Do Not Hold Back

Jack Aamot put this on facebook this morning.  It's worth a read:

Once in a while I feel I have to express my deep feelings and convictions. This facebook way seems to work:

I believe that most Christians have a reluctance, perhaps a fear to share the good news of God's love, Jesus' death for our sins and the resurrection as an exclamation point that all sins were paid for, and we have an alive Jesus who is empowering his followers by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit- who according to Jesus gives us the power to "witness."

In fact Jesus commission to the 11 was they were to go and make disciples.

There is a growing number of people who love Jesus but do not want to help the pre-Christians experience the presence and power that comes with salvation, shalom, via a turning to Jesus and experiencing new life in him.

Rom 1:16 is Paul saying I am not ashamed of the gospel: Jesus is the Christ, he died for our sins, he rose from the grave and is alive today so we can have a unity with him as powerful and rewarding as his unity with the Father. Paul goes on to say: it, the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.

Later on in Romans Paul says you have to hear this good news in order to believe, and to hear it someone has to tell you the gospel so no it's not enuf to give a poor child a pair of socks (as I heard the other night)...

Now I think that God will use all the kind deeds, the listening ears, the smiles, to prepare the person to hear the gospel and respond by faith to what they have heard -- in scripture we read about those who sow the seed, others water the seed - only God gives the growth - and there are workers for the harvest time - [but] someone needs to share the gospel - the good news - and then God moves to help them say yes to Jesus -

So Jesus asked us to pray to the lord of the harvest - always there are those ready to respond - for laborers to go to harvest - those God has ready to repent and believe and receive his gift of eternal life.

There I got some of it out there - do not hold back from those you encounter - tell them about Jesus - it just may be that God has prepared them for you to "evangelize."

*** To learn more about the evangelistic movement that was founded in Brazil by Jack Aamot and others, go to Movimento Encontrão (automatic google translation from the Portuguese).  I met the "BIG ENCOUNTER" movement when I was in Brasil 1983-84. ***

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