Lets just jump right in , shall we ? There use to be a show on some cable feed. I probably shouldn’t bring it up, because I think that I actually only ever watched one episode of it. I think that it was called ” Myth Busters” , or something like that, and it may have been on the history Channel, not really sure about that either. I think the premise of the show was to debunk, some commonly misconceptions, or to separate truth from fiction. I don’t know why but my brain likes to bundle certain things together, so a show like myth busters gets thrown in with conspiracy type shows and things along the lines of urban legends. I don’t know why those three things congregate in my head together but they just do. I don’t know if they are some how connected or just more of my particular weirdness. My ex wife and I were from two different races and she always felt as if she had the license to have free reign over to openly criticized both races, because, in her mind that meant that she was free to do so, because we were married and that meant that she couldn’t possibly be prejudice or racist. I know that many people didn’t appreciate her taking the liberty, and I don’t believe, no let me scratch that, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was not married to a racist, thank goodness for our children’s sake ☺️☺️. That may sound like a funny statement to make, but I have met people who were married to racist people and had no clue, until it came up somewhere down the road, but we aren’t going to chase that rabbit today. Ok, so what was my point for all of that? I’m going to beat up on Christians today and I’m going to take the same stance as my ex wife, since I am one, I’m using my license to do so. I hope you don’t check out, you may miss something good☺️☺️. Ok, if you check your score cards and are paying attention, I’m going to put my peeps under the microscope today. I have to always check myself to see if I’m marinating in self righteousness, and I certainly hope that is not the case. I have spoken to and attempted to share my faith with many people over the years, and I believe that I have heard just about everything under the sun , except for I’m from another planet and this doesn’t apply, but there is still time for that one to register in☺️☺️. While I don’t have time to discuss the large range of responses, I would like to address this particular one, when it comes to sharing one’s faith. I often hear people talk about how personal their faith is to them and to that I say bravo! If you have a genuine faith then it should absolutely be a deeply personal thing. The thing that I can’t quite wrap my mind around is how it can be a secret, something that they can’t put into words, or share in a regular old conversation with someone else, in the correct setting, and we will get back to that. I hear people say ” it’s personal “, much like it’s an excuse, to keep them from talking about it. I mean some of them say it’s personal in a way that would make you think that you were asking them which hand they used to wipe their butts with when they go to the bathroom, sorry for that picture, but not sorry☺️☺️. I completely get that everybody is not a self proclaimed extrovert, who has never met a stranger in their entire life, and can just about talk to anyone about anything. These maybe the people in the grocery store handing out coupons to complete strangers, because they just think it’s a crime, if everyone doesn’t want to save a little money, and make sure you check those expiration dates on those coupons ☺️☺️. It doesn’t matter how shy you may be, or awkward you feel, every believer has been tasked with the great commission. Now, if you have never heard of this or are unaware as to what that is, you might want to check and see if you actually have that card in your wallet, labeled Christianity 101☺️☺️. We are all called to be prepared to give an account for the hope that lies within us. Ok, here we go again, it’s personal, think about the other relationships that you have in your life, with your kids, parents, siblings or even a spouse. They are all personal relationships, but you don’t have trouble telling other people about how proud you are for your kid making the honor roll, or being accepted at some swanky university. You don’t have a problem telling your buddy at work that you shot a thirty-two on the front nine at the golf course last weekend. See ,when I think about all the things that we get excited about and choose to share with others, I’m honestly surprised how this one, never comes up, almost never !, and the question is why is that? It can’t possibly be that You are never around people who are walking through some stuff in their lives. People who are hurting, people who are lost and have no idea that God loves them . We are almost smothered by people who are looking and needing hope. The world is a very dark place and growing darker by the day, and you my friend, yes you, are supposed to be salt and light. In actuality, some of the people You encounter will never darken the door of a church ever, not even on Christmas and Easter. This means that you may be the only Jesus ambassador that they may ever encounter. Ok, so here you go ,you have friends at school, coworkers at work, friends in social settings, and possibly family members. You live with these people in your sphere of influence day in and day out, you talk about all kinds of things from sports, to your favorite TV shows to you name it, but never about the thing that you are supposed to believe is the biggest and most important choice in your life, that’s right, not about who you marry, where you go to school, what neighborhood to live in….. and ,not a peep out of you. Then they have some crisis in their lives and you think, maybe I should talk to them about Christ. Well first of all, now you have made it awkward and it seems a bit opportunistic. If Jesus is so important to you, how come I’m just hearing about Him now? I mean after years in the same carpool, I felt as if I knew everything about you except your social security number, and now you spring this on me , out of nowhere. Ok, so let’s just take off the gloves ,and I’m going to call you out to the middle of the ring. If I was to ask by a show of hands, how many of you have ever been on either side of this next scenario, every hand in the room should go up. Have you ever been the person that people were surprised to find out that you are a believer, based on your life style and choices, or were you the one who’s mouth dropped to the floor in the discovery of such a thing? Now!, when I say life style, it’s not like you are engaging in some illegal activities, well at least I hope not, but its more like , if I threw you into a barrel of none believers and grabbed one out, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference ☺️☺️. Maybe it is the words that You use, maybe it’s the places that you go, or the type of behaviors that you indulge in. I will just come clean and tell you that I like watching edgy programming, things that resemble real life, some of it reminds me of where I use to be and some of it just scars the crap out of me as in I could never go there. Not that long ago, I use to love to watch ” Sons of Anarchy “, and ” Justified “, both a little bit out of my wheel house, but I enjoyed the twist and turns. I have a dear Christian sister down in Goose Creek, S.C, who told me that “Justified ” is coming back this summer, will I watch, I don’t know, not finding much time for TV these days. I think that sometimes it’s confusing to the outside world. Instead of wolves in sheep’s clothing, we are sheep doing our best impression of being wolves. I think back to my last relationship with someone who I don’t believe was one of the king’s kids, but you never know, so I leave room and space for being wrong, because we just never really know someone’s heart. Looking back we were such a pair and the only difference between us was our walks with God, mine very open and on display and hers not so much!. I mean in her mind, she was confused by how we could be so similar except in that one area, and I don’t believe that she was a unicorn, I just think that we all to often just look like everyone else, when we are called to be set apart. We laugh at some of the same raunchy comics as non believers . I find some of us in strip clubs, at our kid’s ball games using four letter words at the coach or referee, sometimes both . We are gossiping at work behind other people’s backs. We use our resources to play lotto, instead of supporting ministries and sometimes we find ourselves on a golf course on Sunday mornings , instead of in Church, yet we say that we are good with God, and I’m not here to tell you that you are not. I mean , every believer is a witness for God, the question is what kind? I have often thought about how many people I have probably turned off to faith by my actions and attitudes over the years. Think about it, I mean if I were a politician and could go to church on Sunday and then divorce myself from my faith the rest of the week , with just about every decision and choice that I make , then it might be a good time for a little self examination, which scripture encourages us to do from time to time. The base line for faith is that it should permeate every area of your life. It should be visible in your marriage, and how you connect with your spouse, in your home, with your kids, at your job, or at school, and at every social setting. There should not just be any area of your life that is not defined and refined by your faith. I’m still learning myself, and I’m at a point where every juncture of life, every crossroads is looked upon as , is it something that draws me closer to God, or is it moving me away from God. This is not one of those things about trying harder to be a good person, or being seen in the proper light,, what I’m talking about is humanly impossible to do on your own, and can only be done with the presence of God in your life and that can’t be accomplished, if you never spend time with Him. While your faith is and should be one of the most deeply personal things in your life, it was never meant to be private or some sort of secret. It’s supposed to be on display for all to see, so that others would be drawn to the work that God is doing in your life., and so that God would get the credit for it , or His glory. Does that mean on display is always beautiful and pretty,? absolutely not . Life can be really hard and be really redefining in those difficult seasons that we refer to as valleys. People need to know from where you draw your strength. People need to know that it’s OK to be a little sad sometimes. People need to know that You never walk alone, and Who it is that walks a long side of you on your most difficult days. This day and age people just need to know that there is a better way to handle life’s frustrations, besides going to work with a gun and shooting up the place. People are desperately in need of hope and grace, and you keep it all to yourself….how selfish of you! It’s like having the cure for cancer or some other dreaded disease, and you decide to keep it all to yourself, while you stand by and watch others parish. . Ok, we just jumped in at the beginning and now we are just going to wrap this up. I spoke about the right time and place, and I said that we would get back to that, so here we are. In your journey of life we walk along side of others, at PTA meetings, our kid’s soccer games ,car pools, neighbors trimming hedges, or perhaps it’s a poker night with some guys from work, but as we walk and build those friendships and relationships, we usually earn some equity along the way and part of that is being able to earn the right to ask certain questions and to be able to share certain things . I will never be able to tell you what the right time and place is, because it is different for everyone based on their relationship and the whole of it should be at the leading of the Holy Spirit. You know, you have felt it before, but you shrug it off like a pitcher on the mound ,who doesn’t like the call that the catcher is giving him. You just talk yourself out of it again and again, when you know that it is something that you are being felt led to do. I think where we get things twisted is thinking that we are responsible for the outcome and we are not. We are just called to share and that is truly your part and all that you are responsible for. The results of your sharing is up to God, and His Spirit. There is no chance in the world that you can force anyone to become a believer and honestly sometimes we need to just get over ourselves, because it is not us that they are rejecting, but the One whom you represent. All we are called to do is be faithful in the sharing arena. We are all witnesses for Christ, just not always good ones. The take away should be that your faith absolutely should be the most personal thing in your life, but it is also absolutely not private. It never was intended to be and it never should be, or how else will people be drawn to it. One last dig before I depart,, if you happen to be one of those silly people who thinks that it works for you and that you are some how forcing something onto someone and that they just need to figure it out for themselves, then once again check your wallet or purse for that Christian 101 card, and refer back to my comments about people perishing, while you stand idly by.
