When is the last time you rocked the boat? I don’t mean through an antagonistic Facebook rant. I mean when is the last time you looked someone, you care about, in the eye and said something they didn’t want to hear?
Yes, because we as Christians, we have become too comfortable in our pew seats. We attend church and listen to a thought provoking sermon, then resume our week. Many believe the person down the street will evangelize. We don’t need to make waves, do we?
I mean how awkward would it be for me to talk to my neighbor about Christ? What if they think I’m strange? What if they feel uncomfortable? They are fun people, who do a lot of good things in the community, so they should be okay, right?
If they are okay, then I’m okay.
It was a coworker who reached out to me when I was 22 years old. Looking back I wonder if she questioned herself a hundred different ways, like I do before talking to someone about Christ. She gently but firmly questioned the relationship I was in with my boyfriend at the time. This brought about a conversation about how I believed I could lose my salvation and I was tired of trying to please God. Like an angel sent from God, over the next few months she used the Bible to show me the error in my thinking which led to me rededicating my life to Lord and making some major changes in my personal life.
If she hadn’t reached out to me I’m not sure how long I would have traveled down that path of sin and indulgence. I never saw or felt she was afraid to speak with me, probably because she took the time to become my friend and gain my trust.
I see statistics that people today are leaving the church, walking away from their faith, and I wonder if we as a nation have lost our sense of urgency.
If we aren’t sharing God’s grace, verbally, then we are not doing what God called us to do. For so many years, I’ve fallen into the trap of believing my actions speak louder than my words. That is simply not true. God wants us to use our words. He desires that no one is lost. Isn’t it better to share the good news of the gospel? Always pray, but don’t let fear stop you.
I’ve spent years frozen in self-doubt. I’m ready to break out and share the good news. We only need to start with one person. Will you join me?
Link to article from graph: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/12/millennials-increasingly-are-driving-growth-of-nones/
Visit: https://www.tomballbible.church/sermons and select the 1/29/17 sermon on Jude 5-8 to hear the sermon that started this blog post.
suburbanthoughts 