According to one Gallup poll, “Americans revere the Bible, but [...] by and large, they don’t read it.”  That made me so sad.  Spending time in the Bible and with the Lord in prayer is vital.  To reach our world for Christ, we must be growing in the Lord.

Too many people claim to follow Jesus but their lives don’t demonstrate any evidence of that.  In the book of Galatians, Paul writes, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

The fruit of the Spirit is evidence of moral character, of Christ like character.  They are the result of living for Jesus, and being led by His spirit.  Let’s be people who don’t just claim to follow Jesus Christ – let’s demonstrate it by a steady walk and a growing relationship with Him that leads to good fruit in our lives.

Are you walking with Jesus day in and day out?  Are you serving Him faithfully?  If not, start today!  God wants to use you every day.  One of the natural outcomes of a steady and dedicated walk with God will be the desire to reach your world with the Good News.

Robert Levy is one of my heroes.  He’s a “business man evangelist,” as I like to call him.  He called me this morning to let me know that he’s going on vacation and wanted me to pray for him.  He’s decided that he will commit to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with somebody each day of their trip!

Now that’s dedication!  How many of us are thinking about telling people about Jesus when we are on vacation?  If you’re like me, you view vacation as a break.  And that means a break for sharing your faith too.  Well, not my father-in-law, Mr. Levy!  Even on his vacation he is seeking to reach more people with the Good News.  He doesn’t want time off from fulfilling the Great Commission.

The Bible says in the book of Acts, that the early church went from “house to house” sharing the Good News.  That reminds me of Mr. Levy.  He seeks to share the Good News, all the time, with everyone, as the Spirit leads.  I hope this story encourages you as it has me.  May we all have that same dedication when it comes to serving Jesus Christ in our lives- even on vacation.

As believers, we know God forgives all our sins.  But how do we describe that grace to someone whose guilt prevents them from trusting Jesus Christ?

First, Jesus Christ came for the very purpose of forgiving all our sins.  The apostle Paul says it best: “When you were dead in your sins . . . God made you alive with Christ” [Colossians 2:13].  The Bible never minimizes the seriousness of sin and always maximizes God’s grace to forgive.

Is there a sin that God won’t forgive?  Yes.  Jesus warned the Pharisees that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would not be forgiven.

Some people today worry they have committed an “unpardonable sin.”  But the very fact that they are sensitive to the Holy Spirit shows they haven’t committed such an act of blasphemy.

Here’s how we can describe grace to our friends and family: No matter what we’ve done and no matter how we’ve sinned, God loves us.  When we ask Him for forgiveness, God removes our sins “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12).  Now that’s Good News worth talking about!

Not every new believer comes to Jesus Christ without a spiritual background.  How do we share the Gospel with someone who already believes they are saved?

First, we must ask if they believe in the separation of man and God.  The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  Humanity has tried to bridge that separation in many ways, but nothing we do can close the gap.

Next we must ask if they believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to bridge that separation.  Jesus Himself says, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Finally, we must ask if they believe that salvation cannot be lost.  If sin cost us our relationship with God, then every little slip up would put us in jeopardy; and Jesus Christ’s death, which covers all our sins, would be useless.

If we have surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ and asked for forgiveness of sin, we belong to God forever.  That’s the truth of salvation.