Sharing Your Faith: Humility

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:12

The way we approach sharing our faith is of utmost importance.

First, we need to realize that sharing our faith is as much a privilege as it is our duty as Christians. Christian martyrdom is very real in the world we live in. As Mark Driscoll put it "Our God is a little offensive! Most of the people who REALLY liked Him got killed!" We are privileged to live in a country where we can share our faith openly without persecution.

Second, remember where you came from - you weren't born into salvation. "We too all previously lived among them in our fleshy desires... But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that he has for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in our trespasses." Ephesians 2:3-5

One thing that really turns the lost off to the Gospel is the "holier than thou" attitude that many Christians have. I love this verse in Ephesians because it serves as a strong reminder that we were once lost too. None of us are good - no, not one! Even in our salvation we are not good - we are in the process of being made good (sanctification) but we still fall into sin (or dive right in, to be truthful). We are saved by His grace and not our works.

Finally, we need not be so haughty as to think that some one's salvation hinges upon us. We are merely God's mouthpiece in this process. HE does the work of salvation - not us. We plant the seed and He brings it to life.

"Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell;

I wish to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell."

C.T. Studd

Sharing Your Faith - Prayer

Ephesians 6:11-12 tell us "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places...."

Here's the situation: when we start sharing our faith, showing people how to escape the grasp of the devil, we are invading his territory. If we are not under the protection and power of God we are susceptible to oppression, discouragement and spiritual attacks.

"...praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak" - Ephesians 6:18-20

What should we pray for specifically?

• Protection against the schemes of the devil.
• Boldness when proclaiming the gospel.
• That the Lord would give you the right words to say.
• Ask for their hearts to be ready to receive the gospel.
• That they would accept Christ as the Lord of their lives.
• Forgiveness of your own sins.
• Purity and correct motives in your own life.

Sharing Your Faith - Preparation

Let's be honest...

Sharing your faith boldly is intimidating.

Actually, it can be down right scary.

As a "people pleaser" myself, I'm often worried about scaring people off, offending them or even {*shudder*} what they will think of me {oh, how selfish can I be?!}. We need to remember to set aside our fears, insecurities and selfishness because we're dealing with souls and eternity.

We have the Good News - THE BEST NEWS - and since faith comes by hearing, ladies, we have a job to do.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1 Peter 3:15 tells us

to "always be prepared to make a defense to

anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you."

The first step in preparing yourself for defending

and sharing the Gospel is knowing it.

{here is a great quiz to test your knowledge of the Gospel}

How do we get to know the Gospel well enough to share it?

Jesus says in John 8:31,

"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

and you will know the truth..."

{check out the link attached to 'abide' for its definition}

Abide means to remain, to reside.

We need to reside ~to live~ in His Word.

Here are some practical tips for abiding in His Word:

• Have a daily quiet time to grow your relationship with Him.
• Memorize Scripture.
• Plug into an in-depth Bible study.
• Listen to Biblical preachers/teachers speak on the verses you're studying.
• Ask questions, LOTS of questions, just be careful who you're asking - make sure they are of sound theology.
• Sara at It's Good to be Queen has a great idea for a Scripture Memory Group - you can consider starting one at your church or with your friends!
  
  

Here are some helpful resources for abiding in His Word:

• Search for sermons by verse at sermonaudio.com.
• Precept's Inductive Study Series are great quiet time guides. {linked ya to the one I'm doing}
• Seeds Family Worship is a GREAT resource for helping you and your whole family memorize scripture!
• It never hurts to have a good Bible Commentary. Keep and eye out for John MacArthur's Bible Commentary - LifeWay and Mardel put it on sale often!
  
  

Suggested Scripture for getting to know the Gospel:

• Prophecy of Jesus, the crucifixion and resurrection: Isaiah 53
• The life of Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke & John {john's is my personal favorite}
• Romans is great for learning the gravity of sin, justification by faith alone, God's sovereignty in salvation and much much more.
• 1 John teaches us application of the Gospel: true doctrine, obedient living and fervent devotion.

Ladies....{tapping my foot}

What's up?!

I post about a vintage map, an old table cloth or a spice rack

and you all go nuts. (Yes, I consider 6 comments on one post nuts. What? I'm ok with being a small blog.)

...but I blog about sharing your faith in your day to day life and all I get are crickets?

(no i don't mean these crickets)

So, watch this video (it's awesome and hilarious)

and then leave me a comment...

Remember, sharing our faith isn't something we are forced to do (cause people choose not to all the time {not that it's right but still...} - trust me, I'm one of those) but something that we should do and that we're privileged to do - most of our world can't share their faith without fear of persecution. Sadly, I believe that our day is coming so we need to be shouting the GREAT NEWS OF CHRIST from the rooftops.

Here are my questions, just in case you didn't catch them yesterday!

What do you struggle with most when confronted with sharing your faith?
When was the last time you got to share the Gospel with an unbeliever?
What is your favorite way to initiate conversationthat leads to evangelism?
Have you ever seen/heard of anyone you shared the Gospel with come to faith?

Sharing Your Faith - Introduction

For me there's nothing more intimidating than sharing my faith.At the same time, nothing gives me more joy than sharing my faith.
How can we overcome the fear of sharing so that we can experience the joy of sharing?

That, my friends, is the journey I'm on.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After a VERY long dry spell (I'm thinking something like a year or so) the Lord has been gracious and has given me many opportunities to share my faith in the last month.

It's very exciting to be used by the Lord but it is VERY humbling as this has brought to light how unprepared I have been to answer for what I believe. My goal in this series (posted on Thursdays) is to provide you all some instruction, tips and resources for sharing your faith.

As wives and moms (who are {i think} the majority of my readers), sharing our faith often takes the back burner to diapers, dinner and dishes. Our responsibilities to serve our husbands and disciple our children are of utmost importance but still we are called to reach beyond our homes and immediate families.

Please help me develop this series of posts to what would most appealto my readers by commenting on the questions below and voting on the poll on the side bar!Thanks!!!

What do you struggle with most when confronted with sharing your faith?
When was the last time you got to share the Gospel with an unbeliever?
What is your favorite way to initiate conversationthat leads to evangelism?
Have you ever seen/heard of anyone you shared the Gospel with come to faith?