But if I say Ill never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. Its like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I cant do it! Jeremiah 20:9 9 (NLT)
Have you ever said something that you did not intend on saying? Perhaps thinking back on it, you could honestly say, It just slipped! Or maybe it was simply a reaction to something that was said in a conversation. Either way, you didnt plan on saying it.
Have you ever told yourself that you werent going to speak of a certain thing, only to find that it was too hard to contain? Unfortunately this most usually happens with gossip.
But that was not the case of the prophet Jeremiah was making in the Scripture above. He found that there was no way that he could contain what he knew about God. And he found that the more he resolved to not say anything about the Lord, it became just as if his bones were filled with fire.
Its been said, that we can determine how healthy our relationship with the Lord is, by how many people were sharing Him with. That can be our love and knowledge of Him, along with our testimony of how He has changed our life.
But let me just say at this point, Im not a fan of anyone telling another person of how they should share the love of God with another person. In fact, I think Ive written it before, but I really have a hard time with these emails that go around telling you that you need to be one of the 7% that forward it, or you dont love the Lord. Hog wash!
That is not true, and I can tell you most of the time, it is simply someone attempting chase down email addresses, or it is the enemy attempting to sew seeds of contention among the believers.
I dont believe you should be told to share anything. I find that they will naturally do it if they love what theyre sharing (This applies to gossip too). Its that simple.
In fact, I find that most of us dont have a problem sharing certain things with others in our life. People are eager to share what they did for fun over the weekend or on vacation. People love to share what theyve purchased, such as a new home, car, ring or watch. Parents love to share how their child scored a goal in soccer, or hit a home run in the baseball game.
And if were excited about what we know, well blurt it right out if the subject comes up and we have the chance to share it.
For instance, how about when someone comes up to another person and asks, Have you lost some weight lately? And the person responds very quickly, and with a smile on their face, 25-pounds!
I guess it comes down to whether or not we are excited about the Lord dying for us on the cross. I guess it comes down to whether we are reading the Word regularly and have things that we want to pass on to others. I guess it just plain comes down to whether we have that type of relationship with the Lord, that we would really want others to experience it as well. Are we sad because they dont have a relationship with Him, or eternal life?
We know that everyone wont accept what we have to say. In fact, to some, it is outright foolishness. But to others, it is the very thing that they need and desire to hear. Theyve been waiting for someone to explain to them what it means to be a Christian.
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1Corinthians 1:18 (NKJV)
Hey Christian, God has done some pretty amazing stuff in our life.
Hey, who knows, maybe these things will just slip out the next time were speaking with others.
STUDY QUESTION: According to 1 Corinthians 1:18, what is the Gospel message?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Is your relationship with God so special that you would want to share it with someone?
APPLICATION: The more we read the Word, the more we learn to know and love our Lord and Savior. When this happens, we cant help but share with others.
Have you ever said something that you did not intend on saying? Perhaps thinking back on it, you could honestly say, It just slipped! Or maybe it was simply a reaction to something that was said in a conversation. Either way, you didnt plan on saying it.
Have you ever told yourself that you werent going to speak of a certain thing, only to find that it was too hard to contain? Unfortunately this most usually happens with gossip.
But that was not the case of the prophet Jeremiah was making in the Scripture above. He found that there was no way that he could contain what he knew about God. And he found that the more he resolved to not say anything about the Lord, it became just as if his bones were filled with fire.
Its been said, that we can determine how healthy our relationship with the Lord is, by how many people were sharing Him with. That can be our love and knowledge of Him, along with our testimony of how He has changed our life.
But let me just say at this point, Im not a fan of anyone telling another person of how they should share the love of God with another person. In fact, I think Ive written it before, but I really have a hard time with these emails that go around telling you that you need to be one of the 7% that forward it, or you dont love the Lord. Hog wash!
That is not true, and I can tell you most of the time, it is simply someone attempting chase down email addresses, or it is the enemy attempting to sew seeds of contention among the believers.
I dont believe you should be told to share anything. I find that they will naturally do it if they love what theyre sharing (This applies to gossip too). Its that simple.
In fact, I find that most of us dont have a problem sharing certain things with others in our life. People are eager to share what they did for fun over the weekend or on vacation. People love to share what theyve purchased, such as a new home, car, ring or watch. Parents love to share how their child scored a goal in soccer, or hit a home run in the baseball game.
And if were excited about what we know, well blurt it right out if the subject comes up and we have the chance to share it.
For instance, how about when someone comes up to another person and asks, Have you lost some weight lately? And the person responds very quickly, and with a smile on their face, 25-pounds!
I guess it comes down to whether or not we are excited about the Lord dying for us on the cross. I guess it comes down to whether we are reading the Word regularly and have things that we want to pass on to others. I guess it just plain comes down to whether we have that type of relationship with the Lord, that we would really want others to experience it as well. Are we sad because they dont have a relationship with Him, or eternal life?
We know that everyone wont accept what we have to say. In fact, to some, it is outright foolishness. But to others, it is the very thing that they need and desire to hear. Theyve been waiting for someone to explain to them what it means to be a Christian.
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1Corinthians 1:18 (NKJV)
Hey Christian, God has done some pretty amazing stuff in our life.
Hey, who knows, maybe these things will just slip out the next time were speaking with others.
STUDY QUESTION: According to 1 Corinthians 1:18, what is the Gospel message?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Is your relationship with God so special that you would want to share it with someone?
APPLICATION: The more we read the Word, the more we learn to know and love our Lord and Savior. When this happens, we cant help but share with others.
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