PSALMS 107:1-2: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.” NLT

OBSERVATION: When was the last time I shared my faith with someone? When was the last time I told someone about the Lord’s faithfulness? When was the last time I testified about the Lord’s mercy?

The longer we are believers, the harder it seems to share our faith. I have often wondered why. I can remember the early days of my walk with Jesus. I would witness to a rock! I was bold and somewhat unbalanced. I needed wisdom, but I did not lack zeal.

Fast-forward a few decades. I have grown in both wisdom and knowledge. I have quite a bit more tact than I did in those early days. Yet, there is one thing I don’t have. I don’t have the same zeal, the same willingness to share my faith, the same sense of urgency to tell others. The same fire in my heart to…

SPEAK OUT!

I teach a leadership class on Monday nights. This was our topic recently. We discussed the reasons so many of us who have been Christians a long time seem reluctant to “Speak Out.” Here were some of the reasons.

1. We are afraid we will hurt someone’s feelings.
2. We do not feel we are adequately trained to answer their questions.
3. We don’t want to run the risk of being ridiculed or rejected.
4. We have been Christians so long that we don’t have any non-Christian friends to share with.
5. We have grown comfortable in our faith, and there is nothing “new” to share.

These are just a few of the reasons we discussed in class. The list could go on and on. However, there are two from the above that I would like to explore a little more.

First, I have been a Christian for over 50 years. All of my friends, acquaintances, and most of my family are Christians. I work with Christians. Most of my activities revolve around church and other Christians. To be honest, I now live a pretty sheltered life. I realized, as the teacher, that I, too, was no longer involved in the harvest. I was living in the barn!

Second, I need to be growing in Christ every day. I need to be praying for the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to “new things.” I am not talking about a new doctrine. We can never move outside of the complete revelation of the Word of God. What I mean is new revelation, new experience, new understanding of the love, mercy, and grace of God. I need what Paul prayed for.

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Ephesians 3:18-19 NLT)

When I was a young believer, I was burdened and excited to share my faith with all of my family and friends who did not know Jesus. Also, I was discovering the wonderful truths of the Bible. They were new to me every day. I was growing day by day, and my heart was filled with wonder, awe, and anticipation. I had the boldness to share this with others. I was not afraid to…

SPEAK OUT!

I have been praying over the past couple of weeks, asking the Lord to give me wisdom in how to place myself back into the harvest and get out of the barn. I like the barn, but the harvest is ripe, and it lacks workers. If we all stay in the barn, who will attend to the harvest? If we all share our faith with those who already know Jesus, who will share with those who don’t? If we keep this wonderful Gospel to ourselves, who will…

SPEAK OUT?

Heavenly Father, rekindle the fire in my heart! Jesus, open my eyes to see You and to fall in love with You over and over again. Holy Spirit, open my eyes and reveal the wonderful riches of the love of Christ each day as I pore over the Scriptures. Show me what I need to do to get out of the barn and into the harvest. Give me Your boldness, the boldness I knew as a young believer, to once again…

SPEAK OUT!

“Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out!…” (Psalms 107:2a)

In Jesus’ Name!