Jesus is ready, are you?

If you talk with people in conversation it doesn’t take very long to figure out the type of causes they support or believe in. Most individuals have a cause, and that includes the most selfish cause of, “I don’t worry about anybody else, I just worry about me”. I write with a bit of a smile because some of the time individuals who make that statement actually believe they are doing a good thing and are making the proper choice. They totally miss the reasoning behind believing in issues and having a belief system. I know folks who are 100% committed to the March of Dimes; some who are always pumped about Relay for Life and that experience; and still others who are sports fans and their cause is seeing their team win and they are all about wearing team colors, you know those folks when you see them.
Causes are valuable and they even provide purpose and even meaning to our lives. As a Christian, it is easy to say my cause is the cause of Christ, but for those watching and observing, a question that must be answered is what is His cause? When you look at the life of Jesus there is no debate about his interest and cause. He came to seek and to save that which is lost, and for those of us following in His footsteps, that must be the focus of our attention and interest too. The problem facing many Christians today is that our lives seem to be empty of plans and purposes to make a difference in the lives of others as Jesus seemed to do with folks he encountered in His journeys.
Johnny Hunt, President of the Southern Baptist Convention said wouldn’t it be great to announce at the 2010 Convention the number of individuals who came to know Jesus Christ personally because of evangelistic efforts conducted during that convention. Imagine what would happen if all the pastors and deacons who attend the convention alone set out to intentionally share the good news of Jesus Christ with someone they meet during that time. I am specifically calling your attention to pastors and deacons because most Baptist love to blame everything on them anyways, but my imagination includes every believer, every Christian. The most difficult question for most Christians to answer today is: “Who is the last person you shared the good news with?” You will hear answers like, well, I may not have shared the gospel directly, but they know I care about them, or something like, I do a lot around the church and that is my focus. Please don’t misunderstand the important of supportive roles, I applaud those that work to make things happen behind the scenes but all of us as Christians still have a responsibility to tell others about Jesus, no matter how many church roles will assume or how busy we make ourselves to be.
Individually sharing your story and experience with Jesus is the key to others believing what you say you believe about Him. People are struggling to see answers and to have hope, and we have the answer, Jesus.
If you are shaking your head with I just don’t know type of shakes, then let me suggestion you look inside your church and see who it is you yourself have in your field of vision, and why not ask them to sit down and allow you 5 minutes to share what Jesus means to you. I believe we can change the world, one person at a time, and I know that Jesus is ready to help us with all that is necessary, or at least He was fully available to me.

Until then