Friday, April 27, 2018

April 28, 2018

"Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” John 3:1-2

Jesus ministered to many people during His earthly ministry. Often they came by the thousands to hear Him teach. We know two occasions where He miraculously feed thousands. But when He did soul-winning it was often one person at a time.

I am thinking of the woman at the well, I am thinking of Zachaeus, and in this case, Nicodemus.

It is not hard to imagine why people would want to seek out Jesus one-on-one. I would! Wouldn't you?

In this devotional I want to focus on three reasons why people were drawn to Jesus that you and I can learn in order to be more successful in reaching people.

First, Jesus was authentic.

Second, Jesus was available.

Third, Jesus was approachable.

Of course Jesus was authentic, He was the Son of God. He was the REAL deal.

While you can't be Jesus you should strive to be the real deal! Or, I should say, let Jesus be real in you! Live out His life and His love in the way you live your daily life.

If you come across as a phony you won't have to worry about any witnessing opportunities because no one will be interested in what you have to offer.

Make a conscious effort each day to be available to the ones you want to reach. By being available I refer to your physical availability but also your emotional availability. Do your best to be tuned into them when you are around them so they pick up on your care and concern for them. Remember, time + attention = caring!

Even a quick glance at the Gospels will reveal that Jesus intentionally made Himself available to people He wanted to reach.

If you give attention to those first two issues, this third one (being approach able) will happen. Intentionally and prayerfully determine to be someone that people want to come to when they have a spiritual need. That is what Jesus was all about and that is how He wants to shape you!

Give attention to becoming like Jesus in these three ways and you will have more opportunities to reach people for Christ!