Hello Readers!
How has your month been? Over here at Th!nk we’ve been switching gears to school which is starting up again soon for a lot of us whether it’s homeschool, public school, or something else. A topic we’ve been exploring is responsibility. Not just in school, however, (though definitely still that!), but in all areas of our lives. Especially in faith. Join us as we welcome our newest author (see ‘About‘ page for more), share with you some healthy school lunch ideas, learn about a new animal in G.A.C., congratulate our latest contest winner and more!
Boldness in Sharing Our Faith
How many of you would raise your hand if I asked whether you were good at boldly and confidently sharing the Gospel? Probably not many of you… rather, most of you would be shaking your heads emphatically. And I would have been with you a few months ago, squirming until the subject changed. God has worked on my heart and fears, however, and brought to a point that while I still need a lot of work I think I could do it confidently. I think. There are so many logical reasons why sharing the gospel is so important. And we went into that in July 2016 ’s Th!nk magazine. The truth is that the fear of witnessing to others, while a very real fear, is selfish! And we logically know that and all the other reasons why we should be witnessing, but sometimes it is hard to convince ourselves of it so that we truly know what we know. Make sense? One of the problems there is that all those logical reasons aren’t the reasons we should be doing things for- though they are huge and great themselves. Our ultimate reason should be out of obedience to God. And When we obey God in something He won’t leave us alone in it! He will supply us and equip us with what we need to do the job. And that means He will give us courage if we need it. Do we trust in God’s will and His courage enough to do the thing asked of us? To obey? I was looking through the references to boldness in Scripture, and one of the main situations it was used in was to describe the early Christian’s sharing of the Gospel!
I am sure that they must have been terrified… they were facing persecution and execution! And yet they trusted in God and He provided them with the courage that they needed.
“But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. And so you will bear testimony to me. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. Luke 21:12-15 (NIV)
The message that we bear is not one that can be taken lightly! (2 Timothy 2:15) It is not one that can be defeated by the fear of the enemy, our message is one full of unmatchable power! It is okay if we are not sufficient because God is, and His truth is. All we have to do is obey and rely on Him, ‘the author and perfecter of our faith’.
I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. 1 Corinthians 2:3-5 (NIV)
2 Timothy 1:7 assures us of our power over fear (see Dissect it!), and then immediately proceeds to tell us this in verse eight:
So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.
Will you join me in this fight over fear? If you are willing, God will help you! He is faithful to complete the good work he has begun in us even if we are not. In Him, we are more than conquerors (Romans 8).
*Note: We do not post the full Th!nk magazine on this blog each month. To read it in complete form monthly, for free, email us at thinkauthors@gmail.com!
Th!nk Magazine 