Dave’s Monday Blast – February 7, 2022
“But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). This is because “the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Unlike those who are directionally lost and stop for directions, most who are spiritually lost don’t know they are lost. If Satan had his way, they will persist in this condition until it is too late. What can we do to help those who are spiritually blind to receive their sight?
1. Ask God to make our lives consistent with our message. People are far more likely to believe our faith is relevant to them when it is obviously relevant to us (Romans 12: 1 & 2).
2. Ask God to give us His love for the lost. We will risk anything for those we love. When we love others as Jesus loves us (John 13:34 & 35), our words will be empowered and inspired by compassion and grace. While no one wants to be told they are wrong and we are right, everyone wants to be loved.
3. Ask God to lead us to those He has prepared for our witness. He is actively cultivating the minds and hearts of the lost to hear the good news of God’s grace. He is thus preparing someone specifically for your compassionate witness today.
4. Ask God to inspire your words and actions. He knows just what this person needs to hear and see from you and see from you. If you submit to the Spirit each day (Ephesians 5:18), even when facing skeptics and critics, your words will be God’s words because “it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:20).
If we make these four requests of our Lord every day, our lives and witness will be transformed. We will know Jesus and make Him known with passion and compassion out of the overflow of His Spirit in our hearts. The late Senate Chaplain, Richard Halverson noted, “New Testament Christians did not witness because they had to, but because they could not help it.”
I want that statement to be my statement!
