WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD ... sharing my faith

"Sharing my faith" was the topic this week as I continue studying in the book I have been reading about leaving a lasting legacy. I recall a George Barna study that revealed that Americans are deeply divided on this issue of whether or not a person should share their religious faith.

28% in Barna's poll revealed that Americans feel strongly that they have a responsibility to share their faith with others. To my surprise, 25% of Americans, in that same poll, felt just as strongly that they do not have a responsibility to share their faith with others. My question is what about the other 47%? Is the rest of the American population caught somewhere in the middle on this issue?

In another poll that Barna did, it was revealed that 42 percent said that when another person tries to explain their religious beliefs, it is "usually annoying."

Why are we so divided about sharing our faith? and why is it "annoying" to others?

Perhaps it is because so many people who have shared their faith have done so without tact and often without love. Possibly, the majority of us have even heard someone push their "religion" down someones throat or not be willing to listen to someones questions about their faith.

Nevertheless, no matter what your experience has been like, Christ calls us to share our faith! He implores us to "go into all the world to preach the gospel" (Matthew 28:19).

If we truly believe that Christ has made a difference for eternity in our lives, shouldn't we say something about Him to a world that is full of stress and spiritual confusion?

Sharing our faith successfully is in the "how" we share and about the "what motivates us" to share. If our motivation is simply to gain some kind of credit for ourselves or to act like someone with all the answers - people will sense that and reject our words. But sharing the love of Christ with others with a pure heart and the love of Christ is an excellent way to share with others.

In last weeks YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I asked the following question: "Describe how you have "harvested" this past week?" The top 3 answers were:

1. 66% of those voting this week said that they had an average crop, they had some successes.

2. 8% voted and said that they had some shriveled fruit.

3. Another 8% said that they did not have a plant in sight that survived.

Having a good crop means that the farmer has to plan ahead so they can have a good harvest. They must first order enough seed, they have to consider the market prices for their crops, they must have enough equipment and hired help for harvest time. So many things to consider.

When it comes to "harvesting" souls for the Kingdom, we must do the same. Even though we wait upon the Lord for the opportunity and the Holy Spirit does the changing ... there are things that we can do to be prepared for sharing our faith with others.

1. We can pray daily for opportunities to share with others.

2. Make a list of people who you would like share your testimony with.

3. Write out your testimony and be ready to share it.

4. Invite at least one person to church with you this week.

Sharing your faith isn't really all that hard. It is simply using words to describe why you are the way you are and why you believe the way you believe!

HEBREWS 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

WHO ARE YOU SHARING YOUR FAITH WITH?

thank you for joining me as I study ways that I can leave a lasting legacy for Christ!

YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL: please vote in this weeks poll. It is about anger ... don't get mad about it just cast your vote! (((smile))). YOUR OPINION REALLY DOES MATTER!