After reading several chapters from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles today, God spoke to me. We have the notion that sharing the Gospel should be an easy task that readily yields fruit…and when we meet opposition or indifference from people, and there is no fruit, we get discouraged or think witnessing is not our gift. Well, first of all, witnessing is not a gift; it’s a command from Christ. But more importantly we must realize that the Gospel, when presented correctly, rubs against the grain of society. Always has—always will. For example, just look at Paul’s adventures in Thyatira (Acts 16) and Thessalonica and Berea (Acts 17)…along with several other places. His best efforts did not go particularly well. In many instances Paul ruffled feathers as he presented the Gospel and God impressed upon me that more often than not we ought to do the same. This is not to say my (our) intention should be to anger anyone, but rather, to so present the Gospel with truth and conviction, realizing that some will be offended, threatened, even angered by the Good News. Perhaps that would be a good measurement of our effectiveness…how many people have you offended with the Gospel lately? If there have not been many, perhaps you need to change your procedure for a more effective presentation of Jesus.
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