Restless?
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." Matthew 28:19-20 (RSV)
"Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’" John 20:21 (RSV)
"My life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus Christ---the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love." Acts 20:24 (NLT)
I was very restless last night. I can’t figure out why. I didn’t eat anything that should have made me restless. I wasn’t stressed-out. No disturbances. I don’t understand. You know what---our entire life can be like that. One night was bad enough, but who wants to go through life feeling restless, empty, searching? Until we confront the reason for our being on earth, and take it head-on, we will be restless…empty…searching. We may be successful in our work. We may be financially well off. We may have many friends. We may have a busy schedule, certainly not bored. But we’ll be restless. We’ll be empty. Our little, personal secret will always be, knowing deep inside that something big is still missing: a void that none of these others things can fill.
That mission is sharing with others how they can have the most meaningful eternal life: a personal, dynamic, interactive relationship with Jesus Christ. That was the whole reason you, I, and everyone else has been put on earth. In my younger days I was very athletic: boxing, football, basketball, track, weight lifting…and, of course, I had the huge teenage male ego. There was no one, and nothing, I wasn’t afraid of. But I’ll admit, when I became a teenage Christian, I was scared to death to tell anyone! It was the hardest thing I had ever done to that point in my life, when I mustered up the nerve to talk to a peer about a personal relationship with Christ. But, you know what, I was shocked to find that he was actually open to listening! And so it has been in the many years since, too. Why? Because every human being has that seed planted deep within to hear the Good News. You may not feel very capable of talking to someone else about Jesus. It doesn’t take education. It doesn’t take any skill at all. It only takes willingness, The Holy Spirit takes care of the rest: "…do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 10:19-20 RSV). Rick Warren in his recent book The Purpose Driven Life gives four great points for us to think about and be prepared to "speak from" when we share about Christ:
(1)Your TESTIMONY (how you came to accept Christ in your life)
(2)Your Life Lessons (a key thing (or two) you’ve experienced that confirms your belief)
(3)Your Godly Passion(s) (the issues that you naturally care about)
(4)The Good News (the message about Jesus Christ from your view)
As you can see, none of these take research, they aren’t academic. They’re personal. And that leads to another point: no one else can tell your story, only you. Don’t side-step your responsibility (and the great chance to fill that void within yourself!).
Blessings Always
in All Ways,
Steve
"Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’" John 20:21 (RSV)
"My life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus Christ---the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love." Acts 20:24 (NLT)
I was very restless last night. I can’t figure out why. I didn’t eat anything that should have made me restless. I wasn’t stressed-out. No disturbances. I don’t understand. You know what---our entire life can be like that. One night was bad enough, but who wants to go through life feeling restless, empty, searching? Until we confront the reason for our being on earth, and take it head-on, we will be restless…empty…searching. We may be successful in our work. We may be financially well off. We may have many friends. We may have a busy schedule, certainly not bored. But we’ll be restless. We’ll be empty. Our little, personal secret will always be, knowing deep inside that something big is still missing: a void that none of these others things can fill.
That mission is sharing with others how they can have the most meaningful eternal life: a personal, dynamic, interactive relationship with Jesus Christ. That was the whole reason you, I, and everyone else has been put on earth. In my younger days I was very athletic: boxing, football, basketball, track, weight lifting…and, of course, I had the huge teenage male ego. There was no one, and nothing, I wasn’t afraid of. But I’ll admit, when I became a teenage Christian, I was scared to death to tell anyone! It was the hardest thing I had ever done to that point in my life, when I mustered up the nerve to talk to a peer about a personal relationship with Christ. But, you know what, I was shocked to find that he was actually open to listening! And so it has been in the many years since, too. Why? Because every human being has that seed planted deep within to hear the Good News. You may not feel very capable of talking to someone else about Jesus. It doesn’t take education. It doesn’t take any skill at all. It only takes willingness, The Holy Spirit takes care of the rest: "…do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 10:19-20 RSV). Rick Warren in his recent book The Purpose Driven Life gives four great points for us to think about and be prepared to "speak from" when we share about Christ:
(1)Your TESTIMONY (how you came to accept Christ in your life)
(2)Your Life Lessons (a key thing (or two) you’ve experienced that confirms your belief)
(3)Your Godly Passion(s) (the issues that you naturally care about)
(4)The Good News (the message about Jesus Christ from your view)
As you can see, none of these take research, they aren’t academic. They’re personal. And that leads to another point: no one else can tell your story, only you. Don’t side-step your responsibility (and the great chance to fill that void within yourself!).
Blessings Always
in All Ways,
Steve
posted by BreadBakers at 2:23 PM
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