Hi, I’m Jack Smith from Upper Room Ministries Santa Barbara, and welcome to God Today. Today I want to talk to you about your friends, your family that might be away from the Lord right now. Might be far from God with no idea His love and His beauty and His friendship that is just waiting for them.
From the time I was 11, all the way to 25, I struggled with addiction with drugs, alcohol, pornography, lust, all that stuff. Guess what? It’s a miserable place. I actually was pretty successful. I had a business with 80 employees by the time I was 23. I made lots of money, had a decent family structure, all that stuff. But, I had a massive, gaping hole on the inside. And we that have been with the Lord a long time, we might not recognize how empty the world actually feels, regardless of the facade, regardless of the success we might see other people have. Even the ones close to you might look at your Christianity, might not accept it as the way, the truth, and the life right now. Trust me. They are longing for an identity in Christ – it is how we were designed.
I just want to encourage you today, that God would give you a spirit of boldness to pray first for your family members. Ask the Lord to speak to you, how you can love your friends and family that are far from God right now, in a different way than anyone has ever approached them before. Not necessarily come to them and say, “Hey, you need to know Jesus or else there is a consequence.” “Is that true?” “Yes.” This is a gospel of love that penetrates everything. The word of the Spirit that is wrapped in love is the greatest weapon on the planet that you have. I just want to encourage you to get down on your face today – pray. Then seek the Lord on how you can approach your friends, and your family that are far from God – with love – in a powerful way that they’ve never been approached before. I guarantee you are going to see results. You are going to see new connection. You’re going to see open doors. You’re going to see hearts soften. You are going to have a gateway to introduce Jesus into their lives.
I want to pray for that boldness and I want to pray that this is going to happen for you, in the name of Jesus. Father, we thank you for friends and family of those watching right now, that they would begin to have their hearts soften. I pray for those that are watching, that they would begin to yearn. To just yearn for the salvation of friends and family in a new way. I bless them with this power and this boldness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.