POINTING OTHERS TO JESUS
BIBLE PASSAGE:
The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”
(Jeremiah 31:3)
MEDITATION:
Have you thought about the best way for you to point others to
the Lord? In order to answer that question we need to remember
how the Lord drew us to Him. Did He ‘demand’ that we come to
Him? Did He give us ‘commands’ to obey before we could come
to Him? Did He give us a ‘list of tasks’ to be completed in order
to come to Him?
The answer to each of those questions is “No”. God draws people
to Him through love and kindness. That should be the model for
us. We need to ensure that others can see His love and kindness
flowing though us.
People evaluate our faith by what they see and not by what we say.
We can quote scriptures, talk “religiously”, and tell others that we
belong to the Lord, but if they can’t witness it in our attitude and
the way we live, then they are going to be skeptical of the anything
we tell them.
The Bible tells us how those with faith
met every day to praise and worship God.
Every day they continued to meet together in the
temple courts. They broke bread in their homes
and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
praising God and enjoying the favor of all the
people. And the Lord added to their number
daily those who were being saved.
(Acts 2:46-47)
Look at the results of these faithful people who
met together to worship the Lord. The Lord…
“added to their number daily those who were being saved”.
They could have stayed at home and created their own form
of worship, but they enjoyed meeting with other believers to
praise the Lord, and learn more about Him.
They could have waited for the designated annual feasts
to worship Him once a year, but they loved the Lord and
looked forward to meeting with other believers.
They could have claimed that they needed to tend to their
crops and didn’t have time to meet with others, but they
were dedicated to the Lord, and He was their top priority.
God was important enough to the early Christians that they
set aside any selfish desires, and chose to go to His house to
worship, sing praises, and learn more about the Lord.
More than likely, when they saw others being saved as a result
of their own faithfulness, the believers realized the impact they
could have on those who needed to be saved.
Why should we want to worship and praise the Lord? Why
should we have a desire to participate with other believers
in learning more about the Lord?
My sheep listen to my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
(John 10:27)
Note:
Even though some cannot physically meet together with other
believers (due to illnesses, weakened immune systems, risk of
contracting pandemic viruses, or physical limitations), they can
still ‘connect’ and be a part of group worship through social
media (which is provided by many churches today).
They can also stay in contact with others through texting,
phone calls, etc.
(some Sunday School classes use group texting for sharing
prayer requests as a means of ‘staying in touch’ with brothers
and sisters in Christ).
Of course, group worship is best whenever believers can meet
together in God’s house, but it is extremely important to stay
connected when we cannot be with others physically. If we fail
to make special efforts to stay connected, we will gradually fall
away from worship of any kind. We need to schedule time for
worshipping, the same as we would if we could attend church.
We just read about the depth of thankfulness a group of people
had for God and His blessings, but what does the Bible tell us
about individuals worshiping God in His house?
There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel,
of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with
her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was
a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple
but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
(Luke 2:36-37)
Anna never left God’s house as she worshiped Him night
and day; she also fasted and prayed to show the depth of
her appreciation for God’s goodness. It may not be practical
for us to ‘never leave the temple’, but it is important for us to
establish and maintain a consistent worshipping of God and
connecting with other believers.
If we don’t, we run the risk of developing and rationalizing
our own ideas about how to worship. We need to hear the
things that might cause us to feel uncomfortable in order
for God to continue to sanctify us (which is conforming us
to become more like Jesus so He can use us in whatever way
He chooses). The scriptures tell us:
For the time will come when people will not put up with
sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will
gather around them a great number of teachers to say what
their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears
away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
(2 Timothy 4:3-4)
In our world today, it is difficult to find the same level
of dedication and commitment as those early believers
we have seen in the scriptures. Most churches give us
three opportunities a week for gathering together to
worship with other believers. Sadly, there are many who
do not consistently use at least one opportunity a week.
If we have a sincere desire to see others led to the Lord, then
we should learn from the scriptures how important it is to be
connected with other believers. When we have been saved,
we should be excited about worshipping the Lord.
We can ‘tell’ others that we love God as much as we want to,
but if they don’t ‘see’ anything in our life that supports our
faith, then how could they possibly believe what we ‘say’ to
them?
If others don’t see our faith in action, they could have an
opinion that our faith is not heartfelt, but merely words
(that kind of perception will not contribute to leading others
to Jesus; it could even push them away from Him if they fail
to see any sincerity in our faith).
It doesn’t make any difference how many times we tell others
about our faith, or how many scriptures we can quote, if they
don’t see any evidence of faith in action, they are not going to
believe we have a faith the Lord, nor do we have a relationship
with Him.
God used love and kindness to draw us to Him and we should
mimic His love and kindness when we interact with others. If
people are treated rudely and offensively by others, they should
have a natural attraction to the kindness they have seen in us.
When hurting people need love and support, they should know
they can turn to us to receive love and encouragement.
We don’t have to move mountains or perform heroic acts as a way
of pointing others to Jesus, we just need to be kind and loving, and
let our actions show them that our faith is real. When others see the
sincerity of our faith and the characteristics of Jesus in our attitudes
and actions, that may be the seed that begins the process of pointing
them to Jesus.
God may choose someone else to water those seeds in some specific
way, but the bottom line is, we all have a responsibility to serve
God in some capacity. He had plans for us before He created us.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart; I appointed
you as a prophet to the nations.”
(Jeremiah 1:5)
“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)
ACTION:
Is your faith supported by your actions? When people see your
expression of faith, are they drawn to the Lord? Are you failing
to point others to Jesus in some areas of your life? If you were a
lost person, would you want to know God based on the sincerity
and dedication you see in your own life? If you were on trial for
being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I am thankful for the salvation You
have given me and I want others to receive Your gift as
well. Forgive me if others cannot detect the sincerity of
my faith due to my actions, or lack of actions. Help me
to consistently show love and kindness to others. Impress
on me the importance of supporting my ‘words of faith’
through my ‘actions of faith’. I don’t want others to
perceive me as a hypocrite who talks about faith, but
doesn’t show it. I want to serve You and contribute to
others being pointed to You. I realize I cannot be selfish
and serve You at the same time. Change my faulty attitudes
and priorities, and cultivate Your characteristics in me.
Lord, I need You to help me be a living witness for You.
Thank You for Your many blessings and forgive me for
any failures to show my appreciation through praying
and worshipping You. The knowledge of Your love and
forgiveness never ceases to amaze me. Help me to live a
life that will assure others that Your love is available for
them too, if they will just reach out to You for it.”
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