What has knowing Jesus changed your life? Knowing the answer to that question could help you to engage in conversations with those who know Jesus and also those who don’t know Him.
Knowing Jesus changes________. This is the sentence we asked people to complete this past weekend, at the P2C booth at Break Forth Canada 2017.
“Jesus is never content to leave
me as I am.”
Power to Change booth at Break Forth Canada.
Thinking through my answer and thinking about the changes Jesus has made in my life was a good reminder. As a Canadian Christian, it is far too easy for me to be apathetic about my faith, to sit back and let life happen instead of actively pursuing God. Thinking about how Jesus has already changed me, helped me to see how much more He still needs to do in my life.
I struggle to let Jesus change my flaws — I’ve grown attached to many of my imperfections. However, Jesus is never content to leave me as I am, He walks me towards growth and improvement. He’s taken my lack as a human, and showed me how to find peace, joy, hope and love. All things I so desperately need more of everyday.
“There is a difference between hearing and listening. We all know how to hear, it is much more difficult to listen,”
Sean Cullen, National Director of Power to Change – Students did a session about listening your way into gospel conversations. (You can access the talk here or read more in his blog.) He discussed how to start spiritual conversations by listening. “There is a difference between hearing and listening. We all know how to hear, it is much more difficult to listen,” Cullen says.
Sean Cullen speaking at Break Forth Canada
After listening, keep listening and ask engaging questions. Open ended questions like, “What is your spiritual background?”or “What are some of your values?”. Jesus met people where they were at and asked them questions that led to spiritual conversations. Through questions and looking at culture, you can begin to engage in a conversation.
Paul is a good example of how to do this. In Acts 17, while visiting Athens, he noticed that the city had a lot of idols. He used that as a starting point, then he launched into who God is. He listened to culture.
“People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” Acts 17:22-25
If you think of how to answer the question — What has knowing Jesus changed for you? — you’ll be on your way to sparking spiritual conversations with those around you.
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