I can’t help but wonder if sharing Jesus is still a bit of a taboo thing. We are called to share the Good news of his life, death and resurrection. How many of us feel a little uncertain, because we don’t know how the person you share with will receive it.
My sister, the beautiful solution to the challenges of this gift is found in it’s delivery.
The scripture verse(s) we talk about today include: 1 Peter 3:15 & 2 Corinthians 2: 14-16
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xoxox
Sarah Elizabeth
Our Faith Your Day Declaration!
Jesus, thank you so much for loving me in the way that you do! You designed me on purpose for a purpose. I want to live to my full potential today, with a mindset that honors you and a soul that seeks to know you better. Jesus I know that you are the way, the truth and the life, and I ask you to guide me and reveal to me what it is that you want to show me here, have me experience here, and learn from this season. Help mold me and shape me into the best version of me. I will live today as your vessel ready to receive your word, respond to your promptings, and pour out your overflowing love to those all around me. Please allow your thoughts to become my thoughts, your ways to become my ways and your will to become what I truly desire. Jesus if you are in it I want it and if you are not I don’t! I choose to faith this day of life! I am so grateful to be your girl! In Jesus name Amen!
Welcome in my beautiful friend! Thank you so much for joining me today. If you are listening on schedule we are just days away from Christmas! How exciting is that! Celebrating the birth of our Saviour, the birth of the King of Kings, it’s what Christmas is all about and I am so ready to kick off the final week before it!
Let’s begin as we always do with our Faith Your Day declaration: Jesus, thank you so much for loving me in the way that you do! You designed me on purpose for a purpose. I want to live to my full potential today, with a mindset that honors you and a soul that seeks to know you better. Jesus I know that you are the way, the truth and the life, and I ask you to guide me and reveal to me what it is that you want to show me here, have me experience here, and learn from this season. Help mold me and shape me into the best version of me. I will live today as your vessel ready to receive your word, respond to your promptings, and pour out your overflowing love to those all around me. Please allow your thoughts to become my thoughts, your ways to become my ways and your will to become what I truly desire. Jesus if you are in it I want it and if you are not I don’t! I choose to faith this day of life! I am so grateful to be your girl! In Jesus name Amen!
I got thinking the other day about how when you receive a gift and you absolutely love it, the majority of people tell someone else about it right? Whether it be a product, a destination, a service, if you love it you are so likely to share the love with a friend, family member or colleague aren’t you? So I wonder how often we consider sharing the best gift of all with others. What gift am I referring to? Well it’s not something you can physically put under the tree this year, it’s not something that is seen with our eyes, but it’s certainly something that is felt with our hearts. The gift of Jesus and his Holy Spirit! What could happen in our lives, our families, our communities and our world if we all made a point to enthusiastically share the love of Jesus this Christmas season and beyond into the coming new year.
I can’t help but wonder if sharing Jesus is still a bit of a taboo thing. We are called to share the Good news of his life, death and resurrection. How many of us feel a little uncertain, because we don’t know how the person you share with will receive it. I mean what if they think you are crazy, or weird, or too new age, or if you offend them in some way by challenging their ways and beliefs. My sister, the beautiful solution to the challenges of this gift is found in it’s delivery.
1 Peter 3:15- But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
In this verse we are being reminded about how to most effectively share Christ with others! Do you notice that it’s not suggesting you yell it from the rooftops, take out a one page ad in the newspaper or flood your social media feed with scripture verses. No, it’s actually suggesting something much more discrete, but yet much more powerful! This verse reminds us that how we live our lives, is on display for others. When we revere God, when we honour him, respect him, and are in awe of him, we are blessed and loved by him aren’t we? Like a good good father he takes care of his kids, and he adores when we acknowledge where these blessings come from. Therefore if we lead a life that is focused on him, then the natural outcome of that is that we are blessed, and blessed in many translations refers to a joyful heart that is full and hopeful. And my sister in our dark and broken world a person who’s heart is full of joy, shines brighter than any Times Square billboard!
Living as a product of his love and saving grace speaks louder than any megaphone. Rejoicing and giving him praise paints a clearer picture to those looking on than any other means of advertising it. You see, if you simply and genuinely show off your love for Jesus no matter where you go, then others won’t be able to help but notice that there is something different about you, something that stands out in a world where most people are tending to blend in. The second part of this verse reminds us of something very important, and I don’t think this part can be ignored. We are reminded to do this with gentleness and respect. Kindness and consideration are key! My sister, people won’t want the gift if you are trying to jam it down their throats, use it to criticize their choices, or present it as a standard that can’t be attained. We have to trust that it’s actually the Holy Spirit who works in and through us, to help bring others to know Jesus and to then receive the Holy Spirit in their hearts too. We are meant to be beacons of his light. We are not meant to be blinding the light into everyone’s eyes to judge and condemn others for their choices, or actions. I think this is challenging at times isn’t it. We see someone who is clearly living outside of God’s plans, and yet we feel like we need to jump in and fix it, to tell them what they are doing wrong and how they should fix it. My sister that is not your job. Your job here, your role, is to simply bring reverence to God, to be the example that someone else can witness and to then trust that you living in that way will allow the Holy Spirit to do what only it can do in their hearts. Simply present the gift, and then trust that the Holy Spirit will show them how to use it in their life. This therefore becomes, the gift worth sharing my friend. You see when we are full of God’s Holy Sprit there is nothing that can’t be done through us. Do you realize that you are a vessel of his spirit. Check out this verse from 2 Corinthians 2:14-16- God uses us to make the knowledge about Christ spread everywhere like a sweet fragrance. For we are like sweet-smelling incense offered by Christ to God, which spreads among those who are being saved and those who are being lost. For those who are being lost, it is a deadly stench that kills; but for those who are being saved, it is a fragrance that brings life.
I love this verse, and I love the visual that it presents. Us as a perfume, a fragrance and incense…wafting through the air. My sister I love perfume, and I love receiving it as a gift, but one thing I really wouldn’t love is someone presenting it to me and then spraying it in my face, and all over the room, and overwhelming me with something that is meant to be there but still subtle. What if you focused on being a sweet fragrance today, bringing life to all who are near you. If you spritz a little perfume in the corner of a room, it’s only a matter of time before it permeates the whole room. This is similar to how the Holy Spirit works. You share him and he will make sure to spread further than you ever thought possible.
The gift of God’s grace is something we receive each and every day not because we deserve it…but because he wants to share it with us. That’s exactly what Grace is…us receiving what we don’t deserve…because on our own we aren’t deserving of much. Yet even still God shares the gift of his love and grace with us every day…if we are willing to receive it, then girl are you willing to share it? He has provided you with the gift of his Holy Spirit dwelling within you. A Holy Spirit that can do the impossible in other people when you are open to sharing the Good News of Christ. You might have someone in your life on the wrong path, in a bad place, making choices that you know go against the plans God has for them…but here’s some words of conviction for you…it’s not your job, your responsibility or your place to fix them, to change them, to redeem them. My dear Jesus died on a cross in order to claim that role. Your role is to simply spread the joy and hope and peace that comes from his spirit. Not to blast people in the face with it, but to gently, and subtly live in a way that permeates every space, fills every room and can’t be ignored by others. Are you willing to share the fruits of the Holy Spirit with others, give them a taste of what they too can grow. What if you were to take a moment today to think about how it is you are living each day. Are you living in a way that makes Christ’s love in your heart look appealing to others? Or are you just concerned with blending into the crowd. I challenge you today to take the gift that you have been given. Grace, love, hope, salvation, and share it with others gently and respectfully through them seeing how you live differently. How you choose faith when others choose fear, how you choose life when others choose languishing, how you choose hope when others choose hype, when you choose to accept the gift that has been offered to you, and then to not just keep it to yourself, but to share it as well. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, and it’s guaranteed to be the best gift you ever receive!
Amen to that my sister!