Living Out Your Witness – Worship and Community with Other Believers

God did not design us to live alone. We are all created for community. We are stronger when we are living with others and not trying to do life alone. This is especially true for believers. We need other believers around us to encourage, teach, pray, and worship with us. Our decision to follow Jesus is an awesome event but it is just the start of a journey and not one to be kept to ourselves.

The Bible is also clear that we are made to worship and adore God. However, worship is easily misunderstood. Worship does not begin and end with the singing portion of our church services. Worship is also not limited to bowing in reverence before God. When we look at scripture, we see several concepts that factor into true worship.

True biblical worship must be reverent as we must understand who is being worshiped. God is holy, just, perfect, powerful, loving, etc. We are sinners saved by grace coming before a holy God because of our Redeemer – Jesus. Worship also must be “in truth,” that is, our worship must be properly informed by God’s Word.  We need to have accurate knowledge of God to worship Him as He is revealed in Scripture.

We must also know that God sees our heart and motivation. Worship is not as much about how we feel or being prideful of our relationship with God. We revere, honor, and adore God because of who He is and how He loves us.

Lastly, worship should produce a change of heart. The true worshiper will have an ever greater desire to love and obey the Lord. Worship should propel us into greater obedience and love for others. Worship is to be more than a temporary, experience-oriented activity on Sunday, after which we revert to a “normal” life the rest of the week. True worship is constant, inner praise to the God of Scripture, expressed in prayer, in song, in service, in giving, and in living.

When we are in community and worshipping like this, we are better able to live for Christ and share what that means and looks like with someone just coming to faith.  Romans 12:1 reads, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

This type of true worship builds our faith and impacts every area of our lives. We begin to appreciate the truth that our lives are not our own. They’ve been purchased with a price.  And as we surrender to the fact that we are living sacrifices, our worship leads us to tell others about Him.

True worship and fellowship work together and rejoice together. They move us in unity towards a single purpose of making God known in all ways possible in and through us.

Living Out Your Witness – Time in Prayer and Reflection

We live in a world of increasing distraction and noise. We are never more than a click away from seeing something new that wants our attention. Yet, the Creator of the universe is just as close and wants to spend time with us. We each have a choice of how to spend our time and where to focus our attention. Without prayer and reflection, we struggle to grow in Christ, and this will inevitably impact our walk and testimony with others.

Martin Luther once said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” If we look at the life of Jesus, we see prayer being of primary importance and why He regularly stepped away from others and the routines of life to be with God.

When we engage in prayer, we are not only drawing near to perfect holiness, but we are worshipping Him when we do so.  The model Jesus gave us for prayer includes praise, intercession, petition, confession, and pleading.  Whatever our prayer routine, the discipline of it will always draw us nearer to the heart of Jesus and His love for a lost and dying world. Authentic, real, heartfelt prayer makes our hearts burst to share the good news of Jesus with those still in darkness.

Reflection should be done in a quiet space and way. Most of us long for more quiet moments in days filled with an endless stream of messages and demands for our time. The people and commitments of our lives each have their time and place. The thing many of us too often forget is setting aside time for simply reflecting and being in God’s presence.

Psalm 46:10 is simple reminder when it reminds us: “Be still, and know that I am God.”

The discipline of silence and solitude begins with creating space for God to speak to our restless hearts. We come with open hands and hearts in anticipation of what God might say. Quiet reflection and solitude allow us to hear God’s voice again. This is one of the sweet ways we are reminded of God’s love and how He has never left our side. We rediscover what it means that God sustains the universe and holds everything in His right hand.

Prayer and reflection not only sustain us, but they become their own forms of worship and remind us how His Holy Spirit gave us new life. We can more easily appreciate that gift and consider those that have yet to receive it. These regular habits not only strengthen our own walk but also move us towards more conversation about Jesus, about life, about hope with others. 

Living Your Witness – Time in God’s Word

Any mature believer that has walked with God through multiple seasons of life knows that the Bible is our roadmap for life and faith. It changes how we think about life and guides how we respond to hard times and attacks from the enemy. Before we become a believer, we lack godly direction without the words of scripture guiding our beliefs and choices.  

In short, we need to be in the Bible if we want to know God and grow closer to Him.  God communicates with us most clearly through His Words. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

The more we read the Bible the more it becomes alive and reveals God’s heart to us. How many times have you read scripture and then shortly after that a life situation arouse that was directly related to what you had read?  It seems the more we are in the Word, the more this happens.

Although scripture has much to say on all areas of life, the one message that keeps coming back to the forefront is that Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  The recognition of this message makes us focus on our own need for a Savior and prepares us for how we can share that message with others.

As we spend time in the Bible, we store up wisdom, lessons, and insight for the moments when God opens doors to gospel conversations. If we are not in God’s Word regularly, those moments come less frequently, and we may even miss opportunities. The simple truth is we are always more passionate about something we are doing, and believe in, than something we know is good for us, but we are not following through on.

Many times, we share Jesus with those that have no idea about God’s Word. We must be in it if we are going to help others know its purpose and power. Quite simply, the more we are in the Bible, the more powerful our testimony and messages will be for those that do not know, trust, or follow Jesus.

Living Out Your Witness

Evangelism is often difficult. People may have challenging issues, hard stories, and tough questions.  We may need many conversations and seasons of encouragement before the message takes root.  On top of those challenges, it is not uncommon for the enemy to spiritually attack those sharing the Good News.

Satan knows that our own spiritual walk will impact the power of our witness. The right response to this warfare is for us to be spiritually disciplined and led by the Holy Spirit. We simply are not able to properly share the things that are important in the life of a Christian if we are not engaged in those activities in a healthy manner.  Said another way, our walk must mirror our talk.

We all know that being saved does not remove us from this war with the enemy. Many factors can pull us away from God including our brokenness as well as the distractions and busyness of a fractured world. Paul offers us the prescription for how to defend ourselves in Ephesians 6:10-18 when he describes the armor of God available to us in this battle.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And 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.

As clear as this call is, it is not easy to embrace these spiritual disciplines. These things take time, effort, and consistency. They simply do not work as intended when God is secondary in our lives, or we give Him the leftovers of our time and attention.

Four spiritual disciplines not only strengthen our own walk with Jesus but also allow us to present a more compelling and clearer path for new believers to grow in faith.

  • Bible reading and regular time in God’s Word
  • Time in silence and prayer
  • Worship and community with other believers
  • Repentance and submission to God’s Word

When we are far from living out these things in our own lives, we will not be able to properly stress the importance of these activities in the lives of others. We will take the next few months to dig into each of these spiritual disciplines more deeply and encourage you to live out your witness by growing closer to God in these critical areas of your Christian walk.

When Helping Hurts

Have you ever shared something you thought would generate a huge response and the message fell completely flat?

It is often not the news itself that is the problem but how it is delivered or absorbed by the audience.

The desire to share the Gospel is good and reflects a heart for other people. However, how you do that is not the same for every person you meet. Some have less than positive personal experiences with church, religion or faith that influence how they will hear your message.  Others have no exposure or understanding of God, Jesus, or the Bible.

Different cultures around the world operate on different core emotions. Justice, guilt, and punishment can frame one person’s view. Another may have shame and fear clouding the lens they hear the Good News through. Using the wrong approach can leave someone feeling more confused and broken.

How we meet each person will affect their openness, interest, and desire for what we want to share.

Digital evangelism invites people to come with questions and have a conversation. Some Responders are so excited about the chance to share what they know, and how Jesus has saved them, that they forget the other person may have their own life issues or agenda of things they wish to discuss.  Others are so focused on being a good listener that they forget to transition the conversation and ask where Jesus fits in this person’s life.

Both examples are filled with good intentions, but each misses the need to balance good listening with the ultimate message of hope.  Every conversation is a God-ordained opportunity to share how Jesus changes everything. We must allow the Holy Spirit to guide each interaction, so we strike the right blend of listening, offering grace, and sharing God’s truth.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to lead each of your conversations and supply the right combination of listening and God’s love so each person receives it in the context that will move their heart and change their life.

The Language of Grace

The words we choose matter. This is especially true at a time where more communication is taking place digitally and without the benefit of looking at or hearing the people we are having conversations with.

We live in times where the truth of God’s Word is more frequently seen as narrow-minded, bigoted, or even hateful. It can be difficult to have conversations about sinful behavior or beliefs when someone is not open to God’s love and His way being best for us.  For some, they are even hoping to hear words of shame or condemnation so they can walk away thinking we are unloving and judgmental.

This means we each wield extraordinary power in the language we use to meet those seeking answers. It is easy to fall into the trap of speaking truth but doing it so bluntly and legalistically that it leaves someone discouraged and uninterested in our message.  However, we can fill others with life, hope, and peace when we are intentional with our words and speak blessing and encouragement into their lives.

Our goal should always be to express truth and love in gentleness as Christ did. We see in Luke 4 that people marveled at the gracious words spoken by Jesus. We see in scripture that gracious speech has several qualities. It lacks harshness, grumbling and sarcasm.  Gracious speech is filled with compassion and kindness. It is sensitive, thoughtful, and loving without compromising truth.

So many that come online are lost and without hope. We have an opportunity to speak life into their hopelessness. Focus on God’s love, forgiveness, and patience with us as broken sinners.

We should all follow Paul’s call.  Make the most of your chances to tell others the Good News. Be wise in all your contacts with them. Let your conversation be gracious as well as sensible, for then you will have the right answer for everyone. Colossians 4:5-6 (TLB)

We encourage you to seek God’s help in doing this and finding just the right words of hope, wisdom, and truth in each conversation.  Emphasize that God has a perfect design and better plan for how we live.  We want to reveal His true nature of love and compassion and we can do this lovingly while at the same time not condoning sinful behavior, poor choices, or mistaken beliefs. 

Every conversation is an opportunity to speak words of life. May you lean into God to help you share just the right words of forgiveness, grace, wisdom, and truth in each of your interactions.

Persecution in Changing Times – Part 3

Last month we looked at the second of a three-part series on reviewing the counterintuitive principles in scripture that guide us for how to live in times of increasing persecution  of Christians. We recommended the book Prepare – Living Your Faith in an Increasingly Hostile Culture authored by Dr J. Paul Nyquist.

This worthwhile read includes 5 principles for looking at persecution:

  1. The persecution of believers is normal and not strange.
  2. Persecution means your blessed not cursed.
  3. Believers can expect to be exposed and not protected.
  4. God calls us to respond to our persecution with compassion rather than anger.
  5. We will be rewarded not forgotten.

This month we look at the final two of these principles.

God calls us to respond to our persecution with compassion rather than anger.

Christ left us a model to follow. He commands us to love our enemies. Paul encourages us to bless our enemies.

Romans 12:14 says “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” 

Peter reinforces the teaching of Jesus and Paul in 1 Peter 3:14-17:

But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

In these passages, we see three commands to help us face hostility in a godly manner:

  1. Be strong (do not fear their threats)
  2. Be ready (always be prepared to make a defense)
  3. Be faithful (better to suffer for good than do evil)

Our attitude in responding is critical. We need to check our arrogance and anger at the door. God wants us to be His witnesses – not His prosecuting attorneys. Meekness and humility must undergird every word we speak.

We should all be reminded of the regular persecution found in the book of Acts. Persecution starts in Chapter 4 and goes through the closing words in Chapter 28. The opposition included beatings, arrests, stonings, riots and martyrdom. If we look carefully, we see five major theological themes on persecution in Acts.

  1. Persecution is part of God’s plan.
  2. Persecution is the rejection of God’s agents.
  3. The persecuted stand in continuity with God’s prophets.
  4. Persecution is an integral consequence of following Jesus.
  5. Persecution is the occasion of divine triumph.

The most powerful apologetic is the faithful lives of God’s people, demonstrating love, hope and faith amid a hostile world.

We will be rewarded not forgotten.

The New Testament overflows with teaching on eternal rewards. At the judgment – or bema – seat, each man’s work will be fully and fairly evaluated by Christ himself to reveal its value.

Scripture mentions a variety of rewards. Some bestow privilege such as authority in the millennial Kingdom (Matthew 25:14-30). Others bring honor, such as the crowns mentioned repeatedly in the New Testament (1 Peter 5:1-4). Because these are given by our glorious redeemer, all rewards are worthy of our pursuit.

We also see that in the Beatitudes portion of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  Matthew 5:11-12

The promise of reward from God comes with a condition. He promises to significantly reward us, but the promise carries a requirement of perseverance through persecution. We will be rewarded if we faithfully endure.  Rewards received at the judgement seat far exceed the level of our suffering, for our generous God gives out of His riches.

Persecution in Changing Times – Part 2

Last month we started a three- part series on reviewing the counterintuitive principles in scripture that guide us for how to live in increasing persecution  of Christians. We recommended the book Prepare – Living Your Faith in an Increasingly Hostile Culture authored by Dr J. Paul Nyquist.

This worthwhile read includes 5 principles for looking at persecution:

  1. The persecution of believers is normal and not strange.
  2. Persecution means your blessed not cursed.
  3. Believers can expect to be exposed and not protected.
  4. God calls us to respond to our persecution with compassion rather than anger.
  5. We will be rewarded not forgotten.

This month we look at the second and third of those principles.

Persecution means your blessed not cursed.

The New Testament gives two ways persecution brings blessings. The first is that persecution allows us to know Christ more. Knowing Christ is life’s highest ambition. As we know Him, we share in his righteousness. As we suffer, we share in “the power of his resurrection”. We experience His strength. We understand what it means to be carried along in difficult circumstances in ways we can’t explain or comprehend. As we suffer, we know Him more and more.

Secondly, suffering produces spiritual fortitude perfecting our character. We are to greet trials with joy as it develops spiritual fortitude. Since we are sinners saved by grace, when we come to faith in Christ we each have plenty of pieces of our character missing.

We each have thousands of character points to be added or refined. God’s encouraging truth says that he has ways He accomplishes that work in our lives. One way – a key way – is through trials. When they come, if we stay under the trials – not dodging a painful situation or seeking an easy exit but pursuing the maximum spiritual benefit they offer – God uses them in the perfecting process. A rough edge of our character softens. A missing virtue is added. Slowly, but surely, God’s perfecting work takes shape in our lives. In God’s economy, persecution means we are blessed and not cursed.

James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Believers can expect to be exposed and not protected.

When we suffer unjustly we expect others to defend us. As a general principle, we should not rely on family or government to defend us when persecution comes because often they will not.

When we face unjust persecution in the future, we would like to believe a large crowd of people will encourage and protect us. We would like the government to defend us from unfair punishment. We hope our family would support us in painful circumstances. We are sure lifelong friends would stand boldly in our corner.

In some cases, that may well happen. But we can’t expect it all to happen. We can expect to be exposed not protected. Others deserting us will put intense pressure on us to defect from faith when persecution comes. We will so yearn to regain lost relationships, we will even ponder abandoning Jesus. The readers of the book of Hebrews considered this when they faced persecution. It is easy to criticize them from a distance, but we soon may find ourselves in their shoes. All alone.

Persecution in Changing Times – Part 1

Sharing the Gospel is not always easy. Doing this online, where there is more of an opportunity for others to hide their identities and remain anonymous, means we are even more likely to see people respond inappropriately, receive criticism and experience spiritual warfare. Jesus told us to be prepared for many to reject the message and we see persecution for Christians growing around the world.

Culture is changing quickly with growing opposition to biblical morality and secular agendas gaining traction much faster than we realize. The rate of this change shows no signs of slowing and is likely to accelerate with younger generations more disconnected to God’s Word becoming the dominant demographic. These changes and the demonizing of biblical beliefs will only continue and intensify.

Scripture prepares us for this and includes some counterintuitive principles for living through these challenging times. These are outlined in a thoughtful and encouraging way in the book Prepare – Living Your Faith in an Increasingly Hostile Culture authored by Dr J. Paul Nyquist.

This worthwhile read includes 5 principles for looking at persecution:

  1. The persecution of believers is normal and not strange.
  2. Persecution means your blessed not cursed.
  3. Believers can expect to be exposed and not protected.
  4. God calls us to respond to our persecution with compassion rather than anger.
  5. We will be rewarded not forgotten.

We will look at the first of these principles this month and then spend the next couple months looking at the rest and the scripture that guides each.

We see throughout scripture that persecution of believers is normal and not unusual. Faithful saints before and after Christ saw hardship and death stemming from their beliefs. Jesus himself is our greatest example of this.

The Bible reminds us that the world hates us for being Christian. This is because we are different, we bear Christ’s name, and our beliefs expose their sin. Jesus makes this point clearly in John 15:18-27:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.”

Find peace that none of this is catching God off guard and we are not alone in suffering. We have the ultimate example and source of strength in Jesus Christ.

The Power of Story

We all know the wonderful feeling of being swept into a great story.  People love stories, whether in person or through the arts. Even little children understand as they beg “tell me a story.”

A truly good story makes you forget your surroundings and become entirely immersed. In fact, research has shown your body physically reacts to a great story.

  • Your palms may start to sweat
  • You’ll blink faster
  • Your heart may beat differently
  • Your facial expressions shift as you react to the words

Stories wield a particularly strong influence over our attitudes and behavior.  A vivid, emotional story can give that extra push to make something feel more real or important.

Your own story is what defines you and sets you apart. This also allow you to connect with others and be known.

None of this is a surprise to our Creator. He made our brains to listen to stories. Even the Bible is a huge story, made up of many little stories all pointing to the Gospel  – the greatest story ever told.

Stories are also the heart of evangelism. In a today’s world, this is even more important. People are saturated and flooded with information. Then layer a postmodern view where there are no absolute truths.  Truth is seen as individualized and subjective rather than universal and objective.  Those adhering to these principles will more likely say, “Don’t tell me what to believe. Tell me how what you believe changes your life.”

The reality is most people, especially young ones today, do not want argument but are ready for demonstration. They are interested if we evidence of meaningful difference in our life and can tell them about an experience that actually works.

If they hear a compelling story about what Jesus Christ has done in our lives, they not only find it hard to argue against, but are in fact positively interested. This becomes the invitation to find out more about how Jesus can work and make a difference in their lives as well.

This is not new as Jesus was a master story teller. When we combine our story with his, a collision takes place. This can trigger a life changing series of questions:

  • What if my story isn’t the whole story?
  • How should I respond to what I just heard? 
  • Would my life change if Jesus were part of my story?

Story is powerful. When we share our story, we are welcoming others into a relationship that has transformed us. We are the living proof of what we are sharing. Do not be afraid to use your story when sharing Jesus.

© Copyright 2021