Why Do So Few Christians Share Their Faith?

In answer to the question: 

“What do you think are the reasons why more Christians aren’t helping to spread the Good News? How can we encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to share Jesus with their family, friends, & co-workers?”

I recently wrote a response for the “Not Ashamed Of The Gospel” blog, and I wanted to repost my response here. So, here it is. I would appreciate your comments.

I think there are peripheral reasons, but one central reason. One peripheral reason might be that we are taught that we never discuss religion or politics in polite company. As if letting someone know how they can have eternal life is somehow rude. I think society has made many such impositions on us so that Christians, for the most part, remain silent.

But I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently and I believe that God provided the central answer. We today are a lot like the Christians right after Jesus’ ascension, they met in private and prayed together, but they had no witness outside their own group.

And then came the day of Pentecost and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. On that day alone, two thousand were saved. Later, in Acts 5 we read about Peter and John being threatened by the religious authorities, and their answer was, whether we should listen to men or to God, you be the judge.

Filled with the Spirit, these early believers were unstoppable. Filled with the Spirit, WE would be unstoppable too.

I am definitely interested in pursuing online and personal evangelistic methods, but even more, my heart desire is to fully surrender myself to the Lord that His Spirit fill me in such a way that I would be truly effective for Him.

And I am hoping that others will join me.

Are We Fans Or Followers Of Christ

I am reading the book, “Not A Fan: Becoming A Completely Committed Follower Of Jesus”, by Kyle Idleman.

The first section of the book is devoted to distinguishing between the fans and followers of Christ.

Fans tend to want Jesus as part of their lives, but only to the extent that they are not too inconvenienced by His presence.  For example, fans want what Jesus offers, as long as they don’t have to give more financially than they are comfortable with.  Fans want Jesus, but are not willing to give up that favorite sin, whether that sin be drinking or drugs, sexual immorality, lying, coveting, etc.  Fans want Jesus,

We Are All “Broken Ones”

I was introduced to a wonderful music video by “The Tally Trio” this weekend called “The Broken Ones”.

But, who are the broken ones?  The seventeen year old girl in the video who has been beaten by her boyfriend, or perhaps by her father, and needle tracks up and down her arm is pretty obvious, but what of the immoral person, or the man who is embezzling from his company?  For that matter, what of the man who struggles with impure thoughts?  Or the person who has raised the pursuit of food to the point of near idolatry?  Are these not all broken ones too?

Yes, indeed.  In fact, until Jesus reached out to each of us and purchased us with His own blood, until He began His work of polishing us “diamonds in the rough” to a sparkling luster, we were all broken ones.

And now, Jesus has charged each of us to go into the world and find the broken ones, the lost and the confused, and to point them to Jesus.

I have thought a lot recently about the image of God shining through me.  In fact my two earlier posts have been re-blogs that deal with this very issue.

I love the line in the song, “She’s just doing what the One who died for her would do; Love the broken ones.”

I know that this is what the Lord has called me to do.  Has He perhaps called you to do the same?

Where You Go, I’ll Go

During my time of prayer and meditation this morning I was reading through a passage in Ephesians that relates to a particular topic I have struggled with.  I asked my Lord to give me insight into this passage that I might begin to answer some of the questions I have struggled with.  As I continued in meditation it became clear to me that the Lord was not going to give an answer to my questions, at least, not directly as I had asked.

Instead, I found myself asking to know where He would lead me today, and that He would light my path that I be able to see His footsteps in order to follow them.

The Road Back

This post is part three of a planned three-part story of my testimony and Christian walk. In the first chapter, A Sinner Finds Grace, I wrote about how I came to know the Lord and the miraculous healing that I received at the time. In the second  chapter, Journey Into Darkness, I wrote about how I slipped away from a life in the Spirit and into a life lived in the flesh. In this, the last chapter, I am writing about God’s seeking and finding His lost sheep, and how He brought me back into His fold.

As I wrote at the end of the last chapter, the third most important event of my life occurred in may 2009.  That’s when I lost a very good job and the Lord finally got my attention after so many years of me living by my own strength.

It was obvious right from the start that this was a bad time to be out of work.  Here in California, the unemployment rate was climbing past 12% and people at the employment office said that the average time of unemployment was from 6-9 months.  In my case, it turned out to be 15 months.

We Are The Light Of Jesus To A World In Darkness

It has been said, that to many people we (Christians) are the only Jesus they will ever know.  If they never go to church, never listen to an evangelist, never read a Bible, then we are their only chance of knowing the love of God and the salvation that He so freely gives.

There may be people in our lives today that have no other means of hearing our Lord’s Gospel, other than through us.  The Apostle Peter said:

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.  –  1 Peter 3:15, KJV

God has given His followers an awesome responsibility!