This weekend in my facebook Bible study group, we did a little mini-Bible study challenge, and I wanted to give you the chance to learn what we all learned this weekend. We started by reading about what Jesus commanded His followers to do right before He ascended back up to Heaven after the resurrection. (Matthew 28:16-20)
I chose this passage for Easter weekend on purpose, because I reminds us of a very important part of Easter. The day AFTER.
I love this time of the year when we all take the time to remember what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. His death paid the penalty for our sins. That means that He was punished for something that you (and I…all of us in fact) did. He was blameless, pure and without fault, but He endured the punishment so that we wouldn’t have to. His death and resurrection tore down the barriers that kept us from God and paved the way for each of us to have eternal life with Him. His death changed EVERYTHING!
Jesus last words to His followers contain a command that we should all pay attention to.
Lives are literally at stake.
Those who don’t know and understand what Jesus Christ did for them are on the line.
Knowing that there are so many people out there who don’t know Jesus Christ in a real and personal way should light a fire in your soul to share with them the good news that you’ve found.
This isn’t a gift we should keep to ourselves.
It’s not something we learn and should keep private.
Jesus commands us to: “Go and make disciples (followers of Jesus Christ) of all nations”
This may mean you tell your friends, you family, your neighbors.
Your co-workers, parents or even your Uber-driver. My point is, God gives us little moments in our lives, when the time is right to share our faith with someone who desperately needs to hear it. This doesn’t mean that every time you open your mouth you have to profess your testimony. But instead, it calls us to live lives that reflect His goodness and love, and when the moment is right to share our faith and draw others to know Jesus Christ through the way He has worked in your life.
It can be scary, I’m not going to lie. Often times when I feel God prompting me to share my faith with someone or even worse…pray out loud with someone (!) my palms sweat, my heart races and I may even begin to get a little shaky. And I can very easily talk myself out of it in those moments to spare myself any feared rejection or embarrassment. But those heart pounding moments, where you know God is calling you to speak out loud are most often the moments where that person you are talking to desperately needs to hear what God did for you and what He will do for them.
Jesus commands us to share the good news with those around us as much as we can. Who knows…maybe your words will open the eyes of someone who doesn’t yet understand what Christ did for them.
How awesome would that be?!?!
This year, let’s celebrate “After-Easter”. The days after the resurrection when Jesus proved to all of the doubters who He really is and what He just accomplished on the cross a few days before.
Let’s celebrate that while we know and understand the magnitude of what His sacrifice means to us for eternity, there are still many people in our lives who don’t yet know. And let’s think about how we can honor Jesus last words to “Go and make disciples”. And let’s share what He did in our lives and show His Gift to those that He has placed before us ♥️
Are you ready???
In the comments below, please share how you react when you feel God nudging you to talk about your faith. How does it make you feel? Scared? Anxious? Excited? Let’s talk about that…
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10 Responses
Angie, thank you so much for ALL you do for us. There are times I feel like “I’m the only 1 who feels this way!” then you’ll post a message that is exactly what I’m feeling. Then, it’s WOW how did she know?? then I realize you’re not talking about just my feelings but there are others out there who are experiencing the very same feelings. We are so blessed to have you. Continue to be a blessing to us.
It’s very difficult for me to share off the top of my head. I need time to think and process and formulate a response. Even now, as I’m writing this comment, I’ve deleted it all and started over to better express what I want to share. There have been several instances where a conversation happened and I know I didn’t shine the light as well as I could have. It’s not so easy to “edit” something after it’s said, and I worry about saying the wrong thing, which often means I don’t say enough of the right things. Then I mull over how I said what I said, and as I pray and think, I usually realize what I should have said. So I follow up with the person, tell them I was praying for them/about our conversation and then share my thoughts.
Brittney, I appreciate you being so open and transparent. I struggle with these things, too. Even with my own kids, I really do see many missed opportunities to share things with them, and I always regret it. But I give it to God, and ask for another chance, and usually one comes along. Remember, we are tools that God uses, but He does the work. Maybe when we think we missed a chance, God was closing our mouth to allow space before they are ready to hear what you want to say. We just never know what’s going on in the big picture. I hope you had a lovely Easter!
Hi Angie, I pray every morning that if there a kindred spirit in one of my patient’s, let it be known and united in Jesus’ name. I always thought that if the time would come that I would be ready, hmmm. I am going to start asking God to give discernment and prepare me for those that I can share the Gospel with
If it’s to a person I know that is an acquaintance I get nervous and feel like I blew it when I’m finished. But with people I know who believe it’s easy
Rhonda,
I know what you mean!! We all have our comfort zones. Mine happens to be opposite yours. I could speak in front of 1,000 strangers without hesitation. I can pour my heart out here where I’m not face to face. But I clam up about my faith and my true heart with those that are closest to me. But the fact that we both acknowledge where we are weak means we can work on that. I’m glad you told us!! Thank you and have a wonderful week ♥️
I have thanked God for keeping us save thru our roof collapse and my husband up there working on the whole roof alone. Glenn sent me home to be mom to our girls so he could repair our catastrophe. God is holding us here for something.
Helen,
It’s so hard when we don’t know what God is telling us to wait for. Why He holds us in a place of uncertainty for so long. But I know that you are doing the very best that you can do and that is more than most could even imagine trying! He placed you in a position to Mother those girls when they needed it so bad, and you are doing an amazing job. He has a plan, and you are obediently waiting ♥️
When God is nudging me to pray for someone or to share my testimony, I get really nervous. God usually gets louder when I am supposed to pray for someone.. He’s like.. Bridget, I’m waiting..
Yes!! Lol!! I was baptized as a baby and have always wanted to do it as an adult. Not for anyone else, but because I want to publically profess what I know in my heart. Today and yesterday at church, they did baptisms and called people up. I didn’t go last night because I didn’t tell my husband or kids that I wanted to do it and didn’t want to freak them out. Then this morning, I didn’t because I was wearing mascara and didn’t want it to run all over my face in front of all of those people ?The really awful thing is that our pastor even said this morning “when God calls you to something, don’t wait. Don’t wait until it’s more convenient or until you feel more ready. When God calls, go.” He was calling, but I was worried about mascara and what my family would think. Your comment really reminded me of how serious God is when He calls gently to us ♥️