New Story about Jesus Christ

As we are all-in in our new life with Jesus, joy begins to flood us.

And joy must be shared to be complete. Jesus has gripped you. He changed you...and is changing you, even with the awareness that we are all still very much still in-process. We feel within a need to tell others what we have experienced of Jesus, like family, friends, and co-workers. God designed His people to be a tangible expression of His own life to those in our circles of influence. As we pass on what we learn, we also relive our experience and deepen our own lives. Paul writes to a friend.

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ (Philemon 6, emphasis).

Our own grasp of spiritual truth grows as we give it away. Sharing Jesus with others fuels our relationship with Jesus, intensifying and expanding it. Newfound joy is designed to be shared! Have you ever had an exciting secret you couldn’t tell? Well, you have a “secret” that many around you don’t yet know. “Jesus is alive and has changed my life.” But this secret, Jesus, is one secret you may share as often as you desire so that your joy...and the joy of others...may be complete. Develop eyes for those around you. Simply share something Jesus has done for you.

The Bible calls this being a “witness” or “testifying.” What does a good witness in a court trial do? A district attorney’s job is to prove her case. A witness simply tells others truthfully what he or she has seen, heard, or personally experienced. No more! No less! Be a witness of the Good News, rather than attempting to be a district attorney, which puts undue weight on us. Begin today to find “excuses” to meet our neighbors or talk to our co-workers so that our joy may be made complete.

And as with reading the Bible and prayer, we have a Helper, the Holy Spirit, who makes His home within us so we are not alone on this journey. The Spirit makes us witnesses, opens doors of opportunity, provides evidence of His presence, gives us the right words to say, brings conviction to those who don’t yet know Jesus, and releases new life through faith in Christ (Acts 1:8; John 15:26-27; Colossians 4:3-4; Matthew 10:19-20; John 16:8-11; Titus 3:4-6). We need only respond.

Who in your immediate sphere of influence needs to know what you know and have experienced about Jesus? Write their names down. Develop a three-minute testimony using “Telling My Story” and “Oikos” (see my website, www.JimFredericks.com). Pray that the Lord of the Harvest opens doors for opportunities to multiply your joy as you share the Good News.

This is Reflection #13 in my book, Foundation Stones. I also have a web-site with tools, books and "more than Bible studies" that have helped me to live out of this spiritual DNA, www.JimFredericks.com