1 PETER 3:15

But in your hearts set Christ apart as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

TO PONDER

I can really relate to this verse because on two occasions when I have been discussing my faith with an interested person, I have been asked to do just that. My initial reaction was, ‘hasn’t she been listening’, then the realisation dawned that I probably hadn’t made myself clear.

We all want to be accurate and truthful when sharing our faith, but it is easy to forget we are talking to someone only taking baby steps on their faith walk, and how we react to their questions is very important to continue building a positive relationship.                                                                                                               

While we need to be confident, we also need to be humble, reflecting Jesus’ nature as we share our personal story of hope in Jesus, making sure that this is our personal story, not made up or second-hand. 

Sometimes we can meet angry responses to our message, other times our conversation can be the last step someone someone takes into a long term life of following Jesus and it seems to come out of nowhere. This is more reason to remain calm and gently respond the someones questions and not just revert to a laundry list of pre-prepares responses and doctrinal statements. We have been given a chance to share our hope in Jesus, we don’t want to lose it!!  When we ask God to walk beside us on this journey, we can be  sure of his help if things get tricky.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, you have made sure that we are well equipped to share our story of our hope in you with others, may we remember that this could be a new experience for our listener and gently answer their questions or correct a mis- understanding,  May you always walk with us on this journey. Amen

Today's devotion written by Maureen Macpherson, LifeWay Newcastle