Monday, August 8, 2011
Someone to Show Them the Way
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
In Acts 8 we findthe story of a foreign dignitary from Ethiopia. As the queen’s treasurer, he was a powerful man who would have traveled with an entourage. He went to Jerusalem in search of God, but found dead, lifeless religion instead. However, he obtained a scroll of Isaiah while he was there. And as it happened, he was traveling through the desert, reading aloud about the suffering of the Messiah, when God led Philip to go to him and share the gospel.
Philip saw him traveling along, reading from Isaiah’s scroll. So Philip walked up to him and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” (verse 30). The man said, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” Philip climbed up into the chariot, took the scroll, told him what it meant, and pointed him to Jesus. And before the day was over, that man had become a believer and left with joy in his heart and a spring in his step. This is what people are still looking for today: someone to show them the way.
There is one thing that Christians and non-Christians have in common: both are very uptight about evangelism. Christians are uptight about evangelizing, and non-Christians are uptight about being evangelized. But I think some of us give up way too easily. When we ask someone if anyone has ever told them about Jesus, or if we invite someone to church and they say no, we give up too easily. Instead, try asking, “Well, why do you say that? Did you have a bad experience in church?”
God has primarily chosen to reach people through people. So engage them, and most importantly, keep praying for them. Give it a try, and you will discover what a joy it is to tell others about Jesus.
Summary sentence: Are you uptight about evangelism?
Copyright © 2011 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
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