Give Thanks Day 21

As I sit here in my office thinking of the many things that I am thankful for, the one that rises to the top of the pile this morning is second chances.

There have been so many times in my life when I have needed a second chance... a redo... I cannot count the times when I wish that life would be like those old Nintendo Entertainment Centers.  You remember those, don't you?  They had the "power" and the "reset" button. When things didn't go as you planned, all you had to do was reach over and push that "reset" button and it's a brand new start.

Well, life doesn't have a "reset" button.  When we blow it, we blow it.  That ground is very difficult to gain back once it's gone.  But that does not stop God from taking us in and still doing His amazing work in and through us.  He brings us to Himself - warts, failures, and all - and makes us into a new creation.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 HCSB)

God doesn't just throw us away when we fall short.  He brings us to the point of knowing where we failed and then moving past it.  He never promises us that He will give us a second chance at all the things that we didn't do so well at the first time.  But the amazing thing is that He does sometimes.  He doesn't have to, but He does.

I'm grateful for people who know the Lord and have experienced this in their walk with Him.  They are the ones that are more apt to extend that grace to others.  Lord knows that I need it... from my wife... from my sons... from the church I pastor... from friends... the list could go on and on.

Though no one is entitled to a second chance, I am so grateful to our gracious God for taking the initiative in this and starting this great trend that has been going for quite a while now.

 

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Free to Share

I have been reading the book 9 Marks of a Healthy Church recently.  It is a good read so far.  I was reading the chapter about evangelism and got to thinking a little.  I know that within Christian circles, the topic of evangelism can be one that draws people to different sides.  I have never (and still don't) understand why that is the case.  If you believe that people have the free will to choose Christ, it will not come without hearing the Gospel.  If you believe that God has elected those to be saved, they still have to hear the Gospel and respond to it.  Either way, the Gospel has to be shared and responded to.  Where was I?  Oh yes...

Evangelism or sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others can be one of the scariest things for a Christian to do apparently.  I say that because so many people do not do it.  I know that different reasons could be given for the lack of evangelizing that goes on...

• I'll leave it to the professionals


• I don't want to mess it up


• I don't know where to start

One freeing factor that God has worked into the task of evangelism is that we are not responsible for the results.  It is not our responsibility to "make" the person we are sharing with believe and accept Jesus.  God never called us to that.  He simply said here is the message... go and deliver it to this person... what they do with that message is between God and that person.  When we really understand that all we are in the task of evangelism is the delivery man, it will free us to share the Gospel with more people.

Do we have it down to a perfect presentation?  No, but we don't need to.  If the Gospel is so important that it is the saving message of God to sinful humanity and our God is sovereign and looking over His plans in detail so that His plans will never be thwarted, then don't you think God will keep me from totally blowing it out of the water?

Now this doesn't excuse us from living a lifestyle that backs up the message that we are sharing.  If we say one thing and live/believe another, then the person we are sharing with has every right to question the message.  Then we would have to stand before God and give an answer as to why we didn't let the message change us.  If we truly believe the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, there will definitely be a change, and our lives will be the greatest testimony to the message (2 Corinthians 5:17).

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