For Thought and Meditation - Friday, July 16

[Pine Baron]

Good morning all. This mornings devotion is an inspiration to get out there and reach someone who really needs it. Have a safe and blessed day.

Friday, July 16, 2021 - Pastor Greg Laurie
A Story Worth Telling

“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?”
—Romans 10:14

I don’t know about you, but I’m a big fan of hearing people’s stories. When I choose books to read on vacation, they’re generally biographies. Maybe that’s because everyone likes to hear a good story, especially a true story.

And when it comes to sharing your faith, one of your most effective tools is your personal testimony.

A testimony builds bridges. It’s a way to connect with others so they can see how you came to be the person you are and why you believe what you believe. It’s also a way to help people see how they can come to faith as well.

Another great thing about sharing your testimony is that you can indirectly preach the gospel to someone. For example, instead of just walking up to a person and saying, “You’re a sinner. You need to repent. Christ died for you,” you can share your testimony.

You might say something like this, for instance: “You know, before I was a Christian, my life was going nowhere. I had a sense of emptiness, and I wondered what was wrong, what was missing. Then one day I went to a church service and heard the pastor say. . . .”

You’re preaching the gospel while you’re telling your own story. And then you can say, “What do you think about that? Have you ever heard that before? Have you ever considered who Jesus is?”

Everyone has a testimony, and every testimony is valid. Of course, some testimonies are more dramatic than others.

But when you really get down to it, everyone’s testimony is essentially the same: “I was lost. I was separated from God and was guilty and lonely and afraid to die. And I was on my way to Hell. But Jesus Christ, in His grace, intervened in my life and transformed me.”

That’s your story, and it’s worth telling.

[dverna]

PB, you nailed it. We tend not to tell our story and that is a shame.

[Wayne Smith]

Jesus said that no one comes to the Father without the Spirit first convicting them. My job is not to convict anyone, it is to point the way to those already convicted.

[USMC87]

Amen, I agree Wayne. The Spirit must first convict!