Steps in Sharing Your Faith 3 of 6

Okay, I don’t know about you, but this verse blogging thing is actually helping me to commit these verses to memory. I’ve got the first two verses down.

To review, here are the first three step in sharing your faith:
1. Pray (Romans 10:1)
2. Depend on the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 2:4,5)
3. Associate with People (I Corinthians 9:22,23)

22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. I Corinthians 9:22,23

I cannot share my faith if I stay in a cave and pray and depend on the Holy Spirit. I need to get out and rub shoulders with people who are far from God. In my opinion, this requires an appropriate balance. While I need to be doing things that put me in touch with people who don’t know God, I also need to be hanging around with strong followers of Christ. These are people who will hold me accountable and who will make sure I stay on the “straight and narrow.” I have struggled with this balance over the years. Honestly, I lean to the accountability group side of the balance beam. I have been challenged more recently to make sure I’m hanging with non-believers as well. Here are some suggestions for doing that:

1. Work – what can I say, I work in an industry that can sometimes be brutal. The people I work with need to find Christ.
2. Kids’ Activities – this is a great place to find common ground with other parents who are cheering on their own children. Recently, we have been enjoying Isaac’s basketball games which provides a great place to associate with people.
3. Gym – Another great location for associating with people. I see the same people day after day, week after week. As time goes on, I am able to talk more with many of my fellow gym rats.
4. Neighborhood – Read Making Room For Life by Randy Frazee for more info on this one.
5. Poker Table – This has been a new one for me. I honestly struggle with how this fits into the equation, but the more often I play (which isn’t very often), I’m convinced that God can use conversations around the poker table for drawing people closer to Him.

I’d be curious to hear your thoughts and ideas on this one.

Until the next post, have a Merry Christmas…