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Taking Action |
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If
you think about it and believe it you must also act on it!
This is not a theory. When you live and share your faith you
you become a shining light and a help to others. Taking action
means...
You are living the solution!
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| SHARE IT! |
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Sharing Your Faith
Most of us, when we find a good thing want to share it. This is
especially true when we discover something that brings us
genuine deep joy and meaning. If you believe in God's plan
for us and have truly accepted Jesus as your personal Lord
and Savior you will want others to know this.
How you go about it may depend on your personality, where you
work and whom you encounter. Some are more outgoing than others,
but none of us should be ashamed or embarrassed to "let
our light shine" . Be sure to get around other believers. We encourage and lift each other up with
fellowship.
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Actions speak louder than words
One of the things that turn off many people is preaching to them
about how they should live their lives. Defenses go up and suddenly
there is an invisible wall. How we share our faith must take
into account circumstances. You don't (and shouldn't) water
down or sugarcoat the message. Let people know of the transforming
love of God and Jesus in your life. Show them in the way you
live. Try to "reach" instead of "preach".
I like the example in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 8:26-39).
Philip is led by the spirit to approach a foreign official from
Ethiopia who was traveling and reading from Isaiah. Philip asked
him if he understood what he was reading. The response was "how
can I understand it unless someone explains it to me?"
What a perfect opening.
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God will orchestrate opportunity
We must constantly be aware of opportunities. God is going to put
people in your path. There are so many who are looking for answers,
searching for meaning, longing for hope. Do you ever pray that
God will use you in this way, to tell them the Good News?
I find it helpful when looking for ways to share my faith to think
about the other person's viewpoint. Are they in a receptive
state of mind? How I approach the subject may help. Honesty,
humility and confident (not arrogant) belief will ring true
with others. We are all in this together. People are going to
look more at my actions than my intentions.
Praying before any encounter is particularly important. And effective.
If God puts it on your heart to share your faith with someone
then ask for inspiration.
It may be that at some time in your life you may be called upon
to bear witness in front of others and to defend your faith.
Pray for the courage and remember what Peter and John said when
this happened to them before the council of the Sadducees
(Acts 4:20), "We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things
we have seen and heard."
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Can't Give What You Don't Have
Of course, for us to be able to share our faith we must be living
in the solution. It does no real good to proclaim God's message
of love and redemption without first believing it. We can't
give away what we don't have.
First seek the kingdom of God.
next is Helping Others.
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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978,
1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout
the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks
of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for
the offering of goods or services requires the prior written
consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission
of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All
rights reserved.
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