What We Can Do - Part 1

I recently heard a pastor use the following metaphor to describe his church. He said it’s like having a steak restaurant for members of PETA. Let’s face it; the people we want to share the good news of Jesus with are not particularly interested in church. If they were, they would already be attending a church service. It’s not that they are not searching for a connection with God, because they are. They simply don’t want much to do with the church.

The amount of baggage the word “church” carries with it these days is mind blowing. People have formed some pretty wild opinions about what they think church is or should be. Unfortunately, some of their opinions are based on real experiences. Regardless, somewhere along the line something has got to give if people are to respond to this good news we keep talking about.

So what can we do? The first thing we can do is pray. Why is this the first thing? Because it’s the most significant thing we can do! In Acts 16 Luke tells the story of Paul going into Philippi. This was uncharted water for Paul and his Jewish background. There was little or no Jewish presence in Philippi, not even a synagogue. How was he going to connect with these people with whom he had almost nothing in common? In the end he located a group of women and talked to them about Jesus. The breakthrough came however, when a woman named Lydia responded. How was it she responded? Luke writes, “The Lord opened Lydia’s heart to respond to the gospel.”

The truth is Lydia’s story is everyone’s story. No one comes to faith in Jesus without the supernatural work of God opening their heart to truth. Saving faith is a miracle. It is not something anyone can plan or make happen. It is completely and unequivocally a God thing. This is why we pray.