Tis the Season
Tis the season! Tis the season of gratitude, gift giving, family get-togethers, and the time of the year when more people are probably more open to considering listening to and discussing the gospel message than at any other time of the entire year. Keeping in mind the absolutely essential nature of personal evangelism in the Lord’s kingdom, tis definitely the season to take advantage of such abundant opportunities!
Tis the season… for questions!
Now of course as we have know from the gospels and the example of the Master Teacher Himself, “good teachers ask questions.” And there are many good and appropriate bible questions and ‘conversation-starters’ that we can use to pique people’s curiosity, regarding some of those things that are typically tied to this time of year by those who don’t know too overly much about the Word of God and what it actually says. (Remember, our job is not to convert anyone, but to get people into the Scriptures and let God and His word convert them. We have the best chance of accomplishing that when we simply ask them nice, basic, non-antagonistic questions that, #1). Get them to wonder about the real biblical facts of the matter and to question their former understandings, and then, #2). Go check it out for themselves in God’s holy word.) For example, when pictures, depictions, or discussions come up regarding the “nativity scene,” we need to ask those we love, questions like: “How many wise men does the bible say there were?” or “Did the ‘wise men’ actually visit the manger where the baby Jesus was born, or the house where He was later on?” Or perhaps we might ask as we set around an angel-topped Christmas tree with the family, “Were there actually ever any female angels mentioned anywhere in the scriptures?”
Pique their curiosity. Make them think. Give them things to reconsider which they always just took for granted that they knew. As they discover discrepancies between what they always thought for sure was true and what the God of the bible actually says, it might just cause them to wonder about what other things they thought were surely in the Scriptures, but yet which never were… things like the ‘sinner’s prayer for salvation,’ instrumental music in New Testament worship, and/or, that man-made denominational churches and doctrines which completely contradict the sacred scriptures are still completely acceptable to God as well; or, said another way, that it doesn’t matter that much what one ‘believes,’ as long as one ‘believes.’
Tis the season to get people thinkin’! Tis the season to help people reason! Tis the season, to get ‘em to: hungerin’ and thirstin’, and studyin’ and searchin’ – to questionin’ and re-searchin’! Tis the season! And we all know what God said about that, don’t we? “Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2NKJV). Now is the time! Tis the season!