Five Tips For Sharing The Gospel Online

1: Have A Message
Approach sharing messages on the net exactly the way you prepare to interact face--- to---face with people. You should have something ready to share. Pray, prepare and ask the Lord to lead you to what to share.

2: Edit Thoroughly
Don't present poorly written content on behalf of the Lord. Edit thoroughly! It's a non-negotiable! You are representing Christ and your message must be excellent(construction, clarity,grammatical accuracy). After you hit send, go back to read over to catch errors and correct them.

3: Mind Your Language
Social Media doesn't diminish your responsibility as a Christian.“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers“ (Ephesians 4:29). Avoid foul language. Avoid cursing. Don't attack anyone for their beliefs: Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Your own words won't change anybody. It's the convicting power of the Holy Spirit that saves.

4: Guard Against Plagiarism
The rules of writing has not changed on social media. Plagiarism is stealing Christians should not steal. Don't use other person‘s work and take credit for it. It's stealing. Give credit where it's due; it's Biblical: give honour to whom honour is due ( Romans 13:7).

5: Use Hashtags: #
Hashtags gives you a wider coverage beyond your friends list.
#Five #Tips For #Sharing The #Gospel #Online

Call For Articles

Truth Publications & BLOOM Magazine Presents:

The GOSPEL WRITERS SERIES

This is a group writing project which will bring together different writers to present their views on pertinent Christian Topics. 

We are taking off with the first in the series "WHAT DOES EASTER MEAN TO YOU?" This will be compiled into an ebook and distributed online for free download. This collaboration is aimed at spreading the gospel of Christ through writing. If you want to be part of this project, please send your article on the topic WHAT DOES EASTER MEAN TO YOU?, between 250-500 words to enochanti@gmail.com before 7th April 2014.

"Easter is the celebration of the authenticity of the Christian faith where our Lord Jesus Christ did die and rose again just as He foretold" Josephine Amoako

The Place of Wise Counsel In Our Lives

Image: Courtesy belief.net

And Solomon said unto God...Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? (2Chronicles 1:8-10).

Solomon: The name has become synonymous to wisdom. Obviously, a man who penned down Proverbs and Ecclesiastes must be nothing short of wisdom. We know however, that the source of his wisdom was God. One day Solomon had what I will describe as a worship service. He sacrificed a thousand burnt offering(vs 6) and I believe that got God's attention. That same night after the sacrifice, God appeared to Solomon and asked him: “Ask what I shall give thee.”(vs 7).

Solomon‘s answer; “Give me now wisdom and knowledge” impressed God: 

...Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life... Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.(vs 11-12).

“Wisdom and Knowledge“, I doubt if that would have been the response of many of us in this generation. We would have asked exactly what Solomon did not ask: 1:Prosperity (riches, wealth). 2: Influence and dominion (honour). 3: Death of our enemies(life of thine enemies) and 4: Long Life(neither yet hast asked long life). Have you ever asked how Solomon got it right with his answer to God's question? I think I found the answer in my Bible study sometime back. See this: 

Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God. (1 Chronicles 22:12).

Solomon didn't get it right because he was a genius, no, before God appeared to him, David his father had already instructed him on what is important in his leadership: “wisdom and understanding(Knowledge)”. Those were the exact things Solomon asked when God appeared to him. Who is your counsellor? Who is your adviser? Who is instructing you? Ensure that any counsel or advice you receive ultimately leads you to walking and obeying God

Impacting Our World

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14).

If you use a Bible with a red letter edition, you will then be aware the Scripture quoted are Jesus’ direct words. However, he wasn't speaking about Himself. He was speaking to His disciples (the twelve plus a crowd that had followed Him.) In extension, He is speaking to us too His followers. Jesus is saying anyone who follows me is the light of the world.

Naturally, light dispels darkness. As followers of Jesus we should also dispel darkness: evil, sin and wickedness should not prevail in our lives and the lives we encounter. In a hurting and sinful world, we are to be a source of flavour on earth. Where there is hurt, we bring relief. Where there is despondency, we bring a message of hope. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are a source of nourishment for people burdened and “thirsty“ in life.

Remember, we are representing Christ and the “mission statement” of Christ is equally our mission statement: 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (Luke 4:18). 

--- Adapted from TheEmergence of A New Generation,© 2013 Enoch A. Anti, Published by Truth Publlication, P.O. Box CT842 Cantoments-Accra, Ghana. info@truthpublicationsgh.com

 

Available in Ghana at Shell Shops (Osu Regal and La T Junction), Ernest Chemist Retail Shops (Circle, Tudu, Spintex, Odorkor, Legon and Kumasi Santasi) and Banner of Love Bookshop (Nungua). Also available on Amazon.com 

Please Turn To The Table Of Content

I have been yearning to do this write-up for some time now due to observations I have made in Church amongst Christians, but the inspiration has not been strong. On the 11th of Marc, 2014, during a family devotion at dawn, we had to read a text from lamentation. While opening the Bible, one family member asked me: “where is Lamentation”. After Jeremiah I answered.

So I paused the devotion and asked a general question: “why don't people turn to the table of content when a Scripture is mentioned and they can't locate it?”. I got the most obvious answer; “people will think you are not spiritual and don't know the Bible”. I was excited, my thoughts have been confirmed. O! So it's about what people will think?

Erroneously, for many who grew up in church, we have been brought up and conditioned to believe that your ability to know the chronological arrangement of the books of the Bible indicates your spirituality and knowledge of the Bible. Remember the Bible drills? We are forced to memorize the books of the Bible and the exact order they appear. This, it looks has produced a false sense of spirituality amongst adults. Have you noticed how in church you see people frantically trying to locate a Scripture a speaker has mentioned without success? 

Maybe, you have not just noticed; it actually might have happened to you. It does happen to me sometimes; but me I don't waste time at all. I go straight for the Table of Content. Easy! No endless, frantic flipping through the pages of the Bible to locate a text. There's a reason for the table of content in every book, including the Bible. It's meant to help the reader easily navigate the pages of the book. If The Table Of Content is of no use to you, then maybe you should tear it from your Bible. Drastic measure right? You see, you are no less spiritual for referring to the table of content, neither are you more spiritual for not referring to the Table of Content. Please if in doubt, turn to The Table of Content.

Jesus Our Perfect Example: Lessons From The Wilderness (Final Submission)

Throughout the month of February and March, I have been expositing on Matthew 4, picking lessons from Jesus’ experiences in the wilderness. I have done a four part series, Parts One, Two, Three and Four. Today, I will treat the last part.

14: God Alone Deserves Our Worship 

And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve (Matthew 4:9-10).

David was right on point when he wrote: “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalms 119:103). Have you ever had an experience where out of nowhere a text of Scripture comes into your mind with fresh insight and understanding? At that moment, it feels like God just dropped a little of His magnificent glory into your heart. You suddenly get a new and fresh perspective about God's word. While preparing for this post, I experienced just that: A Scripture from nowhere just came into my mind: 

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Like we say in Charismatic circles, it blew my mind. I just went “wow“! Marvellous! I pray I am able to explain myself well. Note that throughout His encounter with the devil in the wilderness, Jesus has been quoting “the law and the prophets“. Every Scripture Jesus used against the devil was from the law written by a prophet Moses. This means, Jesus was living and fulfilling the law. He didn't not say; “I am greater than the law, so I will act anyhow”. He lived and fulfilled the law by obeying it. Jesus didn't come to set the law aside. He came to fulfil the law. He came to do just what the law said: He met every single requirement of the law. Remember what He told John The Baptist? 

Suffer it to be so now: for ...us to fulfil all righteousness.(Matthew 3:15).

The highest point of fulfilling the law was His death on the cross. Jesus Himself drew an analogy from the law about how He should die. “And as Moses lifted up [hanged] the serpent in the wilderness [on the tree], even so must the Son of man be lifted up [hanged on a tree, cross]:” (John 3:14). So Jesus lived and fulfilled the law right unto His death. When He died, He set us free and gave us the power to fulfil God's commandments. He Jesus became a commandment for us. Like a capsule, the whole law was encapsulated in Him: “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

Now, though we are saved and set free to obey God, we have to contend with a devil whose chief aim is to receive the glory that is due God. Once upon a time in heaven, the battle lines were drawn. A “no go area“ was crossed. Pride arose in the heart of an angel. He desired God's glory. He desired to share in God's glory. Right there before the throne of God, rebellion against Almighty God arose: 

For thou [Lucifer] hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. (Isaiah 14:13-15). 

It's evident: the devil has been at it for ages; his every move has been to get and share in the glory that only God deserves. And since we are created in God's image, we become the target of his onslaught. He baits us. He makes us offers. He deceives us into believing he has something to offer. Of course, should the devil appear with potruding horns and a horrible monstrous face like he is depicted in images, we obviously will ignore him.

He comes cunningly; slowly we get engrossed in a busy schedule with no time for God. We run around making a life and forgetting God. We begin to even question whether God is relevant. We start believing a lie that we can make it without God. In extreme cases, people start meddling in the occult and other forms of worship not prescribed by God. We can't and must not dilute our worship of God. Let’s take stock of our lives and let any other thing that takes the place of God in our life be dealt with.

15: Speak To Your Situation

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan...Then the devil leaveth him...(Matthew 4:10-11).

If you critically examine Matthew 4, you will realise that, up until now (vs10-11), Jesus and Satan have been engaging in a back and forth exchanging words. Right from vs two through to vs nine, it has been just the quoting and counter quoting of the Word of God. Strange phenomenon; and quite disturbing: even Satan knows the word. It seems the devil was not perturbed hearing the word of God at all.

So knowing the word and quoting it is one thing. Exercising the authority of the word is another thing: it's the exercising of the authority of the word that gets results. As a writer, I am fully aware my ability to write or speak about the word of God doesn't necessarily mean I will enjoy the benefits of the word. To have a full impact of the word in my life; I have to, as a matter of necessity, activate the power in the word. I have to speak and declare the word: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Proverbs 18:21).

“Get thee hence” produced the effect of “the devil leaveth him“. Don't under estimate the power of the spoken word. Speak the word! Declare the word to any situation that rises up against you. It's not enough to know the word: we got to activate the word to work on our behalf: 

And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy [speak, command, declare] upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:” (Ezekiel 3:3-5).

16: The Lord  Provides.

Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him(Matthew 4:11)

After enduring hunger and overcoming the onslaught of the devil's temptations, angels came and ministered unto Jesus. They provided for His needs. Throughout Scriptures, we see angels actively involved in God's relationship with humankind. In contemporary human history, there have also been reported cases of people encountering angels. Angels, the Bible says are ministering spirits sent to minister to those who will be heirs of salvation ( Hebrews 1:14). 

The phrase “angels came and ministered unto him” in the context of Scripture, could mean only one thing: they brought Jesus food: Food to satisfy His hunger and strengthen Him. God does provide for His own and He will provide our needs. Hear Jesus: 

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? (Matthew 6:25-27). 

“Take no thought for your life“: Stop worrying! Stop frightening. Stop the tension and the stress. “Be still and know that I am God“ (Psalms 46:10). Note that Matthew 6 above, was written in the context of the Lord's Prayer. There in the Lord's prayer, we read “Give us this day our daily bread“. Of course, the provision of God goes beyond food. God‘s provision covers every area of our lives. Included in the whole package is our total wellbeing. God will not leave us to be crushed. In every situation, we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. You might be going through challenges and tough times. You might be enduring some harsh conditions. Don't give up! Trust God. He provides for His own. He is a Master at that. He has never failed, and you will not be the first to break His record of faithfulness. Whatever situation you face, remember we have an ever abiding promise of God's presence: “...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).