Jesus said, "Come follow me and I will make you become fishers of men."(Mark 1:17 NASV) I like the "make you become" part. For me that hasn't always been easy. I was taught that a person's faith was their personal business and not to go meddling. Unfortunately, the only way to make sure a person is really saved is to ask them some questions and see what they answer.
If they can't explain how they know they are saved, or if they appear "wishy-washy" or vague there's a very good chance they don't have that assurance.
Many times I won't ask people to tell me "how they know they are going to heaven", because that can make them defensive. I treat each individual as the Lord leads. If they are not full of pride, I can just pray with them and get them to agree with me and Holy Spirit will touch them and soften their hearts. For example, I must have prayed with one lady five or six times, for her daughter and husband, before I felt the release to ask her if she wanted to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she was going to heaven when she died.
There have been other situations where I have told people, "Here, read this (tract) and get back to me with your questions." Sometimes the proud, or complacent need something to jar them awake and you can be the "elbow" God uses to wake them up to their fate without Him. If someone gets offended at me, I don't take it personally. Fleshy reactions happen when you wake someone up suddenly.
You cannot mess up bad enough, to use it as an excuse not to witness or get involved in God's Great Commission. Our witness, however insignificant it might seem (to us), is so important. As we live for Him and ask Him to use us, He will put people in our paths for us to love and talk to. Sometimes a person will need months of loving, encouraging, kind words and prayer before they are ready for the seed of the Gospel. Just being full of His life can help so much. We don't know sometimes how much our witness affects others.
I took the lady that leads the prayer group to the grocery store, for a few things and I must have talked to ten people in the store, some shoppers, some employees. This lady was quite surprised at how well I'm known and how people are so receptive to me. I've built a rapport with many of them so now I have credibility when I pray for them or say "God Bless you". With each one of these precious people I am claiming their salvation and asking the Lord when I can share the seed of the Gospel with them. God knows and He will direct as I ask Him. What He's done for me, He will do for you too! The key is "be available," ask the Lord to use you, then obey His promptings.
Let's make sure that we have a good witness here on earth. Let's be vessels that are cleaned and prepared for noble purposes.(2Tim 2:21) We want to be of earthly use to our Father. Let's make every day count for Him as we "try to serve one another in love." (Gal 5:13)
Wherever we go we can bring His hope, love and encouragement or... we can be affected by the world's negativity. It's our choice. Like Jesus, we are called to rule and reign over circumstances. (Rom 5:17) Let's spend time with the Lord every day, so that we can "be a sweet smelling fragrance" to our world. (2Cor 2:14)
Bless you in Jesus' Name! Let's go fishing for the Lord today!
If they can't explain how they know they are saved, or if they appear "wishy-washy" or vague there's a very good chance they don't have that assurance.
Many times I won't ask people to tell me "how they know they are going to heaven", because that can make them defensive. I treat each individual as the Lord leads. If they are not full of pride, I can just pray with them and get them to agree with me and Holy Spirit will touch them and soften their hearts. For example, I must have prayed with one lady five or six times, for her daughter and husband, before I felt the release to ask her if she wanted to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she was going to heaven when she died.
There have been other situations where I have told people, "Here, read this (tract) and get back to me with your questions." Sometimes the proud, or complacent need something to jar them awake and you can be the "elbow" God uses to wake them up to their fate without Him. If someone gets offended at me, I don't take it personally. Fleshy reactions happen when you wake someone up suddenly.
You cannot mess up bad enough, to use it as an excuse not to witness or get involved in God's Great Commission. Our witness, however insignificant it might seem (to us), is so important. As we live for Him and ask Him to use us, He will put people in our paths for us to love and talk to. Sometimes a person will need months of loving, encouraging, kind words and prayer before they are ready for the seed of the Gospel. Just being full of His life can help so much. We don't know sometimes how much our witness affects others.
I took the lady that leads the prayer group to the grocery store, for a few things and I must have talked to ten people in the store, some shoppers, some employees. This lady was quite surprised at how well I'm known and how people are so receptive to me. I've built a rapport with many of them so now I have credibility when I pray for them or say "God Bless you". With each one of these precious people I am claiming their salvation and asking the Lord when I can share the seed of the Gospel with them. God knows and He will direct as I ask Him. What He's done for me, He will do for you too! The key is "be available," ask the Lord to use you, then obey His promptings.
Let's make sure that we have a good witness here on earth. Let's be vessels that are cleaned and prepared for noble purposes.(2Tim 2:21) We want to be of earthly use to our Father. Let's make every day count for Him as we "try to serve one another in love." (Gal 5:13)
Wherever we go we can bring His hope, love and encouragement or... we can be affected by the world's negativity. It's our choice. Like Jesus, we are called to rule and reign over circumstances. (Rom 5:17) Let's spend time with the Lord every day, so that we can "be a sweet smelling fragrance" to our world. (2Cor 2:14)
Bless you in Jesus' Name! Let's go fishing for the Lord today!
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