Morning Devotional 120825 Share God's Love

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

December 8, 2025 

Colossians 4:2-6

2 Keep on praying and guard your prayers with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray for us also. Pray that God would open a door for the word so we can preach the secret plan of Christ—which is why I’m in chains. 4 Pray that I might be able to make it as clear as I ought to when I preach. 5 Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Your speech should always be gracious and sprinkled with insight so that you may know how to respond to every person.

Good Morning! Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Evangelism! Go out and share the Good News as it relates to your life. In the early days of Christianity, this is how the word was spread. There were no books to read. Groups of Christians gathered in homes, caves, or near rivers. The only way for others to know about Jesus was for followers to actively invite them to come and listen. 

Through this early movement, Christianity became a world religion, spreading the Gospel message across the globe. As civilizations moved into new lands, those called to share the Word led the way as people settled new lands. During this time, it was common for gatherings, such as tent meetings and revivals, to attract thousands of listeners. 

Now, most of our churches have empty pews begging for someone to come and hear the Good News. What happened? Has everyone heard the message? Is God no longer relevant in our society?

Many groups are studying this phenomenon of declining churches and formulating a variety of answers. These answers range from those who turned away from the church because of bad experiences with organized religion to people who feel unwelcome to come and worship. 

The tough love answer is that we, God’s children, are failing to openly and confidently share God’s love with others. Too many people perceive evangelism, believers, and non-believers as scary, inappropriate, or just plain bad. Evangelism evokes the images and words of extremists who try to force religion on others through tricks and illusions. 

The first thought when considering evangelists is those who make us and others uncomfortable. They quote snippets of Scripture and use guilt to urge us to accept Christ. 

Not once did Christ try to force anyone to follow him! He warned of those false prophets who tried to trick others into following them. Jesus commanded us to go into the world and make disciples in him for the transformation of the world. 

To evangelize the others is to offer them the Word. If they aren’t ready to hear it, we simply walk away. It is not up to us to make others accept Christ or to save souls, but to invite them through our words and actions to come and see. 

The church is not in decline because God’s message has become irrelevant. We need God because only God has the power to overcome the growing evil. The church is in decline because we, the church, need to share God’s love and make all welcome.

Lord, you bless us abundantly! Open our eyes, give us courage, and use us to save Your people. We love you, Lord! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen

Thought for the day: Be bold and share what God is doing in your life!

Share God’s love! Pastor Liz