Great post!

The culture has overwhelmed people to the point where God (and the Bible) are no longer important in their lives.

They are like cattle standing in front of a new gate. They cannot envision what is on the other side. They cannot see past their noses.

I think it is the job of the believer to help point out, or precipitate a crisis.

Talk to people aboput the things in lif ethat are getting them. Relationships, work, personal problems, additictions, illness…everybody has things that are tearing them down.

That is another expression of the ‘law’. (it’s not just the 10 Commandments)

Then when the law has had it’s way with them, has exposed them and their frailties, then hand over the gospel to them.

“Yeah, I know life can really be hard (I also have x,y, and z going on in my own life), but let me tell you about the One who has given His life for us that we might have new life some day. Let me tell you about Jesus. He died on that cross for you. He has promised to make you whole again.”

That’s the gospel. The gospel contains the power of God (Romans 1:16).

In this day and age where the Christians have become caricatures and the church is not valued but mocked and is the object of derision, I think that one on one witnessing, wherein we get to know the person a little bit, is the way to bring the law and the gospel to bear in a person’s life , so that the gospel might grab a hold of them.

I don’t know how else to do it. The days of memorizing the Bible for the general public are, unfortuanately, over.

before he returns. I remember when many god Cristians were glued to the TV for the 6 day way, feeling that was it. Well, one of these days we are going to be right!

• He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (1:6);
• We are all partakers of grace together (1:7);
• We will be pure and blameless for the day of Christ (1:10);
• Human opposition, far from defeating the gospel, is serving to advance the joyous spread of the gospel (1:12-18);
• Should life be lost, Christ is gained (1:21);
• Temporary survival is gospel opportunity (1:22);
• To depart and be with Christ is far better than this life (1:23);
• The further we go with Christ, the more joy we experience (1:25);
• The gospel of Christ is an uplifting power (1:27);
• Opposition to gospel witness presages the doom of the opponents and the glorious destiny of the faithful (1:28);
• It is a God-given privilege to suffer for the sake of Christ (1:29);
• Union with Christ brings encouragement, comfort from love, participation in the Spirit, affection and sympathy (2:1);
• Christ Jesus himself is living proof that the arrogance of this world is doomed and that gospel humility is the path of great reward (2:6-9);
• Jesus is King, and he will have every rational creature in the universe know it and own it, to the greater glory of God the Father (2:10-11);
• We do not need even an apostle always present to lead us by the hand; God himself is deeply at work in us (2:12-13);
• Knowing Christ Jesus the Lord redefines all trophies of self-exaltation as “rubbish,” for he gives true righteousness and participation in his death and resurrection; he is so superior to all things in this world that, whatever path we may take into the resurrection of the dead, the price to be paid is small (3:7-11);
• In conversion, Christ Jesus takes eternal possession of us (3:12);
• The call of God in Christ Jesus offers a prize far beyond this world, worthy of our all (3:14);
• To whatever extent we struggle to grasp the upward call, God will reveal all that we need revealed (3:15);
• To settle for the rewards of this world is to make oneself an enemy of the cross of Christ and to make a god of one’s earthly appetites, which is the path of destruction and the reversal of a truly human life (3:18-19);
• We who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh also find our citizenship in heaven, from which we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will raise our “vile” (KJV) bodies into his immortal glory by his power over all things (3:3, 20-21);
• Our names are written in the book of life (4:3);
• The Lord is at hand (4:5);
• God receives our prayers and sends his overruling peace to guard our hearts when the circumstances of life would have us frantic (4:6-7);
• As we follow the apostolic example of lovely heavenly-mindedness, we experience the presence of the God of peace (4:8-9);
• Christ strengthens us to accept with contentment whatever life may bring (4:11-13);
• When we support the ministry of the gospel, the fruit increases to our own credit (4:17);
• God receives our gospel partnership as a sacrifice pleasing to himself (4:18);
• God is committed to our own needs with all his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (4:19);
• In it all, God will get glory for himself forever and ever (4:20);
• And in the meantime, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ will steadfastly be with our spirit (4:23).

Makes me wonder, how much more is there in this Bible which I hardly know?

Anyway, the book is required reading for week one, so I read it this week and I was really challenged by it. Basically, it encourages having people read Scripture out loud to see and hear the Gospel for themselves. The guy asked why we would go anywhere without Scripture if it were truly important to us. After all, we don’t forget to take our wallet or keys along when we go (at least most of the time), why would we not take along Scripture so that we are prepared to share it when God gives the opportunity. I carried my pocket NT with me when I went out today and I intend to continue to do so, because there are far too many people who really don’t have a clue what God’s Word says. And if I meet up with them by God’s providence, I intend to be prepared to share it with them.

Like you, I get a lot of enjoyment out of reading Christian blogs and writing at my own as well. At the same time, I try to venture outside the bounds and be a light and a little salt in a dying blogoshpere as well. May courage build to take it to the streets of my community as well.

Will, guilty as charged on this. I will say that in the last week or so I’ve really been feeling a burden about sharing the gospel as loudly as possible. It’s an awakening.

Recently, I’ve been sharing things with one of my sisters-in-law, specifically how you can lose your reward but you cannot lose your salvation (1 Corinthian 3:10-15). I was surprised when she didn’t understand the difference. She thought that our salvation was our reward. She had no idea.

There’s been a lot of recent activity around the ark of the covenant. I shared with my wife some of the things I learned through my studies of this and she was perplexed.

I’ve been sharing with my family that it’s my belief that if I don’t see the return of Christ, my son and stepson will. Like Jeff, I’m not into setting dates for the rapture because Jesus was very specific that only the Father knows the hour. But we can discern the signs of the times.

Our blogs may be poor vehicles for proclaiming the gospel. iMonk mentioned this recently. But I know the gifts God has given me so I will continue to blog and write. But I also realize the burden I have to share the good news with my mouth and not just my fingers and keyboard.

Thanks for this post. I really do sense something is happening because a lot of us bloggers are all sensing the same thing.

I believe that’s called the Holy Spirit, is it not?

In Christ,

Joe.