Thursday June 24, 2010

Read 1 Peter 3:15-16

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%203:15-16&version=NIV

I have worked with ex offenders for many years. I remember one particular fellow who was particularly scary. Apart from the tattoos and missing teeth, he had told me of his particularly violent back ground. As he sat in my office chair (my chair, not the chair provided for clients to sit in) he asked me a profound question that I was not ready or prepared to answer. What was the question? ‘Why does God hate me?

The Lord calls us to ALWAYS be prepared to give an answer. When people ask us about Jesus we should be ready and willing to share our faith with them. What got in the way for me was fear and surprise. I should have realised that all authority belonged to Christ and that He would lead me to sharing faithfully at that given moment. I should have opened my mouth and boldly, fearlessly proclaimed the gospel - the love and forgiveness of God in Christ Jesus.

I wonder if you and I are prepared to answer and declare our beliefs to those who ask. Do we understand the gospel? Can we explain it? Can we defend it? Can we share it and call people to make a decision?

More importantly, can we share our faith, as vs 16 says, with gentleness and with tact? Often people are offended at, so we believe,  the message but it’s really our delivery or lack of tact that has offended them. When we share our faith, we are to do so with the utmost respect and honour for the other person. We are not to be rude, judgemental or condescending. In short, our delivery of the message is to have no impediments for the person to believe the message.

Prayer:-

Ask the Lord to write 1 Peter 3:15-16 on your heart. Ask the Lord to soften your heart and to fill it with Christlike love for the lost.

Pray for opportunities to share your faith with those you have been praying for