24 Mar
So, What Do You Do Now?
Resurrection Sunday is over; most of us have been soberly reminded of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ who came to bear upon Himself the suffering and death that we deserve for our sins so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)!
Many Christian blogs I visit on a regular basis celebrate the Resurrection in their posts and on quite a few occasions, I have left comments in agreement.
One comment I usually left was “Hallelujah! Our LORD is risen!”, and the first time I wrote it I had a prompting that has been on my mind since then — I was asked “What do you do now, then?”
I answered, “Er, Lord, love you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love my neighbor as myself?” (Matthew 22:37-40, Mark 12:30-31, Luke 10:27)
“Besides that,” the prompting came.
Now, I don’t receive visions or anything like that, but the Lord prompts me in His own way, and I was very quickly reminded of the excitement and joy that the Apostles and disciples must have felt upon seeing the Risen Christ, and how their hearts must have ached to tell others of the Good News!
Then I was reminded of something else more mundane — restaurant or food reviews and how we wax lyrical about how good the food is at a restaurant or how good the services or goods of a company are to our peers all the time.
Yet, we seldom, if never, ever, tell them the Good News!
If we truly rejoice in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and know in our hearts that we serve a Risen King of Kings and Lord of Lords, why aren’t we full of joy and telling others the Good News, if in fact this is the greatest piece of news to us?!
Is it really the best piece of news to me? Am I only paying lip service? Does the news of my favorite soccer team winning a match thrill me more than knowledge of the Resurrection on most days?
For that matter, why do we Christians gather in church mostly to celebrate the Resurrection, then go on about our daily lives as if nothing miraculous and joyful and worthy of true celebration ever happened?!
Where’s our joy?! Where’s our enthusiasm?! Freely we have received of the salvation that God has given through Christ Jesus His only begotten Son, yet we keep it to ourselves mostly. And it’s even hypocritical if you look at it from the angle that while many of us weep and rejoice in church over the Resurrection, nary a whisper is heard from us sharing the joy with those who have not heard the Gospel.
Why do we need so much prodding to shout the Good News from the rooftops? Contrast this reluctance to how nobody needs to point a gun to your head to sing the praises of a company or restaurant or give a glowing review of some food you’ve had to peers and family!
I myself am guilty of all these and even reluctance, because I, in my flesh, fear rejection and being ostracized, amongst other things.
But God reminds me that
For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.
– Mark 8:38, emphasis mine
Let us examine ourselves and truly be honest to say if the news of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is indeed the best news we’ve heard and received. If you say that it is, then we ought to be shouting it from the rooftops and sharing the Gospel with everyone we come across for God has put in each of us a natural tendency to want to share our joy.
As to our fears, let us be encouraged by Paul’s exhortation to Timothy:
… for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel
– 2 Timothy 1:7-10, emphasis mine
Shalom Aleichem.
Photograph taken from The Lawman Chronicles by Tony Miano, one of my favorite Evangelism blogs.
Tags: Evangelism, Food, Good, Gospel, News, Restaurants, Resurrection, Reviews, Sharing
Posted by Daniel Chew on 24.03.08 at 5:54
Amen. I for one still cannot fathom why is it that those who are supposedly the most orthodox (ie conservative churches) are the least interested in discipleship and evangelism.
Most times, such churches do their outreach with their youth groups. I do agree that more Reformed churches need to be out there evangelizing!
Posted by channelofhealing on 24.03.08 at 5:54
Amen to that brother, what do we do now? just like the question you asked. I was asking myself this early morning . . . what did I do with Jesus this past Easter Season?
Oh well the answer scared me I tell you, cos only God knows. . . that I am not doing enough of anything to shew forth His Praise. I know am happy for my Salvation that was purchased for me on the Cross of calvary.
Godbless Brother
Amen to that, ChannelofHealing! I too have to answer that question, and that’s why God asked me the question so strongly, I guess!
Posted by AC53 on 24.03.08 at 5:54
I am curious why - with Passover being observed in April - did the church’s observance of the resurrection occur in March? Scripture clearly informs us that the Lamb of God was sacrificed at Passover, to fulfill the requirement of the law.
That’s a GOOD question, Karl! Hmm… that gives me a new research topic, lol!
Posted by Dan King on 24.03.08 at 5:54
AMEN!!! Ike, you have a great talent for sharing the Word, and challenging us all to be better Christians. I really enjoy your blog!
Byt the way, I just tagged you on a meme that I really hope that you participate in. Check out my most recent post at http://managementbyGod.com
Thanks dude! God bless!
Dan
Thank you for the kind words and the encouragement, Dan. I’ll go check out the tag!
Posted by Sidharth on 24.03.08 at 5:54
Amen, Isaiah. =)
As one of my friends said, “Enough of all the talk, get out and start doin’ it!”
Sidharth
Amen, Sidharth. Your friend is very right!
Posted by childlife on 24.03.08 at 5:54
I agree heartily, Isaiah, but might I just add that sometimes some of the
most effective evangelism follows hard on the heels of careful, prayerful
listening rather than shouting… although there is definitely a time and a
place for both. I think your point though, is that we should be always
willing, prepared and enthusiastic about sharing our faith - to which I say,
Amen!
You’re right, Michelle. There are many forms of evangelism, though I’d rule out the “skit presentation and short unrelated sermon” sort. Another good form of evangelism is through our lives and behavior — that in our deeds and words we are salt and light of the world, that many shall see Christ Jesus working in our lives.
Posted by Unique baby Names on 24.03.08 at 5:54
Very openly written. That’s what I liked about this article you have posted.
Their is not need to feel ashamed to tell the good news. We are humans, but
still we must try to set some time aside for Gods work.