We love talking about the things we love. Today I was talking about the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC with a Barista and others joined in and shared their experience. It is second nature for us to share our own experiences, we do not have to think about it, we just do it. Well...why don't we just talk about Jesus with others? Many times we are afraid, we do not know what to say, or unfortunatley some might even feel ashamed. But I think primarily we overcomplicate things. You do not have to have a plan. You do not have to be a scholar. Just talk about what Jesus has done for you, and share your experience with others.
#SetYourMindAbovePodcast
We love talking about the things we love. Today I was talking about the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC with a Barista and others joined in and shared their experience. It is second nature for us to share our own experiences, we do not have to think about it, we just do it. Well...why don't we just talk about Jesus with others? Many times we are afraid, we do not know what to say, or unfortunatley some might even feel ashamed. But I think primarily we overcomplicate things. You do not have to have a plan. You do not have to be a scholar. Just talk about what Jesus has done for you, and share your experience with others.
#SetYourMindAbovePodcast
Welcome back to all of our listeners! I’m BJ Sipe, and you’re listening to the Set Your Mind Above podcast – where everyday ordinary events teach us extraordinary eternal truths. I’m so glad that you’ve tuned in today, I am excited to share my life and my faith with you, and I sure hope that you’ll do the same with me along the way.
I left my barber today and headed over to the coffee shop to open up my Bible and get back after it in preparation for a very busy weekend. We’ve got our first marriage class on Friday night, Kylie and I have some plans on Saturday, and then we’ve got some big lessons we are hitting on Sunday regarding gender and sexuality. Needless to say, I was excited to get some quiet time in the Word and start prepping for what lies ahead. As I walked into Dry Stack Coffee, I was excited to see Brenan back from his trip to North Carolina. Brenan is the head barista, and he was running off to attend a concert and spend some time in the Ashville area this past weekend. Before he left, I told him he needed to look up the Biltmore Estate and make it a priority to go. As I walked up to the counter, I asked him how his weekend was and if he had the opportunity to make it there? He replied that they couldn’t make it work this trip, but after learning about the estate he and his whole family plan on going there together. At this point one of the other baristas chimed in and asked, “What’s the Biltmore?” I immediately started gushing. For those of you listening in who might not know what it is either, the Biltmore is what is commonly known as the “American Castle”. Originally built by George Vanderbilt and still run by the fourth & fifth generation descendants, it is the largest privately owned residence in the United States, and it is breathtaking. I started describing the gardens, the stables, the great hall, the 200+ rooms and all the history behind the residence, and I saw her eyes lighting up as I shared. As I gushed, pretty soon Aaron the owner of the coffee shop chimed in. He too has frequented the Biltmore, and he started sharing his perspective and how incredible of an experience it is to visit there. In this casual conversation that took just a few minutes, we had this young woman convinced that her next trip was going to be to go there over the next long weekend. We had nothing to gain from it, but we simply wanted to share how special it was to us and thought she should experience it for herself. After finally ordering my usual Cortado, I sat down and started unpacking my things. As I did, my mind drifted back to North Carolina and its beauty, especially Ashville. That state holds so many precious memories to me – it is where Kylie and I spent our honeymoon, it’s where her parents and brother with his family now live, and it’s where I first met all of Kylie’s extended family back before we were even officially dating. Needless to say, talking about North Carolina and the different incredible things you can experience there like the Biltmore House is second nature to me. We talk about the things we love, and we don’t need to have someone pry our arm to do so, do we? Just ask a grandmother about her grandkids, and before you know it you’ve been looking at pictures and hearing stories for 20 minutes about them. It’s why sports fans will proudly wear their team gear out in public and engage in debate or conversation with anyone about them. Even the most introverted person, if you find the topic they are interested in, will sit with you and talk for hours about their interests. You see, when you love & are passionate about something, telling someone else about it is no chore. You’re not concerned about what they’ll think or what they might say, you just do it! It’s second nature to you.
Understanding this, let me now ask you this question: is talking to other people about Jesus easy for you? I think all of us would love to answer this question immediately with a strong “YES!” but if we are really being honest with ourselves, I think many people would respond back that it’s not easy. When it comes to sharing Jesus with others, so many people struggle for so many different reasons. We might say things like, “Well, I don’t know what to say,” or “What if they don’t listen to me?” Listen, I’m not here today to beat everyone over the head who might say things like this – I just want to offer some convicting and challenging thoughts for us all. In Romans 1:15-17, Paul would write the following: “So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” I want you to pay close attention to several things that Paul said. First, he said that he was eager to preach the gospel. Talking about Jesus was not a chore or something that you had to twist his arm to do, it was something that he loved talking about! Having another opportunity to tell other people about Jesus was second nature to him, and all of that was because of his love for Christ & his understanding how just how important it was. Look at what he said next, he was not ashamed of the gospel. Paul was not concerned with what others might think of him or say about him, he loved Jesus and knew the gospel has the power to save those whom he shared it with. I am convinced that often times the reason we don’t speak about Jesus to others like we should is because deep down we love the approval of man more than the approval of God. Can we really say that we are not ashamed of Jesus? I think more than anything, the reason we don’t share Jesus with others is not because we are ashamed of him, but we feel ashamed that we don’t know what to say. Can I be perfectly honest with you? We overcomplicate things so much! You don’t need to have a 12 step plan to share Jesus with others. You don’t need to have a flip book, or memorize a series of Scriptures. Consider what Jesus told the demon possessed man whom he healed in Mark 5:19-20, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.” What did Jesus tell him to do? Merely to do this one thing: simply tell others what Jesus had done for him. That was it! We complicate things, and think somehow we need to be scholars to witness for Christ, but that’s not true! I don’t know all the ins & outs of the Biltmore Estate, I mean I even had to look up the name of who originally built it again to record this podcast – but that doesn’t keep me from sharing what I do know and my experience with others. Why can’t we approach Jesus in the same way? You don’t have to memorize hundreds of Scriptures. You don’t have to be a teacher. You don’t have to have a plan! All you have to do is the very same thing Jesus asked of this man whom he healed: go and tell your friends about what the Lord has done for you. Share your experience! Tell people about your love for Jesus and his love for you. It’s as simple as that. Maybe if we all did that a little more, we’d be surprised at how many people would want to come and see for themselves.
Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Tune in, Tuesday-Fridays, as a new podcast episode will be uploaded each day. Also, be sure to follow the Facebook page for the Set Your Mind Above podcast for future announcements and video sessions. As you have the opportunity, share these thoughts with your friends and family, and share with me what important lessons you are learning from every day, ordinary events. Until next time know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.