By His Grace

Why didn’t anyone ever tell me about Jesus?

Today I am honored to share a story with you about a sweet friend of mine. My beautiful friend’s countenance is full of joy, and her smile radiates Jesus! We were together the other day, and as we sat across from one another and shared our hearts for the Lord and all that He is doing in our lives, tears streamed down her face. She said how can people know the joy of the Lord and not share it with others? Then she said, “why didn’t anyone ever tell me about Jesus?” My heart sank. What stops us from telling others about Jesus?

Why didn’t anyone ever tell me about Jesus?

That was the cry of my friend’s heart. She wondered why no one had ever shared the beautiful gospel message of hope in Jesus Christ with her before. She didn’t understand how someone could have this gift of faith and not share it. She didn’t become a Christian until adulthood and had come from a broken home marked by pain and suffering.

My friend was a corporate professional facing a difficult time in her life. She was searching for something but was coming up empty.

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[ctt template=”2″ link=”012cG” via=”yes” ]We have a God-shaped hole in our heart that only Jesus can fill![/ctt]

Just then a young lady who worked for her approached her about attending a Bible Study. She anxiously drove across town to attend Bible Study. She didn’t even know what Bible Study was, but it was there while attending Bible Study that she gave her heart to the Lord and became a Christian.

My friend’s husband was hostile to the gospel. He did not want her to go to Bible Study. He thought she was joining a cult. When she returned home from Bible Study that evening, he had locked her out of her house! After many tears and crying out to the Lord eventually her husband surrendered his life to the call of Jesus too. This couple is now on fire for the Lord and raising their children in a Christian home.

How often do we fail to share our faith with others?

My friend had a valid point. Why and how did she walk around on this planet for over 30 years and never know about the saving redeeming love of Jesus Christ? Shame on us as Christians if we don’t tell others about Jesus. We have been given the greatest gift that has ever been given! How can we keep it for ourselves, and not share?

[ctt template=”2″ link=”skAcY” via=”yes” ]Sometimes I think we don’t share because we are afraid, or we are not sure what to say.[/ctt]

However, Jesus tells us not to fear and reassures us that the Holy Spirit will give us words to share when we don’t know what to say or how to pray. We are all called to share the love of Christ with the world and should always be prepared to share the hope with us.

but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect – 1 Peter 3:15

There are hurting and lost people all around us who need the hope of the gospel. I love what Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church,

” we are not waiting on a move of God, we are a move of God”!

My Pastor David Fleming of Champion Forest Baptist Church says,”know, grow, go”.  Once we know the love and saving the grace of Christ, and we grow in wisdom and maturity through reading and studying the word, and through prayer, then we need to go tell others. We are called to Move Toward the Mess.

What are we waiting for?

Like my friend, Debi Chapman said at the Refresh Gathering, what we do matters. Christian friend, we need to be busy about our Father’s work. The church needs us to move and share the love of Christ with others now. It is time for us to go. What are we waiting for?

This week I challenge you to invite a friend, a neighbor, or even a stranger to a church service or Bible Study, or better yet tell them about the hope that lies within you. Find a way to share how Jesus has changed your life and in doing so you could change someone’s eternity.

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I would love to hear about how you are sharing your Faith with others.

Linking up with the following.

 

 

 

The Church Has Left the Building

Last week, a terrible storm blew through Houston, and it left many people who live in my area of Northwest Houston devastated by flood waters. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated by boat in this historic storm. Many homes were inundated by several feet of water. This unnamed storm seemed to come out of nowhere, and the damage took everyone by surprise. The storms in life will come, and when they do, how will we respond?

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” – James 1

We are to be joyful, even in the midst of our trials. I witnessed exactly that this weekend in the aftermath of last week’s devastating storms. My son Ian and I were sent out with a prayer team from our church to pray for and with flood victims. I was amazed to see a man who a few days early had two feet of water in his home, and all of his family’s  belongings destroyed to have a smile on his face. He was joyful, in spite of his circumstances, because he knew that the Lord was faithful and that He would carry them through the trials and tribulations of life.

Our church sent over a 1000 people out into the community on Saturday to love on people, pray with people, share the gospel, and help them tear out sheetrock, carpet, baseboards, and ruined furniture. Teams were sent out to all areas of town to help people in the affected neighborhoods.  I am so grateful to be a part of a church that loves God and loves people—love them in their need and where they are hurting. We were being given T-shirts that said: “The Church has left the building.” What a beautiful picture of the hands and feet of Jesus!

It is the trials that we face, that test our faith, and that testing produces steadfastness, and when it has its full effect, we lack nothing. So my question for you, friend, is this: how will you respond when the storms of life take you by surprise?  Will you count it all joy?

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