Feel the Burn

"If I say, 'I will not mention Him or speak anymore in His name,' there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot."       -Jeremiah 20:9

One of the hardest things we do as Christ followers is share our faith.  Its much easier in today's society to lend a helping hand, sit and talk with someone in trouble about their problems, or just be there for a friend when someone close passes away.  The hardest thing to do is OPENLY share our faith:  for me, its the stigma our so called media has put on Christians through their twisted representations of those who follow Christ and David Koresh/Jim Jones type stories.  For you, it could be that you just want to be liked by everyone, or maybe you feel you don't know enough about the Bible to answer people's questions.  Truth is, we don't need to Bible scholars, not everyone is going to like what we have to say, and the crazy stories about Christians will continue as long as the world is spinning.

Here is where the above verse comes into play:  if we truly love Christ and follow His lead, then to share our faith will be exactly as Jeremiah described.  It will hurt to keep things in.  It will make our stomach churn when we hold it in or miss an opportunity to talk with someone about Christ and the awesome thing he did for us on the Cross.  We will be asked questions that we cannot answer; there are pastors who are asked questions they cannot answer about Christ, the Bible, and faith.  But there is on unfaltering truth that we all know as Christ followers that is the only answer we need:  Christ died for our sins so we would be saved, His grace and mercy covers our sins as long as we believe, and there is nothing we have to do accept acknowledge him and accept him into our lives.  Christ does the rest, not us.

Christ burns in all of us.  Question is, how intense is that fire and are you willing to put yourself aside for Him and those who don't know him?

Stoking the fire in my heart,
Freak