The influence of a changed life

'And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.' (John 12:32)

One of my favorite stories is Jesus witnessing to the Samaritan woman at the well. So many lessons in this story for winning lost people. But what really grips my thought is how a woman of such bad reputation can gain the ear of so many in her town. I really believe they saw in her the change that Jesus made in her life. I believe this change had a far greater impact than the words she spoke. Her changed life lifted up the Lord.

I'm convinced that people will believe more from what they see in my life than what I say about my God.

I want God to actively change my life, so that others can see that God is alive.

We lift up the Lord when He changes our lives.

Proverbs 11:30

Che' Hensley shared his testimony Sunday. I was really challenged with all he said. Such a blessing to hear how God changes lives. But, what really spoke to me was how he tied Proverbs 11:30 in with Psalm 1.

'The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.' (Proverbs 11:30)

I've always focused on the second half, 'he that winneth souls is wise.' But Sunday what stood out for the first time to me was the first half of the verse as the key to winning souls, 'The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.' The NLT says, 'The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life.' Psalm 1 says of the righteous, 'They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.' Jesus said that we are to be 'salt and light.'

If we want to win lost people to Christ, we must become Christlike. We must allow Christ to influence and change our lives. When we love and care for people as Christ does, we will become more effective witnesses, winning more people to Christ.

Scatter

I've had this thought on my mind these past several days. Where does the church actually do it's work? Most people associate the main work and ministry of the church with it's worship services. But I disagree. The main work of the Church is to scatter from it's worship services and engage in ministry, service, and witness to unbelievers. If the only activity of a church is within it's church buildings, the church is not working. Don't misunderstand. The worship services are a vital part of a healthy Christian life. Our corporate gatherings are where we get encouraged and charged up for the ministry we do when we are apart.

I've been thinking a lot about this word scatter. Christians need to scatter everywhere; our homes, workplace, and the world sharing Christ.

Unfortunately the natural progression for churches is to become internally focused. Focusing more on the corporate gathering than the work we are to do in the world.

We need to be externally focused. Keeping our focus on the goal of reaching the lost.

It doesn't take faith to go to church as a believer. Church is not where a believer exercises his faith. We exercise our faith as we scatter reaching the lost. Church is a place to have our lives challenged and encouraged so that our faith works the rest of the week.

Lost list?

I was really challenged today in the area of prayer and witnessing as Mickey spoke from Colossians 4:2-6.

A Lost List. What a great idea. A lost list is a list of lost people that you are praying for God to save.

No doubt lost people were the priority for Jesus' life and ministry. His very purpose for coming to earth was 'to seek and to save' the lost. The same is also true for the apostle Paul. Paul was willing to be permanently cut off from Christ if that would save someone else. Wow!

Who is on your lost list? I have to wonder, if we prayed more for lost people, would we be more likely to make the most of every witnessing opportunity? I wonder how many opportunities we fail to even see because we first failed to pray?