Sharing Faith ~ Episode 258
Does sharing your faith scare you? Do you share your faith in a personal way? Or do you fear what others will say? In this podcast, we will explore ways to share your faith and how your testimony may impact the lives of others.
For some of us, sharing our faith is easy, and it can be simple without much fanfare. My husband often praises God in his speech. For example, he will say, “Praise God the job went well,” or something similar. He uses that phrase often, and it does have an impact on others. Once his sister said, “And, as my brother would say, praise God!” She noticed, and others do too. He also walks around with a smile on his face and nods to complete strangers in stores. When we were first together, I use to wonder why people were looking at us and smiling. Then I realized it was because of my husband! Even though I had lived in Florida for over half of my life at that point, the New Yorker in me had a difficult time with all this friendliness!
But shouldn’t we be happy and smiling at others if we love God? Try and tell me what happens when you do this. You will be surprised at the change not only in yourself but in others. Nehemiah 8:10 “Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
The joy of the Lord should indeed be our strength.
I’ve learned by reading, listening, and having very good conversations with people who do not share my faith that we can agree to disagree. This, my friends, is one of the keys to sharing your faith, to be respectful. Before we get started, being personal and sharing what you know is important. If you are not filled up with the love and joy of God, it is difficult to share what you don’t have. No one wants to follow a vengeful God! God is just, He is loving, and He wants the best for us. The enemy wants to destroy us.
7 Keys To Sharing Faith
- Love the person where they are at and share the good news! Jesus lived and died for our sins and to give us everlasting life. John 6. (Listen to Meaningful Faith here.)
- No judgment – not our job.
- Be respectful – as the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in one day, and neither is conversion. It is the Lord that invites us into a life of faith and if someone is closed off, they are not ready to listen.
- Share a personal story (read the confirmation note to Ryan)
- Ask for reservations or why they have not committed up to this point
- Listen
- Address concerns
As we share our faith, let it be an encouragement to us to dig deeper into our own faith and to study. If we don’t have the answer to a question, that is fine; tell the person you will get back to them. We can’t possibly know everything, and each person’s observations and journey in life have been different. I once read a book by an avowed atheist who became Catholic. The first chapter was so eye-opening. Essentially the author grew up in an atheistic home. One of her parents was a non-practicing Catholic and the other a very strong atheist. By strong, I believe it was her father who was adamant that she knew about noted atheistic scientists and read her books by these authors.
As a young child was sent to Bible Camp. She was asked (forced in her words) to accept Jesus as her personal Savior, and she refused. She was eight years old. The reason? First, she didn’t know anything about Jesus; second, these people were not kind; third, they threatened her with hell if she did not accept Christ. She said the final straw was they said, “Well, I guess you be like your parents.” She said that she thought to herself, well, if that means kind and loving, then great. If that means anything like you, then no thanks.
This young girl had no idea what hell was, she only knew that she didn’t believe they served a kind and loving God because of how they acted toward her, and the entire situation left a bad taste in her mouth!
Friends, this is a prime example of everything that could possibly go wrong. When we share our faith, let it be because of the love of God within us not because of an ulterior motive. Only God can truly call a person to Him, and yes they have free will to deny Him, but again it is up to them.
Your challenge this week is to share your faith with others, the love of Christ, and what he has done for you!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
Speak Your Mind