In the film “It’s A Wonderful Life,” George Bailey felt like a failure and he determined to jump off a bridge so his family would have his life insurance benefits. God sends an angel who comes up with a plan. He shows George Bailey what it would have been like if he had never lived. He sees that his life touched many other lives… and when he does he desperately wants to live again… It’s powerful stuff. Only God knows how many people we influence in our lives.
Whose Life Will You Touch?
If you are a believer, a Jesus-follower you have the Holy Spirit living in you and you have been given a mission by Jesus to go and make disciples. At our church was say, “Follow Jesus and Help Others Follow Jesus.” You have an opportunity to touch so many other lives, to influence them spiritually… to lead them in the way of eternal life.
In order to help the people of our church to have a lasting spiritual influenence, I introduced a plan. It has four simple parts. Anyone can do it. It’s best to form a team and work to influence others for Christ as a team.
Here is a powerful plan to have a spiritual influence.
Pray. Pray for people who are far from God. Pray for what they want you to pray for. Pray for wisdom about what you can do to love them.
Love. The smallest act of love can be a powerful thing. Love them in a meaningful way.
Invite. Invite then to a Christian concert or even or church service or church function or Bible study. Invite the to breakfast or lunch or to your home. Invite them to take a walk or workout with you or attend a sports event.
Gospel Conversation. Engage them in gospel conversation. Ask them questions. Learn their story. Explore what they believe. Listen with your heart. Ask follow-up questions. Show genuine interest.
Every Saturday morning the Bethel elders meet to pray. Once a month we do business. Once a month we eat breakfast and pray with the men of Bethel. One of the things we do is share stories of our attempts at spiritual influence. Our goal is to follow Jesus and help others follow Jesus.
Who will you influence this year?
Bittersweet Farm
January 2, 2023
