12 Oct, 2009
Has Jesus Just Become A Sales Pitch?
Today's Bide is a little different than my usual format.
I have been thinking a lot lately about how to reach others for Christ and how Christ is perceived by those who do not know him. If you flip through the channels on your t.v., listen to your pastors on Sunday, or walk into a street preacher you often get the feeling that you are being "sold something." I don't know about you but that often leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I could never put together Jesus' words of loving God and others with shouting and selling. Maybe you feel the same. Well, I ran into a video on the internet that I really think hits the nail on the head. Please bear with it because it is twelve and a half minutes long. My prayer is that you will be moved by the many ways God loves all people and how we can share that to the world. The title of the video is "Bullhorn Guy." Click the link below to watch:
www.liturgy.co.nz/blog/marketing-evangelism/998
Story taken from above website/photo taken from images.google.com.
Matthew 8:3-4 (NIV)
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, "See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.
Mark 8:12 (NIV)
He sighed deeply and said, "Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it."
John 4:13-14 (NIV)
Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 8:10-11 (NIV)
Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
There are many other examples of how Christ interacted with those around him. Too many to cite here but the point is to notice how different his responses are depending on the circumstance. He never appears to apply a specific formula for witnessing but rather loves people where they are. Maybe we should learn to do the same.
- Think about God has loved you despite all your inadequacies and faults. Thank Him for His unconditional love. We need to own the gospel as "good news" for ourselves before we can ever give that to others.
- How has God used others to meet you where you are?
- Thank God for your particular story and how He might use it to love others where they are.
Seek to love others where they are today (not where you would like them to be). This is often very difficult especially when we have "good news" to share. Don't beat them over the head with the gospel but ask God to love them in simple ways. This can often take the form of providing a physical need (food, clothing, etc...), standing up for someone or just listening to where they are coming from. It is not for us to judge how God will use us only that we love. Note: As the video suggests, this does not mean that we are spineless and have no opinions about them and the world. We can have them quite passionately but we must do it in a spirit of love. That is the hard part!
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