Q:  How are we suppose to answer God’s prompting to speak to someone?

Whatever way is natural for you.  We all do it differently.  It will take some boldness, but I wouldn’t start with, “God told me to come over here and talk to you.” 

I do think it’s important for us to know how to move a conversation toward spiritual things.  I have a few suggestions:

1.  Be interested in the person. Jesus was interested in ALL aspects of the person.  He talked about more than just spiritual things.

2.  ASK QUESTIONS. People love to talk about themselves – and few people have someone in their life who is genuinely interested in them.  Be one of those people who genuinely cares about others.

Oh… and good questions begin with ‘WHAT’ or ‘HOW’, not ‘Why’. So, ‘What do you believe about the Bible?’ is MUCH better than, ‘Why don’t you believe the Bible.’

3.  Let the person guide the conversation, not you. We usually have a preset agenda for the conversation.  Ask the Holy Spirit to guide the conversation through the other person (not you) and see where it goes.

4.  Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom in the conversation. You’ll be amazed what He’ll show you if you let HIM guide the conversation.  Don’t feel obligated to bring God in the conversation. God may just want you to encourage someone.  At the same time, don’t be afraid to mention Jesus. He’s a central part of your life.

5.  Practice turning the conversation toward a person’s journey with God. We often talk about everything EXCEPT the spiritual.  Don’t be afraid to ask about someone’s journey with God, just like you ask about their kids, job, trials, and joys.  AND… first try this with your friends. If you can’t turn the conversation toward God with friends, you’ll never do it with strangers.

Remember, QUESTIONS are the key!  You don’t need a speech, or wise words, or a preset agenda.  Just ask questions and trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest…

Q: I have friends from India who are polytheistic and friends from China who are largely atheistic. How do I approach these two groups of people about Christianity?

Be interested in them and spend time with them.  Eat with them, play with them, talk with them.  You must earn some credibility first.   It’s important to know why people become atheists.  Every true atheist I’ve met has experienced disappointment with God or a Follower of Jesus.  You won’t bridge that gap overnight.  (I use the term “true atheist” because many ‘atheists’ from communist countries aren’t true atheists.  They’re just agnostics who use the term atheist.)

As you spend time with people, talk about your faith – AND be genuinely interested in their beliefs.  ASK them about their beliefs.  You don’t have to give an answer to their objections, either.  And if you ask them questions like “What do you believe about the Bible?”  As you get their answers, you may discover that they haven’t researched it themselves.  They just believe what someone else told them to be true.

Last, PRAY!  Pray.  And don’t forget to pray.  You can’t change someone, but God can – and He’ll use you in that process if you’re open to it.

Q: What does it mean to be salt and light?

This question references Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5.  Jesus is teaching his followers that we are to leverage our relationships and influence for God’s Kingdom. (BTW… that’s a great definition of evangelism.  I didn’t come up with it, but I really like it.)  It’s interesting to notice Jesus’ words: we ARE the salt and light.  If believers choose not to be salt and light, then there is no plan B.

I’ll post some more questions tomorrow.  In the meantime, I’d love to see some discussion going about these topics, as well as Dima’s responses on Sunday.  What did you think about his answer for miracles in the United States?