Followers

Sunday, August 21, 2016

How to Minister to the Lost and Broken

In this post I am going to explain how we can share Jesus Christ with others by our actions.  God can use us to love people and open up conversations about Jesus Christ.  When we show others the love of Jesus Christ, then people see the light of Christ in us and want to know him more.
Jesus gives a clear picture of this concept in Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount discourse.  Jesus says in Matthew 5:13, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt becomes tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." This verse shows how we are to act as Christians in the world.  We are to be salt, which means our character and actions should be distinct from those around us.
In this next section of verses Jesus describes the power of our witness to non believers.  Jesus goes on to say in verses 14-15, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; not does anyone light a lamp and put in under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in a house."  This section describes how our witness has the power to affect those around us.  Our actions and words can bring people to know the life of Jesus Christ.  How we live our life can make people see the difference in their world.
In conclusion, let us remember to love those that are different than us this week.  As Christians, we also need to pray for opportunities to share the gospel in this dark culture.  Ask yourself are you being the salt and light in the culture today?

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Ministering to others in the workplace

Today's sermon of Jesus and Zacchaus was a reminder that we have to find those in the community that need God's love.  God calls us to find the lost and the broken that we work with to show them the love of Jesus Christ.
As we enter into the lives of others we have to live our lives in a way that attracts other non-Christians to us.  In Luke 19:4, Zacchaus ran ahead to look to get a glimpse of Jesus.  That is how others should interact around us.  Jesus' presence should radiate through our lives so that people would want to get a glimpse of who he is in our lives and what is different about us.   There has to be a radiate that flows through our lives with the presence of Jesus Christ.
Next, in the story in verse six Zacchaus welcomes Jesus gladly into his home.  This is what happens next in the relationship with other people we work with daily.  Others around welcome these people into their lives and begin to open up to them.  Through this the love of Jesus Christ is shown to those that have not experienced this love.  Thus, when this occurs the next step in this process where the gospel of Jesus Christ can be shared.
In this last section, in verses 8-10, Zacchaeus repents. of his sins and gives us life to Jesus Christ.  At this point, we can ask God to use us to share with others about our sinful nature and how Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  We can then share how to trust Christ with our life and how to daily surrender to him.  Lastly, we if the person has received Jesus Christ we as the believer can discuss baptism with the other person.  Baptism signifies a new step of surrender and a public profession for faith for this new Christian.
This is by no means the correct steps in ministering to another person who is not a believer.  It is just an example from Scripture of how to be a light in a dark world and minister to others like Jesus did.  So, I challenge you today to be a "Friend of Sinners."

Blog Archive