READ: 2 Corinthians 4
THINK: I hope you read yesterday’s post about evangelism. I was convicted by those thoughts. I want to continue on the same thought process as we dig into 2 Corinthians 4. I am involved in church ministry and as I read this chapter it spoke loudly to me and to the purpose of the local church.
The church I serve at has a mission, “To be a church that unchurched people love to attend.” I love that mission. We want to reach lost people. We want people who have always been far from God to feel comfortable at a church where they can learn about him. My desire is to see unchurched people’s ideas of church change. I think a lot of us desire that. We don’t want to be known for things we hate and the list of things we can’t do. Instead, don’t we want to be known for speaking truth that brings life, for walking along people whose lives are being transformed?
How will we do this? Well it will start by acknowledging were we are at. We live in a dark world that will oppose the church. They may call the gospel distorted and deceptive. In fact, just the other day I was talking to a girl who had been told many times that “Christianity” was keeping her from a greater truth. This can weigh heavy on our hearts and cause us to doubt, but Paul says this, “We do not lose heart!” God has given us the unique responsibility of helping draw people who are far from him, closer to him. This is reason to rejoice, even in the midst of others’ doubts and opposition. This is reason to work as hard as we can at reaching the lost.
There is no reason to fear if your life isn’t all together and you don’t have all the answers…you aren’t preaching yourself or trying to win someone over to be like you, we preach Christ(vs. 5-6) through the power of the Holy Spirit. You can start making a difference by inviting just one person to church with you. See how God uses that not only in your friend’s life, but also in yours.
So let’s join forces in changing the attitude in this culture toward church. Let’s do all we can to make it easy for people to enter into God’s kingdom. Why? So that God can be given all the glory (vs. 15).
PRAY: Pray for people/organizations who are trying to reach lost people in a different way than you are. Ask God to give you respect for those people instead of judgment because they do it differently. Pray that God may give you opportunities to see radically transformed lives!
*for more on this topic, check out Andy Stanley’s book, Deep and Wide
By: KVH
throughin2.com 