Day
37
- Sharing
Your Life Message
God
has shaped a unique Life Message for you. That Life Message is
composed of four separate parts, each of which is part of your ability
to share the good news of God's Love to others.
Your
testimony.
People can't be forced into Christianity. At some point they must take a
step of faith and make it their own. What you have to offer that people
can't argue with is what happened for you and how it has changed your
life. Some people love to argue about things of faith, but you can't
argue away hope, joy, peace, love for others, or other things that God
develops. These make no sense to an unbeliever. Practice what you would
tell someone when it comes up, and make sure you include the following:
what your life was like before you met Jesus, how you realized you
needed Jesus, how you committed your life to Jesus, and how your life
has changed since then.
Your
life lessons.
These are things you have learned along the way. You should write down
the things you learn. For instance, one day you may read in
the Bible that foolish people get into lots of fights (Proverbs 14.29)
and say to yourself, "I don't want to be foolish!" Keep a
journal of things that you learn and prepare yourself to help others
learn the same or similar lessons. Anyone can say, "You are
stupid!" but more people listen when you say, "I used to do
that, but then I found a better way."
Things
that are important to you.
There is so much pain in the world, but many people find one that is
particularly hard for them to understand. Often, these may be things
that have affected you personally. This could be people who suffer from
abuse, depression, abortion, poverty, or any number of other things that
hurt so many people every day. Sometimes what affects you may be more
positive, and you may really care about starting new churches,
missionary work, or even working with students [:)]. Find out what you
really care about, and that will be part of your life message.
The
Good News.
What is the good news? As Rick Warren puts it, "When we trust God's
grace to save us through what Jesus did, our sins are forgiven, we get a
purpose for living, and we are promised a future home in heaven."
How much better does it get than that? The Good News takes care of our
biggest problem today, our needs for tomorrow, and the fear of what
happens after death! It's Great News!
If
you don't care about God, you will never care about sharing him with
others. If you do care about him, then you will find ways to share
about him and what he has done and is doing for you more and more often.
Ask yourself this, "Will anyone be in heaven because of
me?" Everything else in this life will burn away. Focus on what
is really worth it. Go get one more for Jesus. Don't wait, don't make
excuses, don't let your fear rule you. Obey God.
Thinking
about my purpose:
Know.
God wants to say something to the world through me.
Remember.
"Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the
hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect." -1
Peter 3.15b-16 (TEV)
Think
about it. Write
down your personal story today (include the four sections above:
testimony, life lessons, things important to you, and the Good News).
Share it with someone who believes in Christ and who you look up to. Now
think about who else you need to share it with and share it with them
tomorrow. Don't let fear stop you from doing what God wants.