22ND FEBRUARY
1 Thessalonians 1:5
“…because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.”
To be an effective witness, you yourself must believe the gospel with all your being!
Paul says, “Our gospel came to you…with full conviction.” This absolute conviction about the truth of the gospel is one of the most powerful parts of your witness about Jesus. You may be tentative about speaking out and you may be nervous about sharing the gospel, but even in your nervousness, you must have the absolute conviction that the message itself, what you are sharing, is the truth.
You may have trusted in Christ as a child in a Christian home and not experienced a major transformation. If you do not have that confidence that whatever other fears you may have, the message of the gospel itself is true, then make this your first step on the journey to living as a witness for Jesus.
Read through the Gospels again in your Bible, and the book of Acts. Think about how God changed lives. Make it a question you ask the Christians in your life: “Tell me how you came to faith in Jesus and how did that change your life?” Read some of the Christian biographies that focus on people’s conversion or on what God did through the gospel through missionaries.
It won’t take long for you to be absolutely convinced that God transforms lives through the gospel. When you speak with that conviction it has an impact on the hearer.
MAKE IT PERSONAL
What will you do this week to grow in your conviction regarding the transforming truth of the gospel?