Have you ever wondered how the people of the first century, those who witnessed the life and miracles of Jesus, could have turned their backs on him in unbelief? How could the Son of God be ignored, persecuted, and killed? There have always been people who refuse to believe and there always will be.

Jesus came to his disciples after his resurrection. He simply appeared in a room with locked doors and spoke to his terrified followers saying, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). Scripture says Thomas wasn’t with the other disciples at that time and when they told him what had happened, he didn’t believe them. He said, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe” (John 20:25). Eight days later Thomas saw the resurrected Son of God and believed. 

That’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Jesus would tell each of us who has placed our faith in him, those of us who believe him to be God’s Son and our Savior, that our faith means we are blessed.

We believe the Christmas story as the historical entry of God Incarnate into this world. He chose to become a baby so his life could be the full experience of this world and so his sinless life could become the only sacrifice necessary for the salvation of anyone who would believe. We believe Jesus healed the sick and walked on water. We believe Jesus allowed the soldiers to do the unthinkable so that we could live as the forgiven children of God now, and, one day, dwell with God in heaven. We believe.

And Jesus wants us to know that we are blessed because we believe God’s truth in faith. 

Living with wisdom is a path to God’s blessings. Our path to blessings began the day we wisely chose to believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. If you have believed, you are blessed.

We are reminded to live gratefully as we see pictures of people in war-torn countries doing their best to survive the cold of winter. We are reminded to give thanks when we leave a hospital and drive home free of illness. We are reminded by God through sunrises and sunsets that we live in a world created by a spectacular God.

Psalm 81:10 was a reminder to the nation of Israel that God, the great I AM, had brought them up out of the land of Egypt. The Red Sea was not a problem; it was an opportunity to show them the omnipotence of God. The manna and quail provided a reminder that God is all-loving and wanted to meet their needs. The psalmist also reminded the people that they must open their mouths wide for the Lord to fill them. 

How many blessings might we have missed because we were faced the wrong way? 

I love the hymn that says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.” When we look full in his wonderful face, he blesses us with a perspective on the dim things of this world compared to “the light of his glory and grace.”

Our greatest blessings are likely the things we take most for granted. We will rest our heads on our pillows tonight and know God’s peace. We will enjoy that first cup of coffee or tea in the morning knowing God is for us and has a plan for our day. 

What “land” has the Lord your God brought you out of? What are the things you miss the most while away from home and out of the country? What makes you feel secure today and hopeful about tomorrow?

We are blessed because we know the Lord our God stands ready to provide for our needs. We need to open our hearts, our minds, our hands, and our mouths so we can receive what he most wants to give.

Living with wisdom is a path to God’s blessings. His path is our blessed provision for this life and the road to eternal blessings ahead.

In his book Everyday Blessings, Max Lucado gave us some good advice when he wrote, “The next time you find yourself alone in a dark alley facing the undeniables of life, don’t cover them with a blanket, or ignore them with a nervous grin. Don’t turn up the TV and pretend they aren’t there. Instead, stand still, whisper his name, and listen. He is nearer than you think.”

The road of blessing is not without ups and downs, detours, and even the occasional pothole. Sometimes it feels like we are making this journey of life with at least one flat tire. Even when we sincerely feel that way, it isn’t the truth of God.

God told Isaiah, “No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed.” Satan undoubtedly hurls his darts, but his darts can’t remove you from your road of blessing. Satan can’t remove a Christian from the roles of heaven. 

God also told the prophet, “You shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.” No slander can change the truth of who we are. We are the adopted children of God, and we are blessed with the promise of forgiveness and the assurance of our eternal life with God.

The promises of God are guaranteed by the power of God. We have the same heritage that God promised Isaiah. Our vindication is from God. Whose words can stand against his?

We have been speaking about the blessings of God this month. We have been reminded that our sovereign God stands ready to bless and prosper the lives of his children. Our job is to faithfully obey and follow the wisdom of his word. 

Living with wisdom is a path to God’s blessings. I hope this month has helped you know that our path is certain and our destination is assured. That hope will keep us firmly walking on that high road of faith, secure and rewarded by the blessings of God.

How often are you encouraged to share the gospel with others? Do you feel ready to speak up when asked? 

These days, it’s more common to hear a sermon about “living” our faith instead of one that teaches us to speak the truth of the gospel message. What is that gospel truth? John 3:16 gives a concise answer:

—“For God so loved the world”: There is one God, who is the Creator and sustainer of the world, and he is perfectly loving (1 John 4:7–8).

—“he gave his only Son”: The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was God’s gift of grace so that everyone could find pardon for their sins.

—“that whoever believes in him”: Salvation requires our belief and acceptance of our need for Christ and his gift of salvation. 

—“should not perish but have eternal life”: Every person in this world has an eternal destiny in either heaven or hell.

This month, people will spend a lot of time and money on Halloween. The holiday has become a much bigger celebration in the past decade. Most retail stores will also begin stocking their shelves and advertising for Christmas. The contrast between those two holidays will provide multiple opportunities for us to share our faith. Are you ready?

We will look at the wisdom of evangelism this month and hopefully be inspired to speak about our faith. Wisdom is joyfully sharing God with others. May this month lead us to consider the importance of our gospel message and the impact it can have in our world.

The verbs in Scripture mean so much to our understanding of a verse. Jesus told his disciples to “proclaim” the gospel to the whole creation. Our world considers it politically incorrect to say that one person’s faith is more important than another’s. 

All Christians find it difficult to share our faith without emphasizing that we worship the Christ who is the only Son of the only God. Yet, that is the gospel truth we are to “proclaim” to the whole world.

Jesus said, “Go.” He didn’t say it as an encouragement or a suggestion. He commanded his disciples to proclaim the gospel, and he still does. 

Wisdom is joyfully sharing God with others. Our message is wisdom, our motivation is joy, and our obedience is required. Will you pray for God to inspire your testimony of faith this month? It’s time to “go” and time to “proclaim” the wise truth of our great God.

Evangelism takes many forms, but “lifestyle evangelism” is an effective way of allowing our daily lives to share the reality of God and our salvation. Think back to those things that caused you to want to choose Jesus as your Lord and Savior. 

You were likely impressed by some of the Christians you knew. You probably heard a sermon or a lesson or read something that caused you to understand that you needed to receive the gift of salvation through believing in Christ. Someone probably helped you make that choice by praying with you. Your baptism was that moment you made your faith in Christ your public testimony by saying, “Jesus is my Lord.” 

We are baptized “in the name of,” meaning in the character and person of the triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But, a person becomes a disciple when they learn to observe and obey all that God has commanded for our lives as his children. When we were saved, we received the character, the Name, of the Holy Trinity. We are adopted into the family of God.

Jesus also told his disciples why we would be able to live with his character and share the gospel with his power. Jesus said, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Underestimating our ability to share our faith is easy if we don’t understand the source of our ability.

Jesus is with us. The Holy Spirit is the power of Christ, indwelling God’s children. You have been chosen, gifted, and called to live in such a way that others see the truth of the gospel in your choices and hear the message of the gospel in your words.

Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples and promised he would be with us when we step out in obedience to his command. But there is an honest and valid question that every one of God’s children must ask. 

Who is going to heaven today because of your obedience to the work of Christ in you? 

Wisdom is joyfully sharing God with others. We will never know everyone we have influenced, but we will know the names of many of them. Are you content with the knowledge that you are living as an evangelist to our culture today?

The Christian faith began in the small country of Israel, a land God had promised to bless. The land had been favored for hundreds of years by the time Jesus stepped out of heaven and into an earthly life. Our faith today can be traced back to the Holy Land and the promises God made to Abraham about him being the father of countless generations.

There has always been one God, one Creator of all there is. There has always been more than one religion because original sin impacted everyone. People will always “want to be like God,” which is considered to be the root of every sin.

Paul’s letter to the Roman church is considered the most important letter of theology in our New Testament. He told them, and all Christians, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 

Again, the verbs in Scripture are often crucial to understanding the words. The phrase calls on inspires a picture of a man sinking in quicksand or drowning on a rough sea. The man “calls out” to a nearby person or boat knowing that without their help he will surely perish. Again, Paul said, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

The universal truth of Christian evangelism is seen in God’s promise through Paul. Everyone is drowning in more sin than we can measure. Everyone will perish unless they call out to the One who is ready and able to save them. It is a simple truth unless we complicate it with the world’s suggestions.

Our words and our witness can bring another person to that moment when they understand they are lost without Jesus. We can teach them to call on the name of Jesus, the only name by which anyone can be saved.

Our message is narrow because truth only needs one lane. It is the universal truth of our one God. It is the same lane of truth Abraham and Moses walked. It is the lane of truth that God made clear in the new covenant through Christ. 

As Jesus said, “The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:14). Who helped you find the narrow lane of truth? Who would list your name if asked that question? Wisdom is joyfully sharing God with others. Will you joyfully share the name of Jesus and God’s plan of salvation with someone today?

My husband was sitting in a chapel service at seminary when the speaker said, “The Holy Spirit has a strange affinity for the trained mind.” I love that God used a donkey to speak to the prophet Balaam in Numbers 22. I’ve often said if God can use a donkey, he can surely use any one of us to share his word.

But, I also think the seminary speaker was correct. Many Scriptures point to the importance of God’s children being educated in God’s word, remaining faithful to God’s voice, and staying obedient to all we know God commands.

Peter taught the first-century Christians to “honor Christ the Lord as holy” and to “be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks” about the faith we have, the hope that is in us because of Christ.

I’ve often taught that when the Holy Spirit is calling us to speak, it often feels like a silent pounding in our hearts. We know God is calling us to speak up; we need only to yield our thoughts and our voice to his. If we provide the answers the Holy Spirit authors, we will speak words someone needs to hear.

But, we don’t just speak those words; we must speak them with “gentleness and respect.” The words will fall on deaf ears if our words are used as weapons instead of as the grace-filled truth of our Lord.

We can defend the faith if we don’t make it a war of words and instead make our words a road of welcome.

Wisdom is joyfully sharing God with others. Speaking the truth in love when the Holy Spirit inspires our words is wise. It isn’t that we are right and non-believers are wrong. Rather, we have been taught the truth and we are now paying it forward. You know what to say and how to say it. Whom will you share the gospel message with tomorrow?

God gave us commands, but he also gave us the right to choose whether or not we would obey his word. 

Isaiah heard God speak when he went into the temple to pray. King Uzziah had died, and Isaiah was grieving and troubled. The Jewish kings were supposed to lead the people to live rightly with God, but not all did. King Uzziah was a good king, and the prophet Isaiah wondered what would happen after the king’s death.

God told Isaiah that someone would be needed to share the truth about God with the people. God asked him, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” God sends people, but they have to choose to go. This verse contains another reference to the Holy Trinity. Notice God said, “Who will go for us?”

Isaiah told God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, “Here I am! Send me.” God still asks his people Isaiah’s question today, and every day people make the same choice as the prophet.

I never want to teach Isaiah 6:8 without pointing out some important words that remain important for God’s people today. The verse begins, “I heard the voice of the Lord saying . . . .” Did Isaiah hear God speak in an audible voice? Did Isaiah hear God speak in his heart? Those are interesting questions to ponder, but the true point is that God speaks.

God’s people can know his voice and understand his commands.

You can live ready to share your faith if you will live with the same Spirit that led Isaiah. However God spoke, Isaiah knew the voice was for his direction. We all have a copy of God’s word. The pages are his voice. We have all prayed prayers of asking. Those who pray to listen hear his voice. 

God still speaks, and his servants still hear his voice. Wisdom is joyfully sharing God with others. That wisdom begins with Isaiah’s response to God’s voice: “Here I am! Send me.”

It’s been said that Acts 1:8 is fulfilled in Acts 8:1, after Stephen was tried before the Jewish courts and sentenced to death by stoning. Acts 8:1 says, “And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”

Every Christian has received power from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That gifting re-created us as witnesses. We have become witnesses to the power of God in our lives and therefore can proclaim the power of God to others. Just consider the growth of the Christian church immediately after Pentecost. That is the power Jesus was speaking about.

The strength of our testimony is the voice of experience. We have been “born again” as the children of God and the disciples of Christ. We know this because we have received the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We don’t talk enough about the work of the Holy Spirit. He is everything to our work and witness. He is the message and the messenger, in and through our lives.

The strength of our testimony isn’t in the telling of our lives as much as it is in the telling of Christ’s life empowering us, using us, and guiding us. The power of the Holy Spirit is our message. When we yield to his Spirit, we speak the words of Christ, we offer the love of Christ, and we walk in the ways of Christ.

Wisdom is joyfully sharing God with others. If we are wise, we will realize we are called to assume the role or practice of a witness. We are called to become God’s witness. When we joyfully share God with others, it is his wisdom people will see. 

If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit is the strength of your testimony. Say a prayer so that you can step back from your own thoughts and ideas in order to share his instead.

Two of the original disciples reached out to the lame man at the temple gate called Beautiful and said, “Rise up and walk!” (Acts 3:6). Philip the evangelist met the Ethiopian eunuch on the road and explained the gospel. The Ethiopian man was saved, and there are volumes of church tradition that speak to the impact of that one changed life. Jesus met Paul on the road to Damascus and the terrorist of the New Testament became God’s great theologian for the church.

There were so many aspects to the ministry of Christ, yet his purpose was the same for each story. Jesus told a wealthy tax collector named Zacchaeus why he was sharing his faith with someone like him. Jesus said, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

If we want to share the ministry of Christ, we will need to share his purpose. We, as his disciples, are called to find people, whoever or wherever they are, and help them understand how they can be saved.

Like Zacchaeus, many will feel unworthy of God’s love. They need to know that we were too, but God saved us anyway. Like the angry Pharisees, we will need to accept that Jesus loves the “tax collectors” of our culture too. The tax collectors often overcharged God’s people in order to send their money to Rome and keep some for themselves. God loves the people who don’t play fair, the ones who don’t follow the rules, too. 

Jesus went into Zacchaeus’ home and ate with other tax collectors, infuriating the Pharisees and Sadducees. If we want to share in Jesus’ ministry, we will need to love some people whom others in the church might avoid. Jesus didn’t just come for the sinners; he came to “seek” them out so they could be saved.

Which “sinner” (besides yourself) do you pray for on a regular basis? Who has turned from the Lord that needs to be brought back? Who has refused to consider Christ as their King and avoids what they call the “God-talk”?

Sometimes wisdom is joyfully sharing Christ with tax collectors, Pharisees, Sadducees, and other people we might not naturally enjoy. We can’t share the ministry of Christ unless we share his methods. Is there someone you know who is spiritually up a sycamore tree like Zacchaeus and probably looking down on your faith? Will you take a few minutes and pray that Christ will use your life to bring them home to the truth?

Wisdom is joyfully sharing Christ with others. Wisdom will sometimes be joyfully sharing Christ with the tax collector or a Pharisee in your life. Are you willing to serve Jesus as Jesus served us?