For me the end of Thanksgiving break is akin to the 2-minute warning at a football game. There is still some time left, but it is short. If your team is behind, there is not much time to pull out a win. The year is almost past. If there are some 2012 have-tos, then you better get busy.
As I sit here this Sunday morning after Thanksgiving, the Holy Spirit has put one troubling question in my mind. "How many people have you told about Me this year?" Not a lifestyle witness. Not serving lunch. Not a throw-away "God bless you". But a real, genuine, risky, full-on salvation conversation.
Volunteer hours for Ridgecrest ministries--check. Prayer and meditation--check. Monthly tithing--check. Jesus conversations with others--"0" Zip. Zilch. Nada.
The question is "why?" For me it is not a fear of rejection or being ridiculed, but fear of what to say next. I am comfortable bringing up Jesus and his atoning sacrifice, but at that point the Roman Road starts to crumble. What exactly must a person believe to become a child of God? Is it two things? Three? Four with two subpoints? What scripture supports these bullet points? I know that fear should not retard my witness and. . . Uh-oh. Epiphany. Light-bulb.
Lack of faith is the reason I have failed to have a Jesus conversation this year. I don't trust God enough to give me the words. I don't trust God enough to guide me through the most important conversation I will ever have with a person.
Okay, number one reason- lack of faith.
This lack of faith is compounded by my lack of preparation. For years the trend in witnessing is to encourage people just to "tell your story". Tell others what God has done for in your life. Important? Yes. Powerful? Of course. Compelling? Sure. But for me it has led to a laziness.
Many times throughout my career I have presented material to small groups and on occasion to larger gatherings. For those times I have spent many hours researching, preparing and practicing. How many hours have I spent preparing my personal testimony? None. How many times have I asked Kristi to listen and critique while I practice? None.
If one were to judge just from time spent in preparation, they one could safely assume that I consider Cooperative Learning more important than eternal salvation. The Daily Five a weightier issue than a daily walk with God.
Please pray that I will start to put time and effort into preparing my personal testimony and that God will give me opportunity and courage to speak up when the time is right.
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