AN UNEXPECTED WITNESSING TOOL -- Devotional for November 3, from "Good Seeds"

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. (Colossians 1:24)

What are the methods we can use to share the gospel with unbelievers? The first and most basic is PROCLAMATION: “Faith cometh by hearing the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Revelation 12:11 says Christians under fire by “the accuser of the brethren” can overcome unbelief “by the word of their TESTIMONY.” A powerful witnessing tool is to simply tell what Christ means to you, and what He has done for you. And then there is the intellectual defense of the gospel through APOLOGETICS. The Bible can stand up both to hateful ridicule and honest scrutiny, for “Thy Word is truth” (John 17:17). In Matthew 5:16 Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men that they see your good works, and glorify your Father in Heaven.” GOOD DEEDS from a pure life can sometimes touch men’s hearts when nothing else can. But then there’s PRAYER. What better witnessing tool could there possibly be? Bring them in? No, pray them in! But…when no powerful presentation of the gospel can do the trick; when no vibrant personal testimony of God’s grace in one’s life, no masterful apologetic defense, no good deed of even the most extreme benevolence, and when not even the most devout prayer by the godliest intercessor can penetrate the cold, unbelieving heart, a Christian quietly SUFFERING FOR JESUS can unlock doors of even the hardest hearts – and faith enters in. We see examples of this in biblical and historical personalities, but we go to the taproot of them all, Jesus Christ, to understand how it works. Peter saw it firsthand and wrote about it: “When my Jesus was reviled and lied about, His character slandered, his reputation maligned, and when He was hated with vicious, tongue-wagging hatred, through it all He held His peace and kept silent. He uttered not a word in His own defense, and not a word of retaliation, or of what judgment lay in store for His tormentors. “As a lamb before his shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth” (Acts 8:32). And in His silence, He “entrusted Himself to Him who judges righteously.” We are told to “follow in His steps” (II Peter 2:21,23). What steps? The steps of suffering. But now He’s gone, leaving us behind to finish His work. We are empowered to proclaim, yes, but also employed to suffer, to receive the stripes meant for Him. Jesus said, “If I be lifted up (on the cross) I’ll draw all men to Me” (John 12:32). Well, now it’s our turn to suffer, not for the sins of others, but in the sight of others – to burn brightly in a dark world, even if at a burning stake of suffering. Whatever it takes to draw men to Jesus!