My First Devotion: Witnessing Through PB&J

Prologue
This was my first attempt at writing a devotion.  At this time in my life, I was spiritually stagnant.  A good Bible teacher once told me that in your Christian walk you either have to be moving forward or you’ll start sliding backward.  I was distracted by the world and I could literally feel myself sliding.  I was scheduled to share a devotion for my coworkers and I panicked.  I thought, "I can’t share anything about God right now.  I’ll be a fraud."  I could have taken the easy way out, Goggled some feel good story, and believe me I wanted to.  But I couldn't shake the need to write something personal.  This devotion just poured out of my heart.  Looking back now, I believe this was the Lord’s hand on my life, drawing me back to himself.  I am eternally grateful that He has begun to answer the prayer I prayed at the end of this devotion.
Love and Blessings,
Yolanda 1/17/2012

Witnessing through Peanut Butter and Jelly
The thought of doing this devotion has really stressed me out. First, I hate public speaking and this constitutes public speaking.  The second reason took me a little longer to figure out.  I began to question why and what I was really stressed about so I did some soul searching. I wouldn’t recommend this if you are not prepared for some harsh realities.  Sharing God’s word should come naturally to us as Christians. We are called to bear witness of His grace and salvation.  We are required to be bold and courageous; to have a heart and a passion for the lost.

Proverbs 11:30 says “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.” 

2 Timothy 4:1-2 I give you this charge: Preach the word, be prepared in season and out of season.  Correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction”. 

During my early years as a Christian, I really had a passion for the lost.  Because I was young and a bit of a know it all, I saw life through black and white filters.  There was right and there was wrong.  I loved acquiring Bible knowledge.  I enjoyed debating evolution, prophecy, sin, you name it.  So when it came to witnessing, I got part of Paul’s message to Timothy in the above verse (2 Tim. 4:1-2) right in that I “corrected and rebuked” but I kind of missed the last part of that verse that said “encourage with great patience and careful instruction”.  God’s word is black and white, right and wrong.  Sin is sin, according to God’s word.  What I failed to grasp was it wasn't my place to deal with the sin of others.  All I had to do was present the gospel and the Holy Spirit would deal with their sin.

From the Message: Romans 2:1 Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn't so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you've done.

Because God is merciful and uses us in spite of ourselves, some of my friends were ready for the good news and got saved.  Others I turned off and offended.  A friend once told me, after she got saved at a Harvest Crusade I invited her too, “When I start witnessing, I will not do it like you.”  Ouch – that hurt!
 
I have coined a phrase for people like me at this stage in my walk as “Dry Toast”.  For all you “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” fans it is the term Tula’s dad used for her future “uptight” in-laws.  We have all eaten dry toast and it's not very appetizing.  It needs butter or jam to appeal to our senses.  The same goes for Dry Toast Witnessing. We turn non-believers off because we don’t offer the good news with love and compassion reaching people where they’re at and allowing the Holy Spirit to deal with any unresolved sin in their life.  We give them this legalistic believe or burn message that is pretty hard to swallow.

After my friend’s comment and other chastising by the Holy Spirit, I kind of took the opposite approach to witnessing.  I met people where they were at but I found myself watering down the Word so I wouldn’t offend.  I took extra care in how and if I shared the gospel.  And to tell you the truth, I kind of lost my passion for the lost.  The danger here is if you start hanging out with non-believers but are not providing them a guiding light you become more like them and less like Jesus.  I call this version of myself “A big slice of cheesy pizza”.  When you are a big greasy mess, you can’t provide non-believers any of God’s healthy goodness because they can’t see Him though all of junk blocking His light.

1 Corinthians 15:33 says “Do not be deceived: evil company corrupts bad habits”. 

Romans 12:2 says “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

 The devil also starts to condemn and convince you that you are not worthy of sharing God’s salvation message because you are no better than the non-believer. And truthfully, we are not better than the non-believer. The difference is that we have placed our trust in Christ to remove the junk from our lives and it is His goodness that dwells in us.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

So finally, I have come to realize that the best way to witness to the lost is the peanut butter and jelly way.  God’s constant, absolute truth in His Word is the peanut butter.  It is healthy, sweet and also salty for salvation.  The jelly is God’s grace, compassion and unconditional love.  When we witness to the lost we have to provide both sides.  We can’t water down His Word, it is black and white, but we must offer it with love.  It is the Holy Spirit’s job to deal with their sins.  Not ours.  I like the way The Message phrases it in Jude 22,23 Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin.

So in conclusion, after this uninvited but necessary soul searching, my prayer has become:  Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by your generous Spirit.  I want that passion for the lost revived in my soul because I have never felt closer to the Lord then when I have prayed for a loved one’s soul.  When you are sharing the truth of Jesus with a friend, you are forced on your spiritual knees and into your dusty Bible.  You may be thinking, “I don’t know any non-believers. I guess I’m off the hook.”  Well, think again.  Wherever we are, be it work, home, or school, that is our mission field.  How do we reach them? Offer them a yummy Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich!

Written by Yolanda on October 27, 2010