Using The Subtle Approach To Give Your Testimony

Talking to people about Jesus Christ is like talking about Batman to Harvey Dent.  For those of you who aren't familiar with the Batman comics, Harvey Dent was once Batman's ally and friend.  However, after Harvey's face was scarred by a mobster during a trial, he turned evil and became Two-Face, one of Batman's mortal enemies.  In a similar manner, humanity (through Adam and Eve), once enjoyed a close friendship with Jesus Christ.  When we were tempted by Satan, we (through Adam and Eve) turned evil and became Christ's mortal enemies.  Yet, in the same way that Batman still cares deeply about Harvey, so does Christ still care deeply about us.  That's why those of us who have accepted Jesus as our personal Savior are called to preach the gospel: so that others can become saved.  Even though non-Christians, like Two-Face, may choose to kill us with the flippant toss of a coin.

Fortunately, in the United States, your chances of being killed for talking about Jesus are very slim.  That being said, you still have to be careful about how you go about it.  I have discovered that if I bring up Jesus immediately, I get politely blown off and shooed away.  So last night, I tried a more subtle approach at a local grocery store.  I told the cashier and the bagger that the anniversary of the day that my best friend saved my life was coming up on April 20th.  I then explained that my best friend had saved me by letting people drive nails through His hands and hang Him from a tree until He suffocated to death.  Slowly, I worked around to saying that my best friend was the Christ, Jesus.  Neither one of them came to faith, but the bagger listened intently to what I had to say.  The cashier listened for a while, too, before she figured out who I was really talking about.  If I had started preaching immediately, both of them would have probably blown me off with a curt "Have a nice day" before I could even finish the first sentence of my testimony. 

Talking about Jesus is never easy.  However, if you pick the right approach, you can at least get people to listen to your testimony.                

Spiritual Lessons Learned The Hard Way: Give Someone The Gospel While You Still Have The Chance

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit..."-Matthew 28:19 

If someone has not heard of Jesus, how can they come to faith in Him?  That is an important question for us to ask as Christians before we wimp out of giving the gospel.  I'm not saying that we should hang out on street corners screaming Bible verses at strangers.  Unless this is ancient Israel and you are a prophet, that's being spiritually drunk and disorderly in public.  I am saying, however, that if the opportunity presents itself, we need to tell people about Jesus.  If we don't, we may not get another chance. 

That person may die tomorrow, if not later that same day.  To be less morbid, they may simply move.  A few years ago, I lost a valuable opportunity to witness to someone because I was the one who moved.  This person and I got off to a rocky start.  I tried to say hello and they cut me off.  When they had a change of heart and tried to befriend me later, I brushed them off.  They reached out to me multiple times and I dismissed them.  I later realized that God was leading that person to me over and over again so that I could show them His love and witness to them.  However, because of wounded pride, I pushed them away.

Looking back on the situation, this person was very shy.  Now I believe that the reason why they cut me off before was not because they were trying to be rude, but rather because they were intimidated.  The Holy Spirit later let me know that if I had reached out to that person with the gospel, they would have believed.  Unfortunately, by the time I had realized this, I had moved to a different area.  I haven't seen that person since.

The reason why I am telling this story is that pride can be the root of our refusal to give the gospel.  In my case, it was because I felt that I had been personally insulted.  For most believers, it's because they don't want to be rejected.  They would rather be well-liked by others than offer them the only way to escape the fires of hell: Christ.  In other words, their pride and ego is more important than the eternal well-being of others.

I lost an opportunity to help someone reconcile with God because of my pride.  Even though I have repented, the consequences may be permanent.  As much as I hope that this person will still be reached by God's Word, the fact is that Christ may have selected me to be their final chance.  If you have an opportunity to lead someone to a saving relationship with Christ, take it while you still can.  It may not only be your only chance; it could be theirs as well.                 

The Most Important Books Of The Bible

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the most important books of the Bible. Why? Because they give you all of the information that you MUST know about Jesus Christ. Not only do they systematically prove that He is the Jewish Messiah, but they also demonstrate that He is the only way to get right with God. Without Him, the richest life has no meaning, purpose, or significance. With Him, the poorest life is full of unimaginable joy, excitement, and wisdom. Not to mention that, since Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, they are the clearest portrayal of what God is really like (hint: He is neither a lightning-wielding tyrant nor a daisy-picking pansy). For that reason, I have decided to read two chapters a day from the gospel this year. I have already read the whole Bible three times and it's time for me to pick a specialty. In order for me to truly know who God is and what His will is for my life, I must develop my relationship with Christ. I can only do that if I truly get to know Him through the scriptures.

Prayer Projects Cancelled

I have decided to cancel all celebrity prayer projects until further notice. Quite frankly, my typical pattern was to pray consistently for a week, then I would get distracted and forget about it until there was only a week left in the month. At that point, I would "binge" to try to catch up, which didn't always work. So until I know for certain that I can commit to these projects, I won't do them. Meanwhile, I will read the gospels and pray about other areas in my life to continue my spiritual growth.

Casting Down My Idol

Sometimes, a certain aspect of your life becomes so overly important that it's no longer beneficial to you. We call these things obsessions; the Bible refers to them as idols. These things aren't necessary bad in and of themselves. For example, hobbies are perfect for making the most out of your spare time and meeting cool people. However, if you cross the line and worship them, you will become childish and irresponsible. You will eventually abandon postpone life goals such as getting a career, starting a family, going to college, and finding your own home because it was more "fun" to watch movies, play video games, or watch sports. In extreme cases, it may lead to you abandoning your life goals completely and wasting away in a mediocre life because you are too distracted by "La-La Land" to achieve anything of significance. The idol which almost doomed me to this fate was my obsession with MMA. I thought that watching MMA would help me. I believed that observing the dedication and discipline of the fighters would inspire me to pursue my life goals. Unfortunately, there was one small hiccup: it was too much fun! I became addicted, and went from watching the pay-per-views as a monthly "night out" with friends to obsessing over it day and night. I read thousands of articles on the internet and watched hundreds of fights on Youtube. I followed dozens of fighters on Twitter and even considered ditching my life's calling to pursue it as a career (which would be nearly impossible to achieve at this point since I am in my late twenties). Then came the coup de gras: after the pay-per-views and TV events, I started oversleeping and missing church. After it happened again today, I finally realized that MMA had not just become more important than Christ in my life: it had replaced Him. So this afternoon, I decided to quit cold turkey and get my life back. No more PPVs. No more TV events. No more fights on Youtube or reading articles. I'm in my late twenties and Christ has called me to follow Him. I can't do that if I keep blowing him off to watch cage fights all of the time. Play time is over. It's time for me to get back to work.

January British Leadership Project: Prince Charles!

The Queen Elizabeth prayer project started off great, but ended in total disaster. So this month, I am trying again with Prince Charles. For fifteen minutes a day, I will lift him up in prayer. In addition, I will scour the news for events in his life to pray about whenever I am at the library.

December British Leadership Prayer Project: Queen Elizabeth II!

Next month, I will be praying for Queen Elizabeth II. In her case, I will be praying that she leads three people to Christ. Meanwhile, I will read more about her personal faith so that I can pray for other things in her life as well.