October 2 I Tuesday

Isaiah 14-16

Ephesians 5:1-16

“For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” —Luke 6:45

People finding people and telling them about Jesus is the way the Gospel spreads. God has entrusted evangelism to ordinary people like us to share with others what we have seen and experienced of Christ, but many believers find personal evangelism to be difficult. They might fear their friends will think them a religious nut, or they may not feel well-versed enough in Scripture to tell someone else the Gospel. Even some pastors, myself included, find it easier to share the Gospel from the pulpit than to initiate a conversation one-on-one about Christ.

When I was on the staff of Capernwray Hall in England, we would put on youth weeks throughout the summers where students would come for a time of fun, games and biblical teaching. During one of these weeks, I spoke on personal evangelism and witnessing to others. A teenager spoke to me afterwards, saying, “I want to talk to my friends about Jesus, but I find it so difficult. I get tongue-tied and embarrassed and don’t know what to say.” We talked for a while, then returned to our scheduled activities.

Later that day, I was in a coffee shop when this same young man came in with a group of other teenagers he had likely met earlier that week. They sat down and started to talk about what we in England call football, more commonly known as soccer in North America. At one point, my new young friend announced that he was a supporter of Liverpool Football Club. “Liverpool is rubbish,” someone else chimed in, and it was not long before this teenager who got tongue-tied talking about Jesus was giving all sorts of persuasive arguments for why Liverpool was the greatest team ever.

As the group was about to leave, I called this young man over to talk for a moment. I shared how impressed I was with his persuasiveness and devotion to Liverpool, and then I said, “Now let me ask you a question: What is the difference between Jesus Christ and Liverpool Football Club?” He sheepishly responded, “I think I know what you’re getting at.”

Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. The point is that if we are a Christian, we do not have something called “witnessing” that we are supposed to do. We have a relationship with Jesus where as we love Him and grow closer to Him, we will find ourselves naturally desiring and finding reasons to talk with others about Him. Of course we need to discern God’s guidance on whom to talk to and when, but when Jesus is our life, our focus and our all, we cannot help but share Him with others.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I ask for a passion and yearning to speak of You. Fill me with Yourself, and make me a vessel through which others are led to you. Thank You, God.