“…make the salt water fresh”

   On Wednesday we discussed exploding into the world with the message of Jesus. I challenged everyone to talk to their friends about Jesus and to invite them to Plunge (a service designed to be welcoming). In Dive Teams the eighth grade girls asked how can we avoid being labeled a “goody-goody”?… (They also asked what we should say to people of the Muslim or Buddhist faith?)

   Over the coming weeks I will address these questions, but let me offer a beginning thought: It would be easy if I could give you a couple of magic phrases to say that would overwhelm your friends, that would convince them to come church, to accept Jesus, and decide you are the coolest kid in the school. But Jesus is not a magic trick and yet He is powerful. His power is to change lives and this is where our witness must begin.

   To witness we do not need a math formula, instead we need a testimony. What is God doing in your life NOW? You talk to your friends about everything else, why not talk about what is Jesus is doing for you. More, put all the things you know Jesus would do into action. Maybe when others are talking about that girls shoes or laughing at the boy who cannot shoot a basketball, you refuse to participate. Maybe you even go out of your way to be nice… and when your friends ask what your are doing, tell them!

   You might get labeled a “goody-goody”… but our goal, as Christ followers, can not be to fit in. Our goal can not be popularity. The calling Jesus has in your life goes beyond social standing! Do not doubt, God has a calling for YOUR life. A plan to use YOU!!!