Fanning the Spark of Personal Devotion into the Fire of Evangelism

Last Saturday night I went to downtown Minneapolis to share the good news of Christ, except I did something different - I took my wife and kids. This was the first time that they had been out witnessing to strangers with me, and it was a blessing. Although the first time out is always intimidating, they liked it so much, they went out with me again tonight!

God has blessed me with a godly wife who loves Christ with her whole heart; however, she is somewhat shy (who isn't when it comes to talking about the deepest spiritual matters with strangers!). I'm excited that she took the plunge with me in sharing her core beliefs with others who do not know Christ as Lord. I'm also excited that both my children are able to see how our private devotion is more than a personal belief - it is something that affects us outside the home; it is something that drives our lives and fills them with meaning; it is real to us.

Sharing the gospel - that Christ died that we might live - has pushed me past a plateau of spiritual development that I have rested upon for too long. I've felt trapped , knowing the truth, yet so often slipping into a dual persona having a spiritual side and a neutral facade. I would present the neutral facade at work, school, with extended family, etc., while maintaining a spiritual personal and private devotion at home and church.

Since I've been witnessing, the neutral facade is losing ground to the spiritual side, the new man I am in Christ. Thank God. If I really believe that people who do not follow Christ will justly suffer God's eternal wrath and indignation, I should be warning them. It is not enough to just study the Bible and learn myself. It is time to stretch my spiritual wings, so to speak, and reach out to those around me. It is time to fan the flames of my personal devotion into the fire of evangelism.

I believe the same is true for my family. I want my children to see that belief in God is not a private matter, but a very public one. I want their study of God's Word to inform their lives so that they can touch the world. I don't want them to live on a spiritual island "safe" from the world. Instead, I want them to be in the world, but not of it. I want them to see that their parents' faith is different from the dead faith professed by many. I want to show them my faith through works, which are evidence of the genuineness of the faith while letting them know that my works are only in thanks and do not justify me in the sight of God.

Not only this, but I pray that my church, Bethlehem Baptist, has the spark of personal devotion fanned into the flame of evangelism by the breath, or Spirit, of God. For many like myself, it is time to take it to the next level.