feel an urgency to share the true gospel”, as today’s passage states. It is during these times that we must pray for God to
“Break my heart for what breaks Yours/Everything I am for Your Kingdom’s cause”
and He will give us Love for the lost.
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Challenge for the day!
1) Write up a list of people whom you want to see come to know God. It may be a long list! Then go down the list (over the next few days) and pray for these people. Pray: if God wants you to be the one to share with them, that He will give you the opportunity!
2) Let's also examine ourselves in how we can be a good testimony for God. If there are any areas where we aren't a gd testimony (e.g. anger, pride, lying, swearing, sexual immorality etc etc - I know there's a verse for this but I can't find it at the moment!), let's repent and ask God to help us change.
3) Think about what your answer will be to people who ask you why you are a Christian. Sincerely reflect on this so that you will always be prepared if there are golden opportunities to share!
Whew that was long D:
I end off with the lyrics of the bridge to Hosanna - listen to it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7SMUf6QcyQ
Heal my heart and make it cleanShow me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart from what breaks yours
Everything I am for your Kingdom's cause
As I go from nothing to
Eternity
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