FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK:

I am reading a book by H. Eddie Fox (whom I meet personally) and George E Morris titled “Faith-Sharing” Dynamic Christian Witnessing by Invitation, and I want to share with you a couple of things that had touch my life. Because is going to be longer that my monthly sharing with you, I ‘m going to divided. I hope and prayed that would change your perspective about faith-sharing.

FAITH-SHARING IS GOD’S IDEA

At the home of a deputy ambassador in a South American country people gathered to hear the story of a missionary and his ministry among a tribe of people in a very remote area. Following the missionary’s presentation he asked if there were any questions. There were questions about the animals in the jungle, menu and diet. Until a person stood up an ask: “Sir, would you please tell me why these people should be Christian? Why should you tell them about your God? What right do you have to change them?” The meeting became quiet – very quiet.

Many people, both inside and outside the church, are asking these questions: Why should we share Christian faith with others?, “Why share faith?, Don’t you know that religion is a private affair? After all, we don’t want to manipulate people. We are here, and if people want Christian faith they will come to the church just like they go to the grocery store.”

First, faith-sharing is God’s idea; God started the whole process. The story is one of God reaching out for a relationship of wholeness with all creation. God’s reach for humanity is centered in the person of Jesus Christ. God looks for us long before we ever look for God. Indeed God’s love and mercy have followed us all the days of our lives. The great tragedy is that the invitation to participate in the full-ness of creation is rejected. Sin is the turning away from God, away from neigh-bors, creation, and turning inward upon the self.

If we are to engage in sharing faith normally and naturally, we must be clear in our understanding of God. What we believe about God makes a difference in our response to God and the way we live and share faith with others. The answers lies in three affirmations:

1) Faith-sharing is founded in God’s love

2) Fulfills the Great Commission; and

3) Focused on total redemption

1) Faith-sharing is founded in God’s love. The two words, God’s love, are crucial

to our understanding. God’s heart feels and longs and loves, he come into the bro-ken order of our lives to dwell with us in person-to-person relationship. In John 3:16 “God so loved the world that he gave....” We can see that there is no way to earn this love, to deserve it, it is a gift. If we have God’s love in us, our only legit-imate response is one of grateful stewardship. We become stewards of God’s love in us.

There is only one way that we can express our overwhelming gratitude for

such an unmerited gift – by turning that love loose upon others. Allowing God to love others through us, we find ourselves loving the unlovable – even loving those whom we do not particularly like. We should shared our faith because of the over-whelming experience of the love of God in Christ Jesus. We should have no difficulty asking people to say YES to the living God who had already said YES to us. We res-pond to the gospel in loving gratitude, and we should shared the gospel with bold-ness and confidence. (will continue next month)

May God bless you,
Pastor Dora