Category: Get Started

Turn their light on!

One of the biggest opportunities to share your faith is with hurting Christians who are wondering where God is in the midst of their pain. They’re all around you! They have no idea that God wants to use their circumstances to define their testimony, not destroy it. This is a double opportunity for you to turn your light on, and theirs, at the same time.

Here’s a reality check: God is not nearly as concerned over what we go through as He is in how we respond to what we go through. In fact, God tells us that the trying of your faith produces endurance (James 1:3), He’ll never give you more than you can endure/He always provides a way of escape. (I Cor 10:13) and He’ll never leave you nor forsake you. (Deut 31:6)

Here’s the problem: Christians who lose their joy due to circumstances push people away from God. Every Christian is being watched by unbelievers who are unconsciously forming opinions about God based on the consistency of our faith under fire! We’re a city set on a hill. Like it or not, everything we do leads people to or away from God. And it’s far easier to push them away!

When we love God and live for His Purpose, to seek and save the lost, God promises to make everything in our lives work for good (Romans 8:28). The disconnect is our view of what’s good verses God’s view. God’s view of good is fixed on what will prompt the maximum number of people to accept His Son as their Lord. He never promised us a life free of pain and suffering. In fact, He often uses His unexplainable ‘Peace that passes understanding’ (Phil 4:7) in the midst of our pain and suffering to lead people to Him. So we are to Count it all joy. (James 1:2)

Your light, at its same intensity, shines brighter in darkness. As a Christian, with things going well, people expect you to have the ‘Joy of the Lord’ (Neh 8:10). But when your light shines just as bright during the trials of your life, your ability to lead unbelievers to the Lord explodes! The most powerful testimonies come from Christians who have the ‘Joy of the Lord’ in the midst of their pain.

The added bonus of pain and suffering is spiritual growth. Most spiritual growth spurts come through pain and suffering. When things are going well we have less need for God and less time for God. But when things go south, we’re reminded of our dependency on Him and usually seek Him with more vigor. That’s a good thing!

Your message to hurting Christians is this: When you see God’s Purpose in your pain and suffering, it changes everything! Don’t waste the opportunity! Use every aspect of your pain and suffering to bring everyone watching you closer to Jesus. Let your light so shine before man, that they will see God through you and want what you have.

For Christians, pain and suffering are like the ‘Big Leagues’ in our walk with the Lord. And here’s the best part! When you transfer this message into the hearts and minds of hurting Christians, their ability to lead people to the Lord will be greater than yours!

There are no requirements for entering into the Kingdom of Heaven apart from the confession of sins and seeking God’s Forgiveness for sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And there’s no place in scripture that makes this truth more clear than the thief on the cross. As he was dying, he acknowledged Jesus for who He was and was told that even on that day he would be in paradise.

It’s often easier to reach a scoundrel with the Gospel than an unsaved “good person” who’s living an otherwise exemplary life. Good people often see themselves as being better than most Christians and have no interest in becoming one. They honestly believe they’re earning their way into Heaven. On the other hand, scoundrels know they’re separated from God and are feeling the heat. They are often responsive to the message that God loves them. So don’t be put off by outward appearances.

The next time you feel condemnation or put off by another person, remind yourself that God loves them as much as He loves you. He died for them as much as He died for you. Be thankful that you’re not trapped in their godless mindset and search for ways to move them closer to Jesus. They’re lost. How are they going to know this unless someone tells them? Unless you tell them?

Most important, don’t feel like you have to clean people up before you can get them saved. That’s not in the playbook. The Church has become very good at telling people why they’re going to Hell and fallen silent on the message that God loves them just as they are. Our job is to connect them with the God who loves them so He can save them…and then disciple them.

Sharing your faith is not about arguing your faith. No one expects you to be an expert in apologetics nor should you try to be one. Those who argue are generally more interested in discord than answers. That’s why the scriptures admonish us to not argue with a fool (Proverbs 26:4) and to not cast your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). Simply said, avoid all arguments before they start. As a faith sharer, that’s not your role. It’s far better to confirm your faith and the existence of God by the power of your story and the basic truths of the Gospel message. When the blind man yelled, “I was blind and now I can see,” everyone listened. It wasn’t deep theological arguments that won the multitudes or the ability of the early church to quote scripture. It was the unmistakable veracity and authenticity of transformed lives powered by the Holy Spirit that made it so easy for unbelievers to believe.

It’s important to add a basic understanding of why an all-powerful, omnipotent God would create us in His Own Image, allow us to live in danger, poverty and starvation, and possibly end up in the fires of Hell. At first glance, that appears to be the opposite of a loving God.

But God’s existence is overwhelmingly confirmed through His Perfect Plan for our redemption and Eternal Life with Him in Heaven. He created us out of love, giving us the Free Will to choose how we live our lives, our priorities and our God. And just as any parent uses punishments and rewards for disciplining and encouraging good behavior, God describes the horrors of Hell and the joys of Heaven in detail to encourage us to make Him the God of our lives. And then He lovingly leaves that choice to us.

God doesn’t send good people to Hell because none of us are good. We’ve all sinned and fallen short, and the wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God is Eternal Life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 3:23 and 6:23). God does everything possible to encourage us to accept His Gift of Eternal Life through the death and resurrection of His Son. But justice would not be served if He forced us to accept Him. It is each person’s choice and everyone who goes to Hell has made the wrong choice.

At the same time, it would be unfair and unjust for a pure and holy God to ignore the sinfulness of His People and allow everyone into Heaven. That’s why He sent His Only Begotten Son to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. He literally took our place and paid the penalty for our sins so that we can stand before Him, pardoned for our sin and clothed in His Righteousness.

As a just God who cannot tolerate injustice. There is no just way for us to be allowed into Heaven without: (1) confessing our sins to Almighty God, and (2) receiving His Forgiveness and His Pardon for our sins. We can only do this because Jesus intentionally took our place and paid our debt with His Blood on the Cross to set us free!

Only a loving God would do that!