Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
Summary: Everyone who knows Jesus has a story to tell about their meeting with the Lord. Practice sharing your story so that you are prepared to give an answer to everyone who is curious about the hope that you have.
Do you have hope?
Does your hope have anything to do with Jesus?
Why? What is it about Jesus that gives you hope?
It is always a good thing to be able to talk someone through the Gospel message as presented in the Bible. Pastor Rich likes to use the G.O.S.P.E.L. acrostic promoted by Dare 2 Share Ministries:
Of course, he has about a million other ways to walk a person through scripture as well. He is one of those people who can quote vast amounts of scripture from memory. But you don’t have to be able to quote tons of scripture to tell people why you have hope and what your hope is.
Each of us is found by Jesus in a unique way. Each one of us who knows the Lord has a story to tell. Don’t be afraid to share your story. Think about it. Talk to people about it. Share it.
Your story will not be the same as mine. My story might seem rather boring to most of you. Yet even if my story is boring to most, God still allows me to share it. And you know what? He can provide listeners who relate to my story. He has people waiting for you to tell your story, too.
Application: Practice telling the story of your hope in Jesus. Practice with everyone you know. When the time comes to share your story, do.
Food for Thought: What is this hope that you have? Describe it. And if you would like to practice sharing your story, please do!
My hope is a relationship where I wont be judged on my past. A relationship where I wont be left feeling unloved worthless and alone. I have hope with Jesus.
Tim,
What a beautiful hope! Thank you for sharing. You are deeply loved by a God who has hopes for you, too. 🙂
Now I can hope for these things and I’m aware that they may never happen during my time in this world but I do have faith that they will happen because of the truth I know.
Thank you brother. A passage that is near and dear to my heart. Our story is a testimony of our relationship with Jesus. That is one reason for our faith.
I honestly believe we should be equipped as believers to be able to provide more than our testimony as well. Notice that in 1 Peter 3: 15 we are commanded to be ready to give an answer for the reasons for the hope that we have.
This is a command, not a suggestion. The word for “reasons” means to give an account. The word give “an answer” means to make a defense for and is where we get the word apologetics.
How do we know the word of God is true? How do we know that we can trust His word? How do we know God created the universe out of nothing? Doesn’t evolution show there is no creator God? How do we know that Jesus rose from the dead? Why should I trust Christ instead of believing Hinduism, Islam or atheism?
I know we believe and have salvation by faith, but is our faith reasonable? Do we as Christians check our brain at the door?
I believe we have a reasonable faith and it is indeed the most consistent and defensible world view. I also believe we should be prepared to give answers to hard questions with love and respect while keeping a clear conscience. And I believe we are commanded in God’s word to grow in this area like we grow in other areas of our faith. And we have an embarrassing abundance of resources at our disposal that God has provided.
We don’t just have a faith. We have the truth. Other people need to see the reasons we hold the faith to be true. I think that is what the Holy Spirit us conveying through Peter.
I know I am rambling and this is an important topic to me. But when I hear mature believers respond to an unbelieving world when asked why they believe – with the response – I just have faith – I see that as an opportunity lost.
I am sorry if my post appears to come on strong. I just went back and re-read it. I don’t want to in any way take away from the excellent devotion or the great importance of sharing our testimony. I was just trying to bring this thought as an additional perspective. I appreciate you all. And the devotion was excellent as usual.
Brother Rich,
Thank you for your words this morning and your follow up comment. Your passion for apologetics is one of the many things I admire about you! It is a high calling to know as much as you know. It is also a wonderful thing to listen as you explain the many ways we are able to affirm the faith we have in God. I am looking forward to more training at your feet this Fall!
Rich I agree with you. I’m not yet mature spiritually. I am trying and I understand what your talking about. Out of all the books I have been through the one that has opened my eyes the most is one you didnt give me or tell me to read. I’m 1/2 way through it and it is giving me the answers that I ask myself. What is my faith and why i have it, why do i believe. I am studying and learning more and more about christianity.
What is this hope that you have? Describe it. And if you would like to practice sharing your story, please do!
My hope is living on earth knowing I serve God through Jesus Christ and I look forward to spending all eternity in His presence.
I myself was deep in sin when God spoke loudly to me, fully revealed my deprived heart to me and set me on a path where I would through His Holy Spirit revealing His truths in Bible study, have an opportunity to accept or reject Jesus Christ.
I had never been so afraid in my life, as I was the time God spoke with me. I saw hell and knew that was where I was going. God sent a man to me who was in a men’s Bible study, I bought my first Bible which is now covered in duct tape with writing on almost every page. I began studying God’s Word with about 300 other men. All CHRISTIANS! We studied and discussed our lessons in groups of 17 men, and attended a teaching session as the 300.
I was the ugly duckling among these men who welcomed me with the Love of God and quietly listened to what I am sure were pretty stupid answers to the lesson questions. I accepted Christ in 6 weeks, studied for 6 years and have spent the last 43 years doing my best to continue growing and serving our living God.
I have passed from unbelieving to believing to knowing God is real and our only path to eternal life is through His Son Jesus Christ. I do not believe the word of God is true as it was originally written, I believe it is true as preserved by God over the centuries. His word is eternally true long before He inspired men to write His words on paper.
The Lord has used me to speak with people who are like I was. Druggies, Alcoholics, little Anti-Christs, Outlaws and the Uninformed. He has saved 4 Chinese as I have traveled, one was a 1st Lieutenant in the Peoples Liberation Army who was humbled by my USMC tattoo as we sat side by side on a 31/2 hour flight. A transgender who disagreed with the Bible. A totally committed little anti-Christ, and more.
In every case I have known we were not meeting by accident, and smile inside, each was a God arranged meeting, I have looked them directly in the eye and entered into a conversation “about them”, I knew they were being convicted by the Holy Spirit, I listened and stepped aside as the Holy Spirit of God has spoken through me and explained how only Jesus Christ could resolve their problems, and they said yes. I remain on earth and serve others at His pleasure. And I am truly blessed everyday, but mostly when He choses to use me.
Ron,
Thank you for your thoughts today. For those who don’t know, I first met Ron at the Bible study he describes with 300 men. It is called Bible Study Fellowship. If you are looking for an additional opportunity to study God’s Word, I recommend it. (They have women’s study groups, too!) Ron was the leader of my study group the second year and also the seventh year I was with BSF. He is a faithful servant of our Lord and a patient teacher for those of us who have less time in the Bible than he does.
Thank you Tim. I had to laugh out loud that a book that helped the most is not one I gave you 😊. That made me laugh and be thankful that God can overcome my failures. Praise God for that and I appreciate your words and your heart.
Mere christianity
A hope that I have is that we will put this year of 2020 behind us,..and a hope that we have learned a bit from we have gone through this year,..it’s amazing to think that God has already had all this planned out long before we were twinkle’s in His eye,..I guess that’s what keeps me striving to strengthen my faith,..knowing I don’t have to stress about this life I live now in this world because He has already had all this planned out in advance before the world began,..
As far as a story,..well there again,..some things are better left unsaid,..that’s between God and me,..it’s not an easy thing to just be sharing with others,..so I keep certain stories to myself,..and I am certain I have been forgiven even if it wasn’t my fault any of it came about,..
Thank you, John! We appreciate the things you do share! And I’m pretty sure that there are a lot of us looking forward to putting 2020 behind us. 🙂
John.
I hear you brother. Our backgrounds were pretty rough, we would not ant to become a stumbling block for a less mature Christian. God knows everything and has found us worthy of salvation and steady work.
Blessings,
Ron
Tim… Mere Christianity is a classic and must read. Good choice. If you like that and want more with apologetics (the defense of our faith), just let me know. I have ideas 😉.
👍🏻