February 28, 2022 7:00 pm
Catherine and I were good friends in high school. When we weren’t talking on the phone, we were passing notes in class to plan our next sleepover. Sometimes we rode horses together and partnered on school projects.
One Sunday afternoon, I started to think about Catherine. My pastor had spoken that morning about how to have eternal life, and I knew my friend didn’t believe the Bible’s teachings the way I did. I felt pressed to call her and explain how she could have a relationship with Jesus. I hesitated, though, because I was afraid she would reject what I said and distance herself from me.
I think this fear keeps a lot of us quiet. Even the apostle Paul had to ask people to pray that he would “fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19). There’s no getting around the risk involved with sharing the good news, yet Paul said he was an ambassador—someone speaking on behalf of God (v.20). We are too. If people reject our message, they’re also rejecting the One who sent the message. God feels the sting along with us.
So what compels us to speak up? We care about people, like God does (2 Peter 3:9). That’s what led me to dial my friend’s number. Amazingly, Catherine didn’t shut me down. She listened. She asked questions. She asked Jesus to forgive her sin and decided to live for Him. The risk was worth the reward.
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Thanks for joining us for today's encouragement from the Our Daily Bread devotional. Our reading, titled A Friendly Conversation, was written by Jennifer Benson-Schult. Catherine and I were good friends in high school. When we weren't talking on the phone, we were passing notes in class to plan our next sleepover.
Sometimes we rode horses together and partnered on school projects. One Sunday afternoon, I started to think about Catherine. My pastor had spoken that morning about how to have eternal life, and I knew my friend didn't believe the Bible's teachings the way I did. I felt a burden to call her and explain how she could have a relationship with Jesus.
I hesitated, though, because I was afraid she would reject what I said and distance herself from me. I think this fear keeps a lot of us quiet. Even the Apostle Paul had to ask people to pray that he would fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel.
There's no getting around the risk involved with sharing the good news. Yet, Paul said he was an ambassador, someone speaking on behalf of God. We are, too. If people reject our message, they're also rejecting the one who sent the message. God experiences the sting along with us. So what compels us to speak up?
We care about people like God does. That's what led me to finally call Catherine. Amazingly, she didn't shut me down. She listened. She asked questions. She asked Jesus to forgive her sin and decided to live for him.
The risk was worth the reward. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Ephesians chapter 6, verses 18 through 20. Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. Pray also for me that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should. Let's pray. Dear Father, give us the courage to reach out to people who don't know you.
Give us wisdom to know when and how to start conversations about you. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Alisha Reisinger, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-05-28 21:15:11 / 2023-05-28 21:16:38 / 1
