Missed Opportunities
"Have you ever kicked yourself for missing an opportunity to share Jesus with others?"
When I asked that question this past Sunday during worship, several people raised their hands and others groaned out a "yeeeesssss."
OK, so it is totally relatable. We miss opportunities all the time.
We are commanded by Jesus to be disciples and ministers no matter what, it's easier said than done!
I missed a big opportunity this past week. And, admittedly, it probably won't be the last time!
Below is the story I shared with our congregation this past weekend:
"For about a year now, I am a regular on this podcast where we share anything and everything...
What a wonderful opportunity to share Jesus as often as I can!
But I really kicked myself this week.
Have you ever felt like you just missed an opportunity to share Jesus with someone?
As Christians, we are blessed. I praise God that He allows me to live with my two passions: Writing and music.
This past Tuesday was an exciting day for me: I met with a magazine editor in the morning to discuss an article I wrote for her, and then that afternoon, I was in the recording studio recording original demo songs for a songwriter. I’m thinking, Wow, God, thank you; this is so cool
Question on the podcast this week, (and we have no preparation time whatsoever) we just have to answer with the first thing that comes to mind
What do you love most about your life?
So, I told them about Tuesday.
Now this isn’t wrong, I was sharing my blessings BUT I failed to mention the giver of the blessings.
It took me until the end of the podcast to realize I just missed a golden opportunity to tell them about Jesus!
I could tell them that what do I love most about my life?? How about the fact that it no longer belongs to me, or that I have a personal relationship with the God of the universe??!
I don’t have anything without him, and I have everything –including this music and writing blessing—with Him and only with Him and only because of Him. And I should never take that for granted.
I had tears in my eyes.
After journaling, prayer and honestly
scratching my head for a long time, I figured it out:
I answered from my flesh, which means it came from my selfish wants and needs, and not from our Lord. It came from what I thought the world and our podcast listeners would want to hear instead of what they needed to hear, which is Jesus.
I missed an opportunity to share Christ because I was too busy sharing myself. Which means I wasn’t clothed in prayer, or even what we call the "Armor of Christ." I forgot to forget myself and point only to Him so that other would see Him!
I pray I never make that mistake again. The world is a missions field, and there is, as our pastor puts it, a "lost and dying world" that needs to hear the saving grace and power of Jesus.
The truth is I love my life...because it no longer is my life.
I love my life because it belongs to Jesus.
And, I love my life because everything I have comes from Him, including the opportunities He has given me to share on the podcast and with the world.
We are the temple
We just
completed our woman’s study and learned that after the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, it
was never rebuilt.
That’s because we are the temple. And, that made me realize how frail our flesh is
and God chose to put His temple in our frail little bodies?
My husband Kevin said to me, “You
forgot to put on the armor of Christ.” Makes sense we need spiritual armor to protect these frail human bodies!
I missed an opportunity to share Christ because I was too busy sharing Vanessa.
Which means I wasn’t sharing myself with Him enough to forget myself and point only to Him so that other would see Him.
I pray I never make that mistake again. (Pray for me?)
By grace alone, we are here. We can step boldly into His presence, and we can ask of Him anything.
By grace alone, I realize that I can be bold in Him; I can boast in Him,
and I can serve Him and focus on Him
so He becomes my priority--
so that there are NO MORE missed opportunities.
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