.....::::: DON'T BE AFRAID TO SHARE YOUR TESTIMONY :::::.....

Have you ever been in court or at least watched a t.v show where the setting is a courtroom and the bailiff (police officer) asks that the person who is about to speak, to place their hand on the Holy Bible and he then proceeds to say this:

“Do you solemnly swear that the testimony that you are about to give is the truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

Yeah…I know…for those who watch Law & Order or Criminal Minds, this is right up your alley. But how does this apply to us?

A while back, I blogged about how our testimonies can change a life. It’s true! But for some reason, some of us are afraid to share our past experiences…

We are afraid that we will get judged or the person listening will not take into consideration what it is that we are saying because at the end of the day, we are no different then them. We are ashamed because our lives don’t always match what we know God has done in our lives.

But we have misunderstood what testimony is. Testimony is evidence or proof provided by the existence or appearance of something. What that means is that it has to be something true and something that we know. And what do we know better than anyone else? Where we have been and came from. We are to testify to others what God has done in our lives.

But how though?

If we want others to take what we have to say seriously concerning Jesus Christ, we have to show them that our lives reflect His reality. We must do good. We have to talk the talk and walk the walk!

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:10)

Throughout the Bible, Jesus did many miracles and the people He healed or spoke to often ran and told others through testimony. Regardless of what their previous state was, they were unashamed and ran to tell others of what Christ had done!

Speaking of one of Christ’s many miracles, let us look at Paul. Before his personal meeting with Jesus Christ, Paul hated the Christian faith and persecuted Christians without mercy. I have spoken about Him previously in a few of these posts but I can not guarantee that this is the last time you will hear his name in one of these post!

In 1 Timothy 1:15-16, Paul was not interested in creating an image of anything. He was using himself as an example. He was never reluctant to share his past because he knew that by God’s grace, his past failures would serve to bring others to the light. But in this verse, he lowered his guard (transparency) to communicate the Gospel. That is a very important step! People will not always believe that the Gospel is important if it is not a crucial part of your life.

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life.” - 1 Timothy 1:15

To make a long story short, people think that God will never forgive and accept them because of their pasts. But when you think that way, think of Paul’s past. He literally went against Jesus’ teachings and had many of Jesus’ followers killed before helping shape the history of Christianity. At times we hesitate to share our past struggles with others because we think that they will judge us or will say that we are no different from them. But in reality, we aren’t. And that is what is amazing with God’s grace! It is available to anyone and everyone! We are no better than anyone else but we do have something in common: there is a God that is willing to forgive us regardless of our sins. All we have to do is repent and seek out Jesus Christ.

Jesus came into the word to save sinners, and no sinner is beyond His saving power. Regardless of your background, your ethnicity, your mistakes, your past choices, your past luggage, your infidelities…REGARDLESS…share your testimony! The world needs Christians who are not afraid to live their faith and share their testimony! In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commands us to go into the world and preach the Gospel but we can only do that when we realize the power and importance of our testimonies. Don’t be afraid to let others know from where Christ reached to save you and all that He has done for you! God does not waste our time; He will use our past and present so we may serve Him with our future. Like a friend of mine would say: "The past is the past!!!" Spread for Christ!

We would love to hear from your testimonies! Contact us via spread4christ@gmail.com and send us your testimonies! Tell us what Jesus Christ has done for you! Stay blessed!

(Devotions/ Devotionals)

.....::::: DO YOU KNOW HOW TO LOVE? :::::.....

Hey everyone!!! Hope all is well with you! A couple of months ago, we at Spread4Christ posted a blog entry called: “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” It explaining what love is as written in 1 Corinthians 13 and why it is important. The crazy thing is that we sometimes treat love as if it was this new thing that just randomly showed up. But it was always here! What we aim to do in this post is show you “how” to channel this love and how if demonstrated properly, it can change someone’s day and even their life.

Being a avid social networker, it allows me to truly see what people think sometimes. If you haven’t noticed, there are those certain people that post everything they are going through on social media. (I am guilty of it…sometimes…okay…often). Where am I going with this? I have had the chance to see many posts about love; from tumblrs, tweets, statuses on Facebook and even Instagram pictures. Some people, because they have been hurt or betrayed or disappointed by love, they bad-mouth it. You know those posts that I am talking about. The ones that say “I’m doing me” or even the anti-love posts. But there is something wrong with that. How can love be bad if God is love? What the person probably experienced was “immature love”. Not that it was bad but it just wasn’t the right time. A friend of mine once used this parable to explain mature love.

“Have you ever eaten a fruit that isn’t ripe? Love is the same way. Anyone can say, “I love you”, but if the love isn’t mature, it doesn’t taste good. For a fruit to be ripe, it has to spend time in the sun. For our love to be mature, it has to spend time in The Son.”

Deep right? Well in 1 Corinthians 13, it clearly states what love is supposed to be. But what if the person isn’t receptive to that kind of love? What if you are doing it wrong? What if the way the world loves is not the way we should ACTUALLY be loving one another? But how do we love one another though? Love is more than a simple warm feeling. It is a call to action. It is an attitude that reveals itself in action. But how can we REALLY love others as Jesus loves us? Well, have you ever tried to show someone love and they were completely unreceptive? Jesus loves us regardless. Nothing we do can make Him love us less (do not take it for granted) so since He forgives all and loves all, we should do the same. Loving another the way Jesus loves us is to let bygones be bygones and move forward together in peace and love.

Loving someone the way that Jesus loves us is;

...helping someone when it is not convenient. There may be that one person that no matter how many times you see them, they may annoy you or even make you uncomfortable but if that person needs you or even if they don’t come out and say that they do, love and help them anyway!

…giving when it hurts. Yeah…this one right? It is easier to say than do, right? But that still does not make it any less important. Above, I spoke about when the person you are helping or showing love to is not receptive, do not take your love away. Nor should you suffocate them with love. I know a few people who have gone through relationships where all the other person did was take, take and take but never gave. And eventually the other person ended up cheating or leaving. I know it sounds crazy and I know it may sound like something impossible, but trust me, loving someone that does not necessarily love you back is one of the best feelings in the world. Why? Well, Jesus goes through it everyday with us in my opinion. In the Bible it says that if we love God, we will obey. No one is perfect and we mess up sometimes so obey on a 24 hour basis is hard. But Jesus still loves us even if we do the things that hurt Him. What fun is it to love the ones that everyone else already loves? You accomplish so much more by loving the people that love you back and even the ones that don’t.

…by devoting energy to others’ welfare rather than your own, by absorbing hurts from others without complaining or fighting back. Basically, when showing love, you must forget yourself and put others before you. This kind of loving is extremely hard to do but it is not impossible.

What makes loving like Jesus so amazing is that when you do it, people do notice. People never understood why and how Jesus was able to love and approach the people He did even today. How come? Because, to love others the way Christ loved other was and still is revolutionary! Love keeps believers in Christ strong and united in this world that is hostile to God. And you never know how you can impact and change someone’s life with love. Let’s change the world! Reach out and love someone today!

John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

(Devotions/ Devotionals)

.....::::: WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? :::::.....

Have you ever asked yourself this question? I have an answer for that: EVERYTHING!!! Love has everthing to do with it. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church describing "What love is". Basically, if I can put it in today's terms, we may speak in tongues, english, spanish, creole, portugese, chinese, japanese or any other language in the name of Jesus Christ but if we don't have LOVE, we have nothing and it all means nothing. Even if we prophesize, have all knowledge, and abundant faith, its as good as ZERO if we lack LOVE. Do you love like Christ? Do you love your neighbor? We tend to forget that Jesus tells us to love our neighbors (Mark 12:31). People who love give! Do you give without thinking of yourself? John 3:16 explains it! He GAVE because He LOVES. Love is one of the foundations (if not THE foundation) of the Bible itself. So next time you ask yourself the question above, remember that it has EVERYTHING to do with it.

1 Corinthians 13:1-7 "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

(Devotions/ Devotionals)