40 Day Daniel Fast Day 24

1 Corinthians 9:19-23    19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Devotional
Do you have family members whose actions and behaviors you have to explain? Think about it; you have that one uncle or aunt who will say anything and everything out of their mouth that may offend someone. Hey, real quick, if you don’t have anyone in your family like this, guess who’s the person????? Anyway, as we were. But what do you usually find yourself doing when new people are around? Explaining the ins and outs of the family dynamics; hey, this is uncle Carl, don’t mind him; when he gets a bit much in his system, he starts saying a lot! Oh, that’s cousin Lonnie, he usually always talks loud, and here is…..and on and on it goes. What is the point I am making? We know the people we are in a relationship with; Paul says, to the Jews, I have become Jews, to those under the law, I have become under the law, for those who are under it, and those who are considered outsiders, I have become an outsider.

What is Paul saying? Can I tell you what he is not saying? He is not saying I do what they do; he is not saying I compromise who I am for them; I do not turn into a chameleon for them. No, Paul is saying, I meet them all on their turf. Paul was a Jew! Who knew more about Jewish law than Paul? Every place Paul would travel, he would preach first in the synagogue. Why? Because he can relate to the Jews, he wanted them to come to know Christ as Lord. Paul adapted his approach to different groups. If you study Paul’s sermons in Acts, you can see how he started his sermon with the Old Testament to better relate to them. Notice Paul was looking to be all things (not compromising who he was in Christ) to all people, finding a way to connect to them to share the gospel and win a soul for the Lord. So the next bar-b-que you attend, and you see cousin Lonnie, share the gospel with him the way you know he would hear it. When you see uncle Carl, listen to his story so you may win his trust to share the gospel with him. Saints, let’s not forget, we are ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s time for us to start sharing!

Challenge
Write down the family members you know are not saved, and start to pray and engage them in conversation, learn more about them, listen to them before you share.

Share your list with a prayer partner (if you don’t have one, come to prayer at  6am, 2pm, 6pm and/or Saturday 8 am)