2002-12-23 - Some Good News

Encore 1997-11-25

Matthew 28:18-20

Over the next few days and weeks many of us will gather with friends and family members who we only see a few times a year. Some of these probably share like faith commitments that we have and others do not. We may have been praying for many of these people for a long time, wishing they would come to faith in Christ. There are many ways of showing the love of Christ to those we care about. In fact there are probably as many ways as there are individuals.

It can be very frustrating to pray for years for those who we care about and witness no change in their antagonism towards our faith. The question, “will I ever see this person again and have a chance to tell them about Jesus?”, is one that haunts many every time the holidays approach. However, it is the role of the Spirit to work on hearts. It is our role to testify to the work of Christ, but unless the Spirit uses us, the results will be the same every time. Therefore we must not only pray for those that are close to us, who we desire to see saved, but we must ask the Spirit to begin and accomplish a saving work in the heart.

There are lots of ways that the Spirit can use us in other peoples lives to encourage them to come to faith in Christ. One way that I do not usually hear people mentioning is being winsome. Christ had this quality. It appears from the gospels that it was a delight to be around Jesus. If we are to be christlike, then it must be a delight to be around us also.

This can be really difficult around our families. They know us, they know us really well. They even know that we are not very winsome most of the time. But if we would seek to witness the love of God in Christ to those who know us the best, we must be a delight to be around. There is an urgency about the gospel message. We live in a dying world, among dying friends and families. This urgency should lead us to be more and more christlike in our dealings with those who are closest to us. This is no easy task, but if we really care for and love those who are closest to us, our task is to compel them to come to Christ. One of the most effective means of doing this is to be like Jesus. The more we model Christ the more attractive our faith and the gospel of salvation will be to others.

“The most powerful ongoing Christian witness has always been the speaking of God’s Word by one who is living in God’s Word.” Donald S. Whitney

“If you can’t shine, at least twinkle!” Alistair Begg

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

tim@cfdevotionals.org
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