2008-04-12 - Sensible Wisdom

Proverbs 11:30, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls."

In the summer of 1985, I was a baby Christian, but was asked at an evening fellowship gathering to have a verse ready to share that either was my life verse, or one that meant a lot to me. I can't remember which it was, but something like that. It was panic time for me, because I had no idea what verse I should use. The Bible, as we know, is full of verses. How could I pick one out of the mass, claim it as precious, and not look like a complete idiot? So I searched my Bible as best I knew how, and stumbled upon Proverbs 11:30. That was it. I figured if life was going to have meaning, my life, it ought to be lived with an eternal mindset. This verse had it. "He who is wise wins souls." So that was it, I shared it, and that verse has stuck with me - thought, word, and deed - ever since.

I think we know what the verse means, and so rather than dive into that, I would like to look more at the "how." I have a couple of suggestions how you, too, can be wise to win souls. You may not be a preacher, but you can invite others to hear the preacher that you go to hear. The preacher you go to hear should preach Christ, and the Gospel of salvation from sin through faith in Christ. If he doesn't, you should find another preacher to listen to, and when you do, or if you have, bring people to hear him. You don't have to be a preacher to be a soul winner. All you have to do is bring others to where the Gospel, that the Holy Spirit uses to save sinners, is heard. That's the first thing anyone can do, to be a winner of souls. Bring others to a Gospel church with you, when you go.

Space is short in these devotionals, so let me limit my suggestions on being wise to win souls to two more - two more important ways. The first is to talk with others about the sermon. This can be challenging. You will have to listen to the sermon, in order to be able to talk about it. But there is no reason why on Monday or Tuesday - or any day of the week - we can't turn a normal conversation with someone at work or school or any place where people are and talk, into a conversation about the sermon we heard this past Sunday. Once you become comfortable doing it, it is the easiest thing in the world to say, "What you are saying just brought to mind something I heard on Sunday at church..." and you are off to the races. Talk about the sermon and what was said, relate it to life with friends, family, or unsuspecting strangers, and then invite them to come and hear for themselves.

Lastly, we can pray. It sounds trite to say, but consider that salvation is always a work of God. Praying that the Lord would be pleased to use your words, actions, your life, to lead someone into a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, is never trite. Ask the Lord to use you, and then look for chances that God is answering your prayer and giving you a field of usefulness, and then harvest that very field. God hears the prayers of the godly (Psalm 4:3), and if we are to be wise and win souls, we must lay siege to the throne of the winner of souls Himself, that He might be pleased to use us to His glory in saving lost sinners from eternal ruin.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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