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| Unsaved Loved Ones |
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28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
One of the most frustrating things in my walk as a Christian is trying to "make disciples". I have run up against many stumbling blocks (satan), and I get discouraged. I know I am not the only one who has had this problem. I know of many people who have tried to share Jesus with someone, only to be rebuffed. It is comforting to know I am not alone.
I am curious how many of you have loved ones that you have helped come to know the Lord? How did you go about the process? What advice would you give to those of us who still have loved ones that have not accepted Christ as their Savior?
Please share your experiences of introducing people to Christ. I know it will serve as an encouragement to many. |
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| June 01, 2007 |
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| UNfortunately, I am more familiar with the obstacles than the keys to success.. :-( |
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| June 01, 2007 |
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Me too, Mike.
i would say, though, focus and pray. Pray for the right words, timing, etc...Not trying to make a plug here, but there is an awesome very short book called Praying Effectively for the Lost by Lee Thomas.
It really helped me in this area. |
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| June 01, 2007 |
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You actually ask two questions here...leading people to Christ and making disciples. Make sure you separate them apart. Once you accept the fact that there is absolutely nothing you can do to "lead" someone to Christ, then you can focus on the "making disciples" part. Jesus said that when He is lifted up He will draw all men onto Him. Doesn't mean we shouldn't be a good witness. I find great joy when someone asks me how I made it through a hard time or how I can have such joy all the time. That is God drawing them closer to Him (otherwise they wouldn't have seen it). We also need to be ready so when someone asks us "...what must I do to be born again..." we can lead them along the way. Deb, if that is what you meant by leading someone to Christ then please forgive the preceeding diatribe.
Making disciples of people is another story. It is probably the hardest work in the world simply because we are in the world and we are becoming disciples ourselves. However, Christ promises his yoke to be light (still a yoke, though). What I have done is look at all those I contact on a regular basis. Am I being salt to them? Salt changes their being, their makeup. The change is produced by Jesus from the inside out. I just have to be me and let my light so shine. Where "making disciples" becomes difficult is that we can usually see the speck of dust in other's eyes. We want to help them to change while the reverse is true from their perspective. And sometimes neither of us grow. Selah.
Deb, this is an outstanding post. I hope others add their thoughts here. I would like to hear them. |
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| June 01, 2007 |
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Deb, just found a free downloadable of the book I mentioned...click here if interested
Agreed (as usual DC) there is a difference between leading and discipling. |
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| June 01, 2007 |
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DC, while I agree there is a difference between "leading" someone to Christ and discipling, one has to be a Christian in order to be a disciple, wouldn't you agree? And one cannot be a disciple without being a Christian. Therefore, for me, the two go hand in hand. Part of being a disciple of Christ, is leading others to Him. And by leading, I mean telling someone about Christ, and what He has done for us. We cannot force someone to accept our beliefs. Only the Holy Spirit working in their lives can help them to accept the truth. My hope in my life is that by my behavior and how I handle things, I can show Christ to others, and make them want what I have. Unfortunately, one of my biggest sorrows in life is that someone that I love very dearly in my family, does not believe the Bible is the word of God, does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, although he believes in God, and thinks he will be going to heaven. I have tried to tell him about Jesus, and have definitely shown by my actions in life that I believe strongly in God, it still has not made a difference in his life. Maybe it will. I know God doesn't always answer our prayers right away, and it may be a long time before I see the fruit of the seeds I have planted.
I appreciate your comments. They make me think, and that is a good thing! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
AngiePangie, thanks for the book recommendation. I am going to go take a look at the download site. Also, I would definitely agree that prayer plays a huge part in helping others to know the Lord.
Thanks for your comments also. I appreciate it! |
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| June 01, 2007 |
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DC; Awesome comments.
Deb; Awesome blog. I think this is truly a struggle for many of us. We want our loved ones to have what we have; the joy of a relationship with Christ, salvation and eternal life. I first struggled with this with my husband when we got married. I would give him ultimatum's "You either accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior or we are getting a divorce!" Ya... that was just plain dumb! You can't force your beliefs on anyone. He had to come into a relationship with Christ on his own and I really had nothing to do with it. I did pray though and within a few months he did give his life over to Jesus. Thank you Lord! I didn't live by trying to be an example to him by letting my light shine.
As for my other loved ones... it has been a long journey for me. I have prayed so much, but it seems that until I was willing to give it fully over to Christ... things didn't happen. It was a 'maturity' issue for me to learn how to give things to Him fully. I continually pray and have faith that He will call those who are meant to be His children to Him. My oldest sister, just in January of this year finally gave her life fully over to Him, she is 41. It was many years, many tears and many prayers, but God was and is so faithful. Prayer and giving those we pray for fully over to Him, putting them in His hands is so key to bringing them to salvation. God wants to see our faithfulness through our prayers for them. I hope that helps Deb.
God bless with much love.
Kelly |
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| June 01, 2007 |
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| Deb, I do agree with you...your heart is good when you desire others in the kingdom. |
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| June 01, 2007 |
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| Kelly, thanks so much for your words of wisdom. As I grow older, I realize that I cannot force God to do my bidding...and I cannot force others to believe as I do. I feel as though I have hit my head up against a wall so many times I finally had some sense knocked into it! lol It helps to know others who have prayed a long time for their loved ones, and finally seen results. It gives me hope. Thanks for your comments. |
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| June 01, 2007 |
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DC, thanks for the star!  |
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| June 01, 2007 |
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Excellent comments again by Voice. And Deb. One thing that I look at is Jesus parable. He says, the sower sows the seed which is the word of God. So, we sow the seed. We sow God's Word (Truth) everywhere. However, as Voice says, "we cannot save anyone, we can not lead them to Christ". However, I do think we can encourage. Ultimately, the work is that of the Holy Spirit. Deb is right, we can't Disciple them til they are disciples. So, I'd say both are right. I think our first responsibility is to Sow the Truth. Now, this takes lots of discernment, prayer, wisdom and above all, Boldness. This is the main reason that the Holy Spirit was given was for Boldness. Remember, speaking God's Word may be the hardest thing to do in this life, IMNSHO. Certainly, the Apostles themselves constantly prayed for boldness to the point that the room was shaken. So, even though we might DO good works, they are not seen until will Speak God's Word along with them. Ultimately, the 1st step is to sow the Word and that means speaking the Truth in every area of life: politics, civilization, sports, science: don't be cow-towed by pseudo-scientific myths such as global warming and evolution: Stand Up and Speak the Truth, it takes courage but do it... The response is not ours...there are different types of soils, remember. |
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| June 01, 2007 |
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| Thanks AngiePangie, good prayer advice like that is appreciated to remind me of the seriousness of the battle for souls. Thanks. |
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| June 01, 2007 |
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Recon...you are right. Ultimately, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to save souls. And I agree that we must be bold for Christ. This is something that I lack, and I am finding more and more boldness as I grow older. Still it is an area I need to work on...
Thanks for your thoughts! |
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| June 01, 2007 |
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Deb,
I grew up in a family that only went to church when we visited Grandma's house. My mother was raised Catholic. My brother and I only went to church, other than those times at Grandma's, when a friend would invite us. Which oddly enough, happened quite often. I reached a point at 17 when I finally understood who Jesus was and what he did for me. My brother, on the other hand, grew up thinking he was going to be an astronaut.....isn't that funny!.....and did not want to hear anything about God or Christianity ever! He believed in that wonderful "BIG BANG" theory. I prayed and prayed and prayed that God would put someone into his life that would get through to him. I hate to say that I had little faith in God at that time, becuase I didn't.....it was more that I knew my brother was SOOOOOOOOO set on not listening or even considering the possibility that the Bible was real, that I just couldn't ever see him removing those blinders to SEE what was right in front of him. But I kept praying. Then one day.....it was probably about five years ago.....my brother and I were talking and he mentioned a higher power.....A HIGHER POWER.....not big boomy stars crashing into other stars or things evolving from a microscopic organism.....I didn't say anything....I thought to myself that someone had gotten through! SOMEONE! I kept praying for him after that and we have had talks about religion and I try no to push him and he asks me questions and I answer them and then I praise God that SOMEONE finally got through to him.
My mom, like I said, was raised Catholic.....need I say more....not to slam the Catholic religion but......ok.....yes...I meant to slam the Catholic religion....(Sorry.....) she was so confused about what Christianity really was that I was amazed. She is my mother and was supposed to know everything right? Well, I lived in Columbus and was attending a church there and I would talk to my mom about my church and she was not attending any church at the time. She was always making light of the fact that no matter what happened in my life, good, bad or indifferent, it always seemed to her that I came out on top. I told her that it wasn't me, that it was God. I started to talk to her and she always said that she felt that she had done so many horrible things in her life that she just didn't see how God could ever forgive her. I explained what Grace was......SHE HAD NEVER HEARD OF GRACE! That blew my mind!!!! She had it so set in her mind that Christians were supposed to be perfect and that there was just no way she could be perfect. I wasn't very well versed in actual verses in the bible, but at the time I explained what I could and asked God to please give me the words. She and I had alot of talks and she has since, through our talks and other people in her life, come to understand. I prayed for her a lot too. I never felt like I did enough to help her but I guess if you think of it like this.....I was where God wanted me at the time, doing, and saying what he wanted me to, no matter how little, it was enough. You never know how big the seed is that your sowing and God sure has a pretty big watering can with LOTS of miracle grow in it. |
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| June 02, 2007 |
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| My parents, who live beside me, claim to be atheist! Talk about obstacle!! And like the previous comments, they've been "turned off" by Christians who they see as hypocrites. But they see how my family & I live & they know we are "different". There have been many "heated" conversations about religion, politics, etc. w/them. Needless to say, we've agreed to not have those conversations anymore. I confess, we probably aren't as bold as we should or need to be, but it's EXTREMELY hard when it's your family. I often think how I'm going to feel when my parents leave this earth & I know they will NOT be in Heaven. It doesn't make it any easier when they tell me they don't believe in Heaven~that they'll just die and be no more. And yet, they joke about going to Hell bcs. all their friends will be there anyway. ??? Go figure. |
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| June 02, 2007 |
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Psalmsgirl, thank you for such words of wisdom. I too have family members and friends that have been turned off by "christians" who were too pushy, and gave a bad impression of what a Christian is. I think our living our lives for Christ is the best way to show someone Christ. Thanks for the post.
Alyssa, I love your comment on the watering can and miracle grow. It brought tears to my eyes. God is the miracle worker, and that was such a great word picture to describe it! Thanks for your comments!!! |
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| June 02, 2007 |
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| Lisa, that is so sad about your parents. It is hard when it is family. You don't want to cause a rift between family members, and yet, you don't want them to go to hell. If they believe there is a hell, then why can't they believe there is a heaven? I know the struggle you have...I think we all have someone we know that feels this way. I will pray for them. Prayer is sometimes the only (and best) thing we can do. Especially when you have had the conversation with them, they know your beliefs and still refuse to believe. You can't force them to believe. You have to trust that God will move in the right time and save them. Keep praying... |
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| June 02, 2007 |
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Deb, I posted a blog awhile back about Sharing Your Faith, that may help. My husband is not a believer. When I first got saved, I shared and then beat him over the head with a Bible. When that didn't work, I prayed and tried to be the godliest example I can. He has heard the Word, so I don't think I need to keep repeating myself.
Let God do the saving, we just bring the Good News. |
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| June 02, 2007 |
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| Sue, Thanks for the advice, and for the blog...I checked it out and it is good advice! I think my biggest problem is that I feel like there should be something MORE I can do or say to "make" someone believe. But I can't force anyone to believe. I just have to let go and let God do His thing. I need to remember that. Thanks for sharing. |
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| June 03, 2007 |
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| Thank you for sharing. You can't blame yourself for not taking your kids to church more. Especially if you weren't saved and didn't go yourself. I have said a prayer for your family, and will keep them in my prayers. |
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