pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: witness


by Leave a comment

The Tools in Your Toolbox

In the “New Beginnings” series we have looked a lot at the call to share our faith. Peary developed the idea that once we come to know Christ within, then the journey becomes outward as we seek to serve Christ. Keihwan continued the concept with the idea that our call is to make a difference in our world, one person at a time, one moment at a time. Last Sunday we looked at Jesus being our new BFF. The overall idea was that we so grow in our relationship that Jesus is our best friend and that through this we share Him with those in our worlds.
The primary means through which we can share Jesus are prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. All of these are important to have in our ‘toolbox’ of faith. All of these need to be ready to be used. After all, a dull tool will not cut anything very efficiently. Similarly, a jumbled up and rambling story of faith will not be effective. So… which do you need the most practice at? Or, put another way… If you were presented with an opportunity to share Christ with someone desperately in need and I were to randomly draw one of these five out of a hat and you had to go with that means, which would you really hope I did not draw?

If you are like me, and I believe like most people, you were hoping that ‘witness’ was not the one drawn. So that is the one you and I need to work on, to hone into razor sharpness so that when presented with that opportunity, we can nail it.

The natural means through which most of us share our faith is presence. We try to live out our lives as a loving, caring person. We often back this up through our prayers that we follow up a situation with. Many share their faith through their gifts – be that time volunteering at church, through financial support of the church, as so on. And some are natural witnesses. Some are able to naturally work God and their faith into a conversation as easily as some of us talk about the weather!

But to wrap up, again, it is about being prepared to use whatever tool the opportunity requires. If someone is hungry and you have $5 in your pocket, don’t tell them you will pray for them. That’d be like using a screwdriver to cut down a tree! But if someone needs to hear your faith story at that point in their lives, you better be ready to share it. If they just need you to be there to listen, you better pull up a chair. Practice each of these means and be a willing and faithful servant. The world needs Jesus and we are the ones to bring Him to them.


by Leave a comment

ALL the Time!

“We share a common calling from God to bear witness in the entirety of our lives that Jesus is Lord of all.” In this line from the Upper Room “Disciplines” book, my favorite part is ‘in the entirety of our lives’. Not just sometime, not just Sunday morning, not just Wednesday night. But all the time and everywhere!

My second favorite part of this line is ‘Lord of all.’ Not just part of my life, but ALL of my life. In bearing witness to Christ, we can do so by words, by actions, by deeds… As people encounter Christians they should know that we are different. It should show up in all areas of our life and in all sectors of our life.

To do these two things, somtimes we must ‘count the cost.’ At times there will be a price to pay for choosing to walk the path of God. We may make choices that cost us friendships, popularity, position, and so on. But in reality, God is only asking of us what He in return gives us. He isn’t just with us some of the time, He is with us ALL of the time. We can’t just call on his name between 8 and noon on Sunday, we can call on His name anytime.

In closing I’d like to share part of the prayer from the same reading today and would encourage you to pray it instead of just reading it: “Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for your peace and forgivenss and for making me new in you. Thank you for the many Christ-bearing witnesses you bring into my life and heart. In Your Spirit, Holy One, may I bear the light and love of Christ to others. Amen.”