BE PREPARED TO GIVE AN ANSWER
2 Timothy 4:2
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
Dave and I had paddled the river all day, he in the front and me in the back. We had whispered when we talked because we had our bows and arrows across our laps, hoping to drift up on a buck along the riverbank. We stopped and cooked a little lunch at mid day and sat and soaked in the sounds and smells of fall. At the end of the day we arrived in a still backwater near the boat landing. I had been there many times, as a kid, with my dad, and knew that I could find the landing in the dark so we just sat in the canoe well after dark. The night sounds filled the air; coyotes, owls and many other birds, all mixed with the sounds of fish slurping bugs off the surface of the water.
We just sat back in the canoe seats for a long time just enjoying God's creation. Finally, while looking up at the star filled night sky, I broke the silence. I remember exactly what I said, "its hard for me to imagine that someone can take all this in and not believe there is a Creator". There was a long pause and then Dave responded, "I guess that's the way I feel". I was blown away. He was a young man in his late 20s that loved the outdoors as much as anyone I knew. He could survive for many days in the woods off of what he found and he understood how it all worked... he knew the creation... yet he didn't know the creator, he didn't even believe there was one. Dave listened to my explanation of why I have to believe in a God that created everything good. In the end Dave wasn't swayed. I've prayed for Dave for years and to this day I'm not sure where he stands with God
This morning I've been considering how someone can look around at all of nature (God's creation)and honestly say, "there is no God". I've watched a hummingbird out my window and marveled at how the paper thin wings could hold together as they fly at blinding speed, at times even in a pouring rain. I've seen a bumblebee on Linda's flowers and thought that without a God this overweight, oversized creature could never fly. I considered the human being and how a baby is formed from the act of conception to birth, a single cell splitting and splitting over and over until a baby arrives, and in seconds begins breathing on his own. I contemplate our earth and solar system. We are currently 94.11 million miles from the sun, if we to drift even 1% of that distance closer or further away, we could not survive... What holds us there? I've come to the conclusion that those that can't find a way to believe in the true God, after all the evidence, have been blinded.
C.S. Lewis explains it this way...
"We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito."
It seems that no matter how much we speak, how hard we try to convince someone of God's existence and the sacrifice of His son, some people just don't see. This however does not relieve us from the responsibility of sharing what Christ has given us to share. And our responsibility doesn't end at a belief in God... most already do. The arguments are as sound to the truth of Jesus Christ, who He was and is, and what He did and does. We must share Jesus Christ above all things. Be prepared from Genesis all the way through Revelations and the heart of what they teach.
John 20:31
but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name
The 2nd book of Timothy tells us to study and to work... and be prepared.
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
1 Peter 3:15
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you...
Watch for any and every opportunity to share what God has done for you... Be prepared to give an answer...
Help achieve the mission - GIVE today
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