Reading 25

Acts 8-11

I often find it difficult to talk to others about my faith, especially when talking to people who don’t share my same beliefs. At the same time, it is to those who do not know Christ that his message needs to be spread. The question is, how can I do this without putting someone off or turning them further away from Christ? I worry about saying the wrong thing or even being rejected for my beliefs. If the time were to come to share my beliefs with someone I want to be ready. Phillip is given the perfect opportunity to talk about Jesus Christ. I think it is so amazing that God leads Phillip to the very spot where he can be used to bring someone to Christ. While it doesn’t seem that God leads us as directly as he led Philip, God does place us in situations where we can share our faith with others. Because of this, we need to be ready to talk about Jesus and how he has touched our lives.

The message of God’s grace is for all people, as the lord showed to Peter. In ACTS 10:34 Peter speaks this powerful message “that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” Often, prejudice and bias against certain groups get in the way of our ability of doing god’s work. I believe this message is important as it is sometimes easier only to associate with others who are like us. God calls us to reach out to people from different backgrounds, races and ethnicities, just as he called Peter to go to the home of a gentile. At the time, this was very difficult not only because of the prejudice against gentiles but also because it was forbidden by Jewish law. Today the restrictions are not always so clear but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t there. Most of us would find it very difficult to talk to someone who was Muslim about our faith or even those friends who are born-again atheists. But God calls us to relationships with everyone not just those who are sympathetic to our faith. His call is universal.

When we are called by God to speak to the people, we listen. Just like Phillip and Peter, it isn’t what we believe that is important but it’s what God has told us to do. I pray that God would give me the strength to follow his will even when it means sharing his message with a difficult crowd.

Dina

Reading 25 (audio)