'I am convinced the greatest act of love we can ever perform for people is to tell them about God's love for them in Christ.'
- Billy Graham
I suppose this post is more of a request for prayer. Over the past few months in particular, I have really been challenged to stand boldly for Christ and to share the love of Jesus with other people. Sharing the gospel is something that we should do at every opportunity we can get - and we get lots of them, even though we don't necessarily take them!
At our CU, they have a vision statement which has set us the exciting challenge of 'engaging with the 24,000 students of LJMU, through the relevance of the gospel, with boldness and courage, for the glory of God.' Now when I first saw this, I thought 24,00 students is a lot of people to reach out to, particularly for a group of around 30 students. Don't get me wrong, 24,000 people is a lot of people. But I don't think that it is a number which is too great for us to share Jesus with. My thinking has been massively encouraged through one verse:
'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'
Matthew 19:26
So I suppose a huge prayer for our CU would be that we wouldn't be discouraged and think that this is an unachievable task, but that we would be reminded of the power of the gospel. God's word is a word that can change lives. It's not just any old book - it's a book that holds the Truth that is found in Jesus Christ. Spreading the news of Jesus to these 24,000 people is impossible if we don't have God on our side and at the forefront of our minds. BUT. We need to remember that we do have God on our side. And although it may be quite daunting talking to people we may not necessarily know, we need not be afraid because Jesus has promised that He will be with us every step of the way.
Recently I sat down and thought about this, and questioned why I often find it so hard to share my faith with other people. Is it because I am scared about what people will think? Am I embarrassed? Then I thought about people who follow other religions. It is quite scary to see how public and open they are about their beliefs and how they aren't afraid to share their beliefs with other people. So why are we?! As Christians we believe that there is only one God. We believe that Jesus died for our sins so we can know Him as our personal Saviour, and so we can be with Him in heaven. If this is a truth that we know everybody should hear, and everybody needs, and if its a truth that we know to be the only truth, why are we so afraid to hold it back? We shouldn't be!
Something that has also really been on my heart for the past year - and particularly since the Aberystwyth conference this Summer - is getting involved in mission work. At the conference, one of the meetings focused on being part of the mission and not part of the mission field. And its made me realise, how better can I spend next Summer than serving my Saviour?
I just pray that this year God would guide me in deciding how I can spend this summer - whether it's abroad or even just within the UK. I've looked into a couple of organisations and spoken to a couple of people for help - but I just pray that whatever I end up doing, God will really use me, challenge me, and maybe bring me out of my comfort zone, in order to share the gospel!
'And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.'
Mark 16:15
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