On winning the lost

I read this during devotion today and felt that it is relevant for our My Hope Project...

"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men 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. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. "
2 Tim 4:2-5

The ideal conditions for sharing the faith or plucking the fruit will rarely be there:
"Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap."
Ecclesiastes 11:4

So, just do it!
"Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well."
Ecclesiastes 11:6

God has sovereignly placed you in the midst of lost people who desperately need to hear the message of Christ's love. From you. Today.

When sharing Christ, some principles to think about:

- Be willing to suffer for the gospel, Paul stated, "This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained." (2 Tim 2:8,9)

-Be sure that yo uare a clean vessel whom God can use, "If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." (2 Tim 2:21)

- Openly acknowledge Him before others, "If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself." (2 Tim 2:12)

- Make a diligent effort to accurately communicate the truth of God's word, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (2 Tim 2:15)

-Avoid getting unnecessarily embroiled in foolish arguments, "Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful." (2 Tim 2:23,24)

-Recognize God's sovereign role in bringing a person to Himself, "Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." (2 Tim 2:25,26)

-Sarah