soul winning – Page 2 – The Jesus Chick

Posted in Christian Service, Eternity, Heaven, Life Inspiration

We are without excuse

Written by talk2shari Published October 3, 2015October 3, 2015 Discussion Leave a Comment

We’re without excuse. I look about me this morning and I’m grateful for the “raisin’ up” I had in the hills of West Virginia. This is where God placed me and by His grace I was placed in the hands of two wonderful Holy Spirit filled parents. But were I not, I’d still be without excuse. And though I was, that still did not guarantee me to become who I am; a child of God. We all get to grace the same way, by accepting what Christ did; not by being born into a certain family. The world is so full of excuses. This morning I’ve had my eyeballs full…

The World says: “So and so made me who I am.”
- No, “so and so” may have hurt you, but you decided who you are.”
The world says: “All religions lead to Heaven.”
- No religion is just the practice of a learned behavior, Heaven comes from a relationship with Christ. Side note: If you have a relationship with someone, you’re pretty close.
The world says: “We control our destiny.”
- Only so far as God allows. So technically you don’t.
The world says: “There is no God.”
- Those who say that are without excuse because we’ve been raised better.

Gene and Violet Hardway raised me, but God raised me up.

Amos 2:11-13 says

And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the Lord. But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.

It is God who put me in a higher place that I may have the privilege of sharing the gospel. Not because I am great, but because I am His. A privilege afforded anyone who accepts the holiness, sacrifice and will of God. He has a purpose for you just as He had a purpose for Israel, and still does. But they rejected Him. Here God tells them I raised up your sons for prophets. God selected and set into place men of God to shine the light to Israel but they chose to ignore it; continually falling back into the ways of the world until disaster struck and then they’d call on God. But there came a day when God had been rejected one too many times. (His eyeballs eventually got full too I guess.)

Is America there? God raised up prophets and of those He set aside the Nazarite men, many in the prime of their life vowed themselves to the service of God to the extreme, and today we have as those as well. Sure, there are those in the ministry who do not walk the walk they profess, but there are those who do. They’re not perfect, no man is, but they live what they preach. America is without excuse. I speak collectively. I’m an American, but my country is not here, my homeland awaits on the other side of Jordan.

I understand Amos’ frustration at Israel. That’s how I feel about the arrogant lot of people in my face every day. Those who justify their immoral behavior because of how they were raised or treated. I am truthfully sorry for your heartache… but you’re without excuse. Someone else may have hurt you, but Christ, the Creator of all the earth, loved you enough to die for you and longs to be in a relationship with you through the Holy Spirit and you have hurt and turned your back on Him. He who is your perfect friend and Father. You are without excuse.

The trash talkers of the waves tell the world that all religions are right. Tell me any other than Christianity who’s God died for them. None. Tell me any other religion that has the moral standards that every human being in their soul knows is right. None but Christianity. Tell me any other that puts themselves in the role of a servant to a heathen nation that rejects them so they might be saved. None but Christian. … Yes… I’m with Amos!

Our destiny is written in the scripture of old. It’s done. Or in Christ’s words, “It is finished.” The only thing we control is self-will; God has the power at any time to stop the world from spinning and throw us into space. Dwell on that thought for a second. God has put the evidence of Himself through His creation before us and He sent messengers to tell the world of His desire to be our Father. I am one.

Amos prophesied that when judgement came, and it would, it would feel like a cart bogged down with weight to the point it couldn’t move. How many in America feel like that today? I love America… but I do not love what she has become. I love her people… but I’m not fool enough to think that God won’t wipe that arrogance off of their faces through judgement so harsh I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Saved and unsaved we are without excuse.

There’s no excuse for rejecting Christ.

There’s no excuse for not telling someone about Him.

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Christainity: I Pray it Goes Viral!

Written by talk2shari Published March 13, 2013March 13, 2013 Discussion Leave a Comment

Christianity. You’d think it was almost the bubonic plague. No one wants to be around it, they avoid the house where in it dwells, nausea comes on quickly and Heaven forbid a child is exposed to it, whatever will become of them?! It would be funny if it weren’t so true. And so many dead Christians have been seen walking about, it’s no wonder communities have great fear in their hearts! So what exactly are the symptoms of a live Christian? And wouldn’t it be wonderful if it went viral!

In bible times Samaria was avoided by the Jews at all costs. The half Jew, half gentile sect was a disgrace to God (in their eyes) and not worthy ground to travel on, and so Christ said in John 4:4 – he must needs go through Samaria. Christ needed the world to see that no one was worthy, but everyone was welcome. It is there we find a time that Christianity went viral! Here are a few of the symptoms:

Constant Thirst –

When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well he told her in John 4:13b-14“Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life:” And she responded “Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.”

Deep down in the pits of our soul is a desire to know God. I remember as a child being aware of my need to know God. I did not understand it, but there was a thirst that I needed to know the Creator. As time went on God continued to call, but I kept drowning it out with the world. But the thirst to know was always there. When I got saved, my how that thirst increased! When I realized that God’s Son had paid the ultimate price for my sin, and that I no longer needed to fear death, hell and the grave! Oh glory I needed to “Who” He was. I read His word at every opportunity, I sat with His people and I attended His church. I thirsted!

Changed Traditions

¹⁵The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.¹⁶Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.¹⁷The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:¹⁸For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.¹⁹The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

She knew that Jesus was spot on with her sins, and something needed to change. When I accepted what Christ did for me I was so thankful, and so very aware that things in my life, the traditions I had set for my children and I needed to change.

Commitment to the Tabernacle

One of the major changes in my life was church attendance.

²⁰Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.²¹Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.²²Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.²³But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

The woman at the well knew that this was an important part of faith. But she had worshipped whatever came her way. There comes a time when you have to set yourself apart for the apostasy of the world and worship the true and living God, and that calls for a commitment to what exactly it is that you believe. If you’re only there when it “fits in” to your schedule, that’s not commitment.

Continual Talking –

²⁴God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.²⁵The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.²⁶Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.²⁷And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?²⁸The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,²⁹Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

When she discovered Who it was she spoke too, she couldn’t stop talking about Him to everyone she knew. It went viral. ³⁰Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

Let it be so in our lives! Catch it!

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A Conversation with the Lost on Forgiveness

Written by talk2shari Published March 11, 2013 Discussion Leave a Comment

This may or may not turn into a series, but the teacher of our family life class at church intrigued me yesterday on a study that they’re working on which is the “Topics of Conversation in Witnessing.” If you’ve ever gone soul winning you’ve likely encountered some topics of conversation that made you wish you were anywhere but there. If you’re new to soul winning (or sometimes old) it’s hard to get that conversation going and even harder to keep it on track; because the last thing many want to discuss is where they stand spiritually. Most would rather point out where the Christians they know fall short.

The class came up with about 14 topics they’d like to address and I would say there are countless others. But today I’ll only discuss one. If you have one you’d like to address, put it in the comments below and let’s get a conversation started!

Let’s talk about forgiveness…

I recently lead a devotion at a ladies meeting where I gave each of the ladies a shiny red square sticker for their bible. The sticker reminds us of what God see’s when He looks at us and what we should see when looking at someone else’s sin; that Christ’s blood covered them all.

I didn’t say it would be easy. Sometimes I’m tempted to take that sticker off and put it over my mouth to keep it shut! Forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give or receive; comes with the highest price; and is considered the least. It’s easier to jump on the bandwagon and run someone through the mud than forgive and lift them up to the Lord. And that’s from a Christian standpoint. Now put it into the context of witnessing to an unsaved person who’s been hurt by family, friends or a Christian; sometimes quite severe. How can they begin to understand the unconditional forgiveness of Christ when they themselves are so angry and how can you explain it?

I love the life of King David; because it is full of success and failure, transgression and forgiveness, and most of all humility. None better illustrated than of the tale of Nathan the prophet who came to David after his sin with Bathsheba.

II Samuel 12:1-5

And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:

Boy oh boy was David angry…until he discovered it was a parable of him taking Uriah’s wife. That’ll humble a fella.

And so goes our own story. There was another lamb, that was slain; the Son of God. Slain to restore the broken relationship between God and man. The one thing that God wanted more than anything was us. And we’ve hurt Him again and again, and He has forgiven us again and again. If anyone can understand how hard it is to forgive, it’s God. Nothing that has been done to us in our lives can even compare with what was done to His Son so that we could have forgiveness.

Helping a lost person understand that may not be easy, but it will always be worth it. Forgiveness is unlocking the cell you put yourself in. Can I get an Amen!