"I'm Too Scared to Witness for Jesus" I am offering, through my home church, FOUR great t-shirts for sharing Christ. Have a Jesus blessed week,
"Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly [is] plenteous, but the labourers [are] few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." - Matthew 9:37-38
"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." - Acts 1:8
"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." - Acts 4:31
Please read the above scriptures over a few times so that the Holy Spirit can speak to you the MANY truths in those passages as relates to today's devotion.
While I believe we shouldn't be scared to share Jesus, regardless, many are afraid. There are many reasons why, justified or unjustified.
What can we do while in this state? Give up on witnessing? Absolutely not!
I am going to briefly give some ways that you can witness even if you are in this group. I have been there. Many times I have gone up to a stranger and shared the Good News of Jesus Christ - in many cases shaking like a leaf. I was not naturally a people person. Now I am - and that is a God thing! I am still not fond of talking to strangers on any subject, although I do much better at it than I used to. Now, once I get to know a person, it's a different story (you cannot shut me up - lol).
Many people now think of me as an "evangelist". As a calling, that is NOT me.
As a Christian, I do evangelize and pray that the LORD helps me to share even more with those who need Him.
To START with, you MUST give your day and life AFRESH to the LORD (a daily thing). Let Him know you are an AVAILABLE vessel. Then He will open the doors for sharing, etc.
(Also see devotion at: www.geocities.com/biblefood/appointments.html)
For you who have a hard time witnessing directly, there are other effective ways to share Christ. Three of these ways are briefly discussed below.
FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM - My favorite way of sharing Christ that is highly effective. You build relationships with people at work and other places where people get to know you. It's not a one-shot thing, but building a relationship with this other person(s) by way of your Christ-like example, spending time with them, being there for prayer, or whatever other needs may arise.
See www.geocities.com/biblefood/onamissionforgod.html
TRACTS/CHRISTIAN LITERATURE - Hand directly to a person or leave in phone booths or bathrooms. Also leave with your GOOD tip at a restaurant, put in with on-time bills when you pay them, AND anywhere else you can think of leaving a tract.
CHRISTIAN T-SHIRTS - Wearing Christian t-shirts. This is one of the methods of sharing Christ that has been so productive in my life. I have a lot of Christian t-shirts and love them. What I love about t-shirts is that when I'm too chicken/afraid or busy/preoccupied to open my mouth, I'll have people comment about my shirts ALL the time. When they ask the initial question, that should is the door opener to share with them. This helps me and others to get past the awkward position of "starting" the conversation. Try this if you have trouble opening the conversation, PLUS if you have a good gospel message on your shirt it may be ministering to others who may not say anything to you at that moment. T-shirts have been extremely effective for me.
My prayer is that you who THOUGHT you could not be an effective witness for Christ will now see that there are many ways to share Christ and there is a method that is right for YOU!
PLEASE GO TO: www.geocities.com/biblefood/ccftshirts.html
Jim (BibleFood@aol.com)