My final thought would be just an encouragement to us all to definitely seek opportunities to serve and minister to others through gifts and service, as you reiterated, but may we never forget the importance of communicating the reason for why we do it.

We could have just simply served in our mission week this last week and not communicated the reason behind it all, and those folks would have just seen us as nice people, and like I said, that will not lead them to the Lord. Many people believe that if we do nice things we will in some way gain our salvation, but apart from Christ Jesus these acts are filthy rags. Therefore, I want to be seen as having a purpose and reason behind each act of kindness and at least communicate the fact that we serve and love because He first served and loved us. That will make the eternal difference!

Thank you for being willing to demonstrate the love of Christ. I pray people would see Christ through your acts of kindness!

The great thing about the Body of Christ is that we all have such varied gifts. So your sister from church, you and I have all different ways of reaching out to others as led by the Holy Spirit. I don’t believe every person is reached in the same way, thus the reason for all the gifts.

For some folks, witnessing to people whether they know them or not is their style. For me, I prefer to build bridges first and then share about Christ at an appropriate time, often combined with an invitation to church. My way involves leading others to Christ through the building of a trust relationship. This isn’t about being ashamed of the Gospel at all, but more about a fit word in due season.

And Lindsay, there aren’t really all that many folks doing nice things. That’s the terrible thing about our society these days. Niceness is going away in our culture, which a trip to a grocery store or a ride on the interstate will demonstrate. People are in the mode described in Romans 1, even inventing ways of doing evil.

The fantastic thing about this mess, is that it gives Christians an opportunity to shine. The Word talks about our faces reflecting His likeness, as we change from glory to glory. You’ve got that kind of face!

I love how you are involving your daughter in your little notes,from such an early age.

I thank God for you, for your service last week and for your heart for God which shines through in every post. The Lord bless you more and more!

My first concern would be, should we be overly concerned about offending? The Word of God commands that we acknowledge Him before men – if we are not confessing Him we are denying Him (Matt. 10:32), and that the gospel will be offensive to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18).

If I live in fear of offending, then I will never tell others of the love of Christ. I would rather them hear immediately that I am a Christian then be able to observe my life and see the difference, Lord willing. On the other hand, I believe there to be a greater risk of offending if I held off on communicating this fact, and they feel deceived or betrayed when we start telling the truth, feeling that we were just using them up to that point. This could come off as a multi-level marketing salesperson.

Yes, our Christian life can and should be a good witness…but how can it be so if they do not at least understand that we are Christians? They will only see us as good and nice people. Believing me to be a nice person will not lead them closer to the truth. How much more powerful a witness might I have if I communicate my Christianity and then allow them time to observe my life?

My attitude previously was that I just wanted to be friends and allow the trust to build in that way first before communicating the truth, but this way has only been an excuse for me. I have been riding this excuse in my neighborhood for two years now (since we moved here), and not much fruit has come of it. Her words spoke right to my heart! I was ashamed of the truth! I didn’t want to offend! She in no way was criticizing me. She was encouraging my efforts to reach out to my neighbors, but also challenging me to take it to the next level. How hard would it be to include a verse from the Bible or the simple phrase “God bless you” to communicate Jesus’ love?

How will they know unless someone tells them? (Rom. 10:14). Later on in this very same passage, in verse 17 it says,”Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God!” Actions are very important, but as witnessed in my life, it can often be used as an excuse. There is a lot of “good” people out there, doing a lot of “nice” things. I want to be a godly family – I want people to see the connection between Christ and my good deeds!

I’m sure that your Christian sister at church had the best of intentions, but sometimes with people in the world, such sharing can be a turn off to them. They shut down. You have to meet folks where they are. I think it is too bad that your loving gesture was criticized or challenged.

I’ll leave you with another thought from that great Christian, St. Francis of Assisi. “Preach the Gospel at all times. Speak only when necessary.” Your life is often your best witness, not what you say.