My Testimony

Imagine this...You're sipping a soda at a restaurant with a friend who doesn't know God yet, and you finally get your chance...your friend asks you why you've dedicated your life to God. Maybe he/she didn't word it like that, but that was the essence of their question...Wouldn't it be terrible if God provided you with an awesome opportunity to share your faith and you blew it because you couldn't clearly and succinctly articulate WHY you've dedicated your life to God? That would be horrible to me! That's why I've come up with a little acronymn that will help me do just that - succinctly share with others why I've dedicated my life to God. It's a work in progress so please feel free to leave comments that could help me improve it. Thanks!

TESTIMONY

T: I’ve been Totally forgiven (It brings me great joy to know that if I were to die this very instant I have peace with God through the forgiveness of sins Jesus offers).

E: I’ve been Enlightened on how to best live my life (I have principles, directions, guidelines for living my life).

S: I have a Source of power to live right (Freedom isn’t doing anything you want; it’s knowing the good you ought to do and having the power to do it).

T: I have Tranquility on the inside/in my soul (I have peace because no matter what I’m going through God is working in my situation for my ultimate good. Like the Psalmist I can say: I will lie down in peace and sleep [even during a difficult situation], Psalm 4:8.

I: I have a strong sense of self-worth because God paid Jesus for me (I’d feel great if someone valued my life at $1,000,000 – how much more so when God values my life at the price of his Son Jesus, who he sent to die in my place for my sins).

M: I have Motivation to get up every day because I have a purpose to live for (I exist to bring God pleasure in the way I live and to help to expand his kingdom). That brings meaning to my life.

O: I like the Outcome of my decisions (The Bible says you reap what you sow. And while I haven’t been perfect by any means, I’ve tried hard to follow God’s ways and have reaped the benefits of doing so in my relationships, my finances and my friendships.)

N: No fear of death (I know death is not a period, just a comma. And I know I’m going to heaven.)

Y: The same benefits God offers to me he offers to YOU, and to everyone.

Rough Around the Edges

People who aren't saved yet, or people that just got saved, can be very rough around the edges (to say the least!). How do we, as Christ followers, who are farther along in our spiritual development, respond to such people? I suggest we respond to them as Jesus would.

Here's an excerpt from a book by Bill Hybels called Just Walk Across the Room that speaks to this issue:

Jesus was fierce in his determination to look past ill-timed comments and inappropriate actions. He dreamed about what could happen in a person's life if God's power were released in them - and so he pushed through people's fear and sin, and he kept including people, loving people, and lifting people up to their fullest potential.

As you view people through this lens - you have new eyes to see things as Jesus saw them. You allow peope's foibles and failings and faults to fall away, instead seeing them in their potential, Spirit-infused state. You see filthy-mouthed, party-loving, woman-chasing Joe (or whoever), and you say, "What would Joe - even a guy like Joe - be like if God ruled and reigned in his heart? Joe would be incredible if Christ invaded his world!" You start dreaming of that day, in fact. You begin picturing him in his redeemed state. Your love for him grows and grows as you move toward him, engaging in the good, the bad, and the ugly of his life. You find yourself craving oportunities to be around people just like him - people who are on prayer away from becoming your eternal brothers and sisters.

Why Ask "Why?"

In John Maxwell's book Developing the Leader Within You, we learn the importance of asking the question "Why?" within our organizations.

The British have always been good with the patronage system. John F. Barker in Roll Call tells the story that for more than twenty years, for no apparent reason, an attendant stood the foot of the stairway leading to the House of Commons. At last someone checked adn discovered that the job had been held in the attendant's family for three generations. It seems it originated when the stairs were painted and the current attendant's grandfather was assigned the tastk of warning people not to step on the wet paint. One British newsman, told of the situation, commented, "The paint dried up but not the job."

Like Father Like Son

Whether we like it or not our kids will repeat some of the behavior they see modeled in our lives. Take Abraham for example: In Genesis 12 and in Genesis 20 Abraham moved to a new land and told the people living there that Sarah (his wife) was actually his sister. He did so because his wife was very beautful and he was afraid the people of the land would kill him to get her for themselves. So he lied. Well fast forward a few years to Genesis 26 and you find Abraham's son Isaac doing the same thing (after his father has already died). He moves to a new land and tells the people living there that Rebekah (his wife) was actually his sister. He did so because his wife was very beautiful and he was afraid the people of the land would kill him to get her for themselves. So he lied. Like father, like son.

Here's my point. Our kids will model our behavior. They will follow what they SEE, not what they HEAR. We can tell them over an over about how to live, but they will do as we DO, not as we SAY. Since we know ahead of time that our kids will repeat behavior they see from our lives - let's choose to model behavior worth repeating. Let's choose to live godly lives in front of our kids. With God's help this is possible.