Sharing Jesus

When it comes to telling other people about Christianity it can be a difficult exercise. Do they want to hear, what will they think of me, am I getting it right are three of the many worries an evangelist may encounter. When we begin to understand that the Holy Spirit is the one doing the work it can help us to realize that the work is God's work and he is just using us to help others on their journey. In the book of Acts we see 2 different occasions when the Apostle Paul shared his faith and we will look at these today.

• ACTS CH 22 and ACTS Ch 26 are two recorded testimonies of Paul to different audiences.
  
  
• The stories are Paul's personal story. God is not some abstract concept, but a real, living personal being.
  
  
• Paul didn't go looking for these opportunities. They came his way and he obediently took them by sharing his faith.
  
  
• The testimonies vary slightly. Whether through intuition or the Spirits leading our testimony should adapt to who our audience is.
  
  
• In Ch 26 Paul is talking to a King, yet he still gives this man the opportunity to respond to what has been said.
  
  
• If our faith is real, we should have a story to tell. It doesn't have to be as dramatic as Paul's story, but like his testimony, it should recall a personal encounter with the risen Jesus.

It is not always easy to appropriately share your faith. There are times when it is not appropriate and we need to be sensitive to this and there are other instances where God is asking us to testify about Jesus and we need to be obedient here also. 1 PETER Ch 3 v 15 may be a useful guide. "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect". One thing is certain: our world more than ever needs to hear the truth about the love and forgiveness found only in Jesus.