A Christmas Realization

I'm a lot like Joseph. You know, Joseph from the story of the birth of Jesus? He was a simple carpenter, not even married, and yet he is the father of the Son of God. I'm not saying I'm the father/mother of Jesus or anything like that but sometimes I just feel like Joseph. I'm just a teenager. I'm in high school yet I am already feeling God's pull on my life. He is pulling me to something that just seems impossible. I find myself calling out to him constantly and begging: "Father, show me where I fit into this plan of yours."

I feel like God is calling me to a life of ministry. This doesn't seem like anything impossible but, for me, it feels as if it nearly is. I come from a family who doesn't know the love of Christ. They know who He is, but the reject getting to know Him personally. They aren't Christians. Just them allowing me to go to church was a big step, I can't imagine them letting me work at church. But I have confidence because I know if God could choose a simple carpenter, like Joseph, to be the father of Jesus, he can choose and lead me into a life of ministry. It's all about trusting his amazing power.

Peace and Grace,

Jillian
jillianlangford@sbcglobal.net

A little more on this post:
This post was inspired by the Christmas song, "Joseph's Song"



My friend from church sang it in front of the congregation and it spoke to me. I was almost able to replace Joseph's name with mine and change the situation quite a bit, obviously. This song describes my feelings almost exactly. It's an incredible song.

Something to Remember...

Hey guys,

Sorry for the unintentional "blog break." Life has gotten pretty busy lately and I haven't had a lot of time on the internet.

Today's post is going to be a little different. Yesterday I was reminded of something by my close friend, Lena, that I had recently forgotten. I was texting her last night and being a little hard on myself. I was telling her about some of my goals and then after each goal that I didn't think could happen, I would write "I know this can't ever happen but whatever." She quickly corrected me and reminded me that through God, all things are possible! We are living under the same God who parted the Red Sea, who has saved countless souls from death, helped even the most unlikely characters achieve great feats and more. We live under a God who loves us and has great things planned for us. He will make it happen!

I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13

In the wise words of Lena, "You never know, God likes to surprise people."

Peace and Grace,

Jillian

jillianlangford@sbcglobal.net

Live It Out!

For those of you who are currently in school, remember to always live out your faith!! As Christians, this is one of the most important things we can ever do. People around us know we are Christians so they expect us to live differently.

You've probably heard the expression "You're the only Bible some people will ever read." This is so true! This doesn't mean that you have to go around spouting our scripture as you walk down the halls but it does mean that we should live in a Christlike image in everything we do. We need to be patient when we are doing tedious work. We need to be helpful when we see a classmate that needs assistance. We need to be comforting when we see someone who needs help or is lost.

Take time to pray today and ask Christ to help you to live in His image and see others the way He sees you.

In His Service,
Jillian

Video of the day:

Quiz Time!

Step on down! You have been selected to participate in the first ever Something to Say quiz: "What Type of Evangelist Are You?"!

This quiz will ask you about how you have/think you would share the Gospel with others. After you have answered a few questions, this quiz here will reveal what type of evangelist you are and who from the bible you can learn from.

I did not write this quiz, I actually found it while I was trying to write my own quiz! This quiz belongs to Dare 2 Share Ministries. The original quiz can be found here. I do not, in any way, own this quiz.

Get ready, here's question one!

1) Which word describes you the most?
a) creative
b) bold
c) organized
d) caring

2) “Sometimes I tend to…
a) …set my goals too high.”
b) …hurt people’s feelings with my directness.”
c) …get impatient when things don’t go as planned.”
d) …worry about what other people think of me.”

3) Which phrase describes you the most?
a) To dream the impossible dream
b) Just do it!
c) A place for everything and everything in its place.
d) Friends are friends forever.

4) “My friends would probably describe me as…
a) …the life of the party.”
b) …the leader of the pack.”
c) …the most organized person they know.”
d) …a friend who really listens.”

5) If there were a friend you wanted to lead to Christ which of the following things would you be more likely to do?
a) find the most creative way you possibly could to bring up the subject
b) just go and tell them the gospel
c) think through all of the arguments that they may have beforehand and then make a plan to initiate a well thought through presentation of the gospel
d) take them out to a coffee shop and pray that it naturally comes up in the conversation

6) What makes you the most uncomfortable in a witnessing situation?
a) Not being able to reach them right away in a creative way
b) Beating around the bush
c) Not knowing exactly what to say
d) Making the person you are witnessing to feel uncomfortable

7) What is your biggest concern when it comes to evangelism?
a) Boring them
b) Being quiet about the gospel
c) Not being ready to share my faith logically
d) The other person’s feelings

8) If you were to describe your witnessing style what phrase would you use?
a) Unique, creative and different!
b) Ready, willing and able!
c) Always be prepared!
d) Earn the right to be heard!

9) “Sometimes I tend to be…
a) …idealistic when it comes to sharing my faith.”
b) …insensitive when it comes to sharing my faith.”
c) …impatient when it comes to sharing my faith.”
d) …intimidated when it comes to sharing my faith.”

10) “If I were trying to motivate someone else to share their faith I would try to…
a) …excite them about the impact they could make.”
b) …take them out witnessing.”
c) …help them make an effective plan.”
d) …encourage them to build strong relationships with the lost first.”

So what are you? Mostly A’s, B’s, C’s, or D’s?

If you are mostly A’s you are a Vision-driven Evangelist.
Vision-driven evangelists are creative and innovative when it comes to evangelism because they see the big picture. Their goal is to have a maximum impact on those around them. To do this they let their imaginations run wild and are very strategic in their approach to leading others to Jesus Christ.

If you are mostly B’s you are Action-driven Evangelist.
Action-driven Evangelists like to talk a lot. They are extremely outgoing and upbeat. These evangelism extroverts have no problem initiating conversations about the gospel with complete strangers. They ooze evangelism. Action-driven Evangelists can’t help telling others the good news of Jesus Christ. They love to introduce others to him with a direct, verbal approach.

If you are mostly C’s you are a Logic-driven Evangelist.
Logic-driven Evangelists are detailed, intellectual planners. They love to share their faith through healthy debate and well thought out discussions. They usually know their stuff and tend to be ready when it comes to objections. The best apologists (those who defend the faith with well-reasoned arguments) tend to be Logic-driven Evangelists.

If you are mostly D’s you are a Friendship-driven Evangelist
Connecting evangelists are relational in their approach. They build bridges of love and kindness and then cross that bridge with the cargo of the gospel in a personal and sensitive way. Friendship-driven Evangelists are usually great disciplers. Once they lead someone to Christ the relationship is so strong already that getting that person out to church, youth group or small group is usually not that much of a challenge.

Understand your model
Each style of evangelism has a corresponding Biblical model. As a matter of fact the way that I discovered these styles of evangelism is by doing a study of the New Testament grouping different types of witnesses into general categories. After narrowing these groups down again and again I finally came to the four categories of Vision-driven, Vocal-driven, Logic-driven, and Feeling-driven Evangelists. Finally, I picked one Biblical character that represents that particular style of evangelism.

Vision-driven
The apostle Paul was a Vision-driven Evangelist. His slogan could have been “win the world!” As made clear in Colossians 1:28 his goals for the gospel were high. He wanted to reach “everyone” with the gospel message and would not rest until “everyone” was saved and matured in Christ. His primary concern was maximum impact when it came to evangelism. He went to the biggest towns of that culture to make sure that he was being used by God to reach as many as possible. He also made it clear that he wanted knew turf where the gospel had not been
proclaimed. He wanted new soil to plant the seed of truth in deeply. Paul was also extremely creative in the way he communicated the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Action-driven
Peter was Action-driven. He was the first want to speak up and the last one to shut up. If he had a motto it could have been, “Win the world…now!” He was extremely aggressive in his evangelism style. As evidenced by Acts 2 it is obvious that he didn’t hesitate when an opportunity to deliver the gospel to an unreached audience came. In Acts 2 a crowd of interested Jews gathered to hear the initial handful of believers speak in different languages simultaneously. Some thought they were drunk. Others probably thought they were just plain nuts. Peter seized the opportunity, jumped to his feet and snagged the attention of the crowd of thousands, “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel….”(v14, 16). In just seconds he seized their attention and segued into the gospel. In just minutes he had led three thousand men to Christ.

Logic-driven
Luke was Logic-driven…by his own admission. Listen to the words he wrote to Theophilus,
“ Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” Luke 1:1-4.
Luke took more of an intellectual approach to evangelism. He, as a doctor, thought analytically and scientifically. He presented the message of hope in light of eyewitness accounts and hard-hitting evidence. Logic-driven Evangelists tend to take a more analytical, intellectual approach to evangelism. They think their presentation through and share the gospel with their audiences persuasively and logically. They organize their message in such a way as to best appeal to the minds of those they are witnessing to.

Friendship-driven
Priscilla and Aquilla were feeling-driven in their witnessing style. In Acts 18 they met an impressive man named Apollos. “He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures” v.24. One problem though, he hadn’t yet heard of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Instead he was preaching the baptism of John and the coming kingdom of Christ. His message wasn’t inaccurate, just incomplete. Priscilla and Aquilla didn’t jump down his throat as soon as he walked away from the pulpit. Instead, “…they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately” v.26. That’s a nice way of saying they witnessed to him. They took him in and probably, over a home-cooked meal, filled in the blanks for him. They built a bridge and crossed it. They treated him with love, dignity and respect as they gently shared with him the complete gospel message.
Feeling-driven evangelists are relational in their evangelistic approach. They love others into the kingdom. Whereas a Logic-driven evangelist’s witnessing slogan could be, “Let’s start with a plan!” a Friendship-driven evangelist’s slogan could be, “Let’s start with a friend!” They tend to be listeners more than talkers.


What's my personal evangelistic style? Well, I'm pretty evenly spread but I am actually a *drumroll* logic-driven evangelist! Remember, there is no right or wrong type of evangelist. We were all made differently so we could reach different people! Embrace they way you were made!

In His Service,

Jillian

The Hard Questions: How Do You Know the Bible Isn't Just Some Story?

Growing up, I've struggled with this question quite a bit. Many of us are Christians and we believe that the Bible is true but many of us don't know why we believe the Bible is true. To claim to someone that God's Word is 100% true and is found completely in one book is pretty unbelievable. To tell someone that there are stories in the Bible where people walk on water, animals talk and the people rise from the dead seems completely unlikely. How can we show someone who isn't a believer that the Bible is indeed 100% accurate? One could write a book on this topic so let me just share a few facts about the authenticity of the Bible and also give you a few links if you wish to dig a little deeper.

Fulfilled Prophecies
If you've ever opened a Bible, chances are you've probably read one of the many prophecies it holds. A prophesy is, by definition, a message that has been communicated to a prophet which the prophet then communicates to others (source). So the prophecies in the Bible were communicated to the writer by God himself. How do we know this is true? Let's take apart one example: Daniel, the author of the book Daniel in the Bible (duh), predicted that Jesus would come as Israel's Savior 483 years their emperor gave them permission to rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 19:24-27). Pretty big claim, right? Well, it came true. Every single bit of it was fulfilled hundreds of years after it was written. Could Daniel have predicted something like that without the help of God? I doubt it.
Check this one out, it's a little more straightforward than the last: The prophecy says:
"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9)
The fulfillment comes a little later: "⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.T ⁸A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"

¹⁰When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"

¹¹The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee." (Matthew 21:6-11)

That's a pretty bold prediction to say that Jesus would come riding on a donkey, right? And not only that, that claim was written in 520 BC. 520 years before Jesus was ever born. And let's not forget to mention that Matthew had never seen what was written when in Zechariah 9:9 this happened/was written.

How do these prophecies prove that the Bible is true? Well, simply put, no prophecy from the Bible has gone unfulfilled. Other religious texts can't say that. When witnessing, after explaining the prophecies, say something like "Every prophecy, every promise, in the Bible was fulfilled. God didn't forget. It's safe to believe and put all your faith in the Bible, God doesn't plan on forgetting the promises He made to us. Like the prophecies, He plans to fulfill them."

This is just a glance at how real the Bible truly is. In future posts, I'll go more into other evidences that are just as amazing as these fulfilled prophecies.

In His Service,

Jillian

Further Reading:

Other Fulfilled Prophecies

Accuracy of the Bible

Probability of Fulfillment

How Do I Start?

Evangelism. Everything about it seems scary- Asking people about the most important thing in their lives, trying to teach them about something we don't even fully understand. It can get your heart racing just thinking about it!

Starting an evangelistic conversation with others doesn't have to be as scary as it seems. Let me enlighten you with just a couple methods I have seen work before.

Method #1- "What did you do this weekend?": It's a simple question with an easy answer. After they tell you about their weekend, tell them about yours and include that you went to church on Sunday. Ask them if they go to church. If they say yes, ask them where they go. Ask them about their "realest God moment". If they don't, ask them if they believe in a God. Carry out a conversation from there.

Method #2- "I'm taking a survey for the Something to Say Movement. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?": This method is most useful when in an environment with unfamiliar people. Use this website as a conversation starter and tell them you are taking a survey! If they agree to talk with you, start by asking them if they attend a church on Sunday (If yes, how often? Every Sunday? When they feel like it?). Ask them if they believe in a God? Ask them if they believe there is a Heaven and/or Hell? Why? Is there an afterlife? Where do you believe you would go if you died right now? You don't have to ask all of these questions, these are just some ideas. From these questions, you've gathered some information and you can now use your knowledge of God's message and share with them what you know is true. Share your testimony with them- how you came to Christ! Something very important to remember when using this method is if they don't seem comfortable talking with you, back off. A conversation like this can make someone feel very vulnerable and can turn them away from God forever. Make sure to approach this person with a friendly personality!

When using either of these methods, it's important to gauge how the other person is feeling. If they feel shy about it, let it go for now pray and wait for another opportunity. It's also important to pray before you go out to do any evangelizing and remember: we don't save people, the Holy Spirit does. We can't force anyone to accept Christ.


In His Service,

Jillian

jillianlangford@sbcglobal.net

The Wordless Bracelet

True or false: Six simple beads on a leather cord can be a powerful witnessing tool. True!

A short time ago, I was introduced to "The Wordless Bracelet". If you've every heard of the wordless book you might have an idea of what I am about to tell you about. The wordless bracelet is simple leather cord with six colored beads strung on it. Each different color bead represents something different about God's message of salvation. The six colored beads are as follows: Gold, black, red, white, green and blue.

Gold represents the streets of heaven that are paved with gold, where we will spend eternity if we believe in God.
The black bead stands for our sin. Because we are all born into a sinful nature, we fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and are separated from Him.
The red bead represents the blood Jesus shed on the cross for us. Because He died on the cross, he paid for something He wasn't even guilty for. He was willingly taking the punishment for every sin that you and I and everyone in the world has ever committed.
The White bead shows how after you let Jesus into your heart and repent your sins, He sees you now as white as new snow.
The green bead is all about growth. When we become God's children, He wants you to get to know Him better and start a personal relationship. We can do this by studying his message to us (the Bible), attending a Sunday church and spending time alone with Him.
The bracelet is tied together with a blue bead that represents baptism. Although it is not necessary for salvation, we do it to show that we have died to our old life (being fully immersed in water) and have been raised to a new one (coming out of the water).

I personally love using this as a tool and I wear my bracelet everyday. It's a good conversation starter. Sometime people will ask about it or tell you they like it and from there, it's super easy to dive into a conversation about its meaning. At the end of the conversation you can give them the bracelet to remind them what Christ did for them and that eternal life in heaven is an option even though we have all sinned.

Wordless bracelets are super easy to make and give away! Check out the "Wordless Bracelet" page to make your own!

In His Service,

Jillian

jillianlangford@sbcglobal.net