Breaking Silence

Many people set out with great intentions to share their faith.  In fact, they attempt to pave the way to share their faith by building bridges into other people's lives by doing credible acts of love and kindness towards them.  The challenge is that their faith never turns into the words of the Gospel.  Personal fear and shame are two of the largest deterrents for Christians to shun their responsibilities when it comes to sharing the Gospel with those who don't know Christ.  

Chuck Colson once said, "The most important thing we can do today in obedience to Christ is to break the spiral of silence that is pervasive in our culture. The way movements start is when people finally realize that in a free society they have to be able to speak out. They can't be cowed into silence."  Christians in this country have the freedom to boldly share of the One who transformed their lives and have given them hope for the future.  They can personally testify how God has brought forgiveness and given the new life.  If Christ is truly at the center of the believer's life then their first and foremost concern each day should be, "How do I share Jesus Christ with others who have no hope"?  

I would like to encourage you today to walk with confidence that the Gospel of Christ is so powerful that it can transform the vilest of sinners—the one that we have given up on.  The light is most obvious to those who walk in utter darkness.  God has not asked us to do this in our own strength, which is why we are told:  "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).  Also, Acts 1:8 tells us that we go forward with the Spirit's power to share the Gospel: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

Would you intentionally decide this New Year that you would proclaim and share Christ like never before?  Claim with me Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”  

When we sense fear remember that it is Satan that wants us to fear in order that we cease to share the Gospel.  Paul says,  “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7).  Walk with confidence that you possess the message of eternal life in your hands and that God will give you the power to break silence and to share the joy of knowing Christ!