It is the hardest challenge to tell people about God, but I encourage you to grow in your faith with God; He will show you what to say and when to say it. He will make reaching out to people spiritually easier! You can't convince someone to become a Christian on your own - it's God that prepares people's hearts. All you have to do is follow what God has planned for you. Don't feel ashamed of the truth!
My personal challenge is to reach as many people (spiritually) as I can with my blog! If you have just become a Christian, and you are interested in learning more about our Savior, leave me a comment! I would love to hear your story.
I encourage you as your Sister in Christ to keep running the marathon even when you're tired; I pray for you every day! I pray that if you know someone who is in need of that gift, that he/she will except that gift. Know that if your friend rejects the gift of God, that maybe the time is not right. There is still a chance for your friend; just give him/her time. Trust God's timing. He knows the plan, He's got the blueprints!
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11
Everyone deserves a chance to hear the Lords story! So get more involved! Start volunteering at the senior center or at the library. Help a neighbor get there groceries into the house. I guess what I'm saying is, make more friends (and i don't just mean on facebook or twitter! *wink*)! Being friendly is the first step to take when you have that urge to tell them God's love for them. That's exactly what Jesus did!
Once you and your new friend have, you know, become friends (which might take longer than expected, you know), bring up the question, "So, what do you think of God? Do you believe there's an after life? Why?" Don't ask those questions all at once. We don't want to scare off our new friends with, let's face it, tough questions. So after asking, listen! Listening to them first will always help you see what kind of person they are. It will give you an idea of what their prospective on things are. You see what I mean?
Though you might not agree with everything that they believe and say, you should let them know by your actions that you are welcome to listen. So add in lines like, "Hm. I never thought of it that way." or "That's interesting." or "Okay, I think I know what you mean."
Naturally, your friend might ask you the same questions you just asked him/her. Now here is your chance. On the spot I might say this, "Well, I've been a Christian since I was four. What I believe is that every one has sinned. God sent His one and only Son, Jesus who was born a perfect man. Jesus died for all of our sins on a cross, so that we could receive the gift He has given us, and live eternally with Him in Heaven."
So you could say something like that, and if your friend starts asking more questions like, "Well, if your God is so nice why couldn't He save everyone?", don't be offended. They're just trying to understand what we believe!
For that hard question they might have asked, I would say, "God loves everyone, and no one can enter His Kingdom (Heaven) with out being a sinless person. We were all born sinners. There is no way we can get passed that! But since Jesus died on the cross to get rid of our sins, He gave each of us a gift; to confess to Him that we have all sinned so that we can live eternally with God in Heaven. If someone doesn't except His gift, he/she will be separated from God for eternity."
Now, I must warn you. A lot of people try to get Christians in a moment of block. Like if you have writers block, you don't know what to write next. If your friend asks you a huge question about Christianity, and you don't know how to answer, your mind is blocked (i'm just using this term).
Let's say your friend does ask you a question you don't already know yet. Just simply say, "You know, I'm not quite sure about that. But I'll ask my mom." Or you can ask your dad, your youth pastor, your grandparents, any Christian adult who strongly knows what they believe:)
Another thing you might want to take note on, is to ask your friend the 'what are your beliefes' question, at a reasonable time. If you came over to your friends house at 2am in the pouring rain, banging loudly on their front door, asking/shouting, "I just want you to know about Jesus!"..... I don't think I'd ever want talk to you again (i'm just hypothetically speaking)! Now, if you invite your friend over to your house to make cookies or go walk around the block a few times, that would be a nicer way of bringing up the question.
But most importantly, PRAY and READ YOUR BIBLE! The Bible has many encouraging verse meant for everyone! Plus if you memorize a few good Bible verses, you could share them with your friend when you tell him/her what you believe. And PRAY! If there's is anything you come out learning from this post, remember to PRAY! God has all the time in the world for each individual person. Pray for guidance and a spiritually straight path as you follow Him. Pray for your new friend; that he/she will become interested in your beliefs and decide to surrender their life to God. If you pray, God will help! He will make you more confident in your relationship with Him, and give you the right words when you need them:) So read your Bible and PRAY. Cause it's their life; and you only have so much time....
*Allie*
