We subscribe to the Insight For Living daily devotional. I have always enjoyed the teaching of Chuck Swindoll even though I have never met him personally his writings are so … well Insightful for lack of a better word.
This recent one was so memorable because my church is doing a series on how to share your faith, a problem that most Christians struggle with. I hope you receive a blessing from this and it gives you some creative ways to share your faith. There is a link at the bottom to Insight for Living and if you want to receive his daily devotionals you will be blessed.
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I will always remember a young man named Eddie. He and I met when we were serving in the Third Marine Corps Division on the island of Okinawa, Japan. We shared the same bunk in a tiny Quonset hut. Forty-six other Marines lived under the same metal roof, giving new meaning to the phrase “up close and personal.”
After Eddie’s arrival on the island, it became obvious that my bunkmate had little interest in knowing about Christ. Once he found out I was a Christian, he forcefully stated, “I don’t want anything to do with all your religious stuff. . . . Back off!“
While I understood his resistance, I couldn’t ignore his need for Jesus. As I prayed for wisdom, I remembered the apostle Peter’s words, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV). Soon after, I thought of a creative way to share my “reason” with Eddie.
Because we often had time on our hands, I asked Eddie to help me memorize verses of Scripture. At first he was really suspicious, but I assured him that he only needed to check my work as I reviewed verses I’d written on small cards. He reluctantly agreed. What he didn’t know was that I deliberately selected verses about eternal salvation. So I “stumbled” through verses like John 3:16.
“God so loved the . . . uh . . . uh . . .” “World!” Eddie would shout. “Oh . . . yes. God so loved the world that He gave . . . He gave . . .” “His only begotten Son,” he read. “Ah . . . God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” And on we would go for half an hour several times every week. I suppose you could call this approach “covert evangelism.” (I’ll tell you more about Eddie at the end of my letter.)
Over the years, I’ve learned that sharing the gospel requires two key elements: preparation and creativity. First, we must be prepared. Christianity offers real, true answers to the world’s complicated questions. We have solid, reliable evidence to support our faith. And God’s Word offers wisdom, comfort, and encouragement for life’s challenges.
Second, we must be creative. Each person comes with his or her own unique background, needs, presuppositions, and questions. We can’t just rattle off a few verses and hope for the best. Effective evangelism flows out of genuine relationships and presents the truth in very personal, creative, and thoughtful ways.
Now . . . back to Eddie. Almost thirty years after our tour of duty had ended, my phone rang. Eddie’s voice boomed over the line; I’d know it anywhere. “Hey, Swindoll; you know those days on Okinawa when you tricked me into helping you memorize all those Bible verses?” I confessed that I did. He laughed and said, “Well, it worked! Earlier this year, I decided to trust Christ as my Savior.”
God was working on Eddie’s heart through all those years. He kept His promise: “[My Word] will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11 NIV). God’s Word works!
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Great blog will read more when I have time! xx