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Clamping Shut the Gator’s Jaws – Today’s Family Devotion

Clamping Shut the Gator’s Jaws

Bible Reading:  Acts 2:43-47

Each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved. Acts 2:47

Here’s an easy-to-take test. There’s only one question: How excited are you to tell others about Jesus? Rate your enthusiasm on a scale of 1 to 10:

1

3

5

7

10
Your mouth is clamped shut like an oyster determined to hang on to its precious pearl. You start witnessing by saying, “This is going to hurt me worse than it’s going to hurt you.” You think, Here I am God. Use me. But do I really have to? You’re running out of non-Christians to talk to, so you’re looking for more. You talk about Jesus all the time; you will witness to a chair if there’s no one to talk to.

Talk about it: What’s your answer? Why do you feel that way?

Think about this. If you had to wrestle an alligator, wouldn’t you first ask for some helpful hints—like how to clamp a gator’s jaws shut before it snaps at you? So here are some helpful hints for sharing Christ. These suggestions won’t take the bite out of every nonbeliever, but they can keep you from getting eaten alive:

Tip 1: Meet non-Christians on their turf. Friends do things together, so get in­volved in a friend’s interests. For example, learn what kinds of sports activities your non-Christian friends enjoy.

Tip 2: Show your friends how exciting your faith is. How you act, talk, and think tells your non-Christian friends, “I’ve found something you really want and need.” Ask questions like this: “Do you ever think about God? I do. I think about him a lot.”

Tip 3: Ask God for the confidence to share Christ. Just being a friend to unbe­lievers won’t turn them into Christians. They need to understand the Bible’s message and respond to it by trusting Christ. Your big prayer should be, Lord, get my friends’ hearts ready to hear and respond to the good news about Jesus. Give me confidence to talk with them about you.

Your friends are not likely to come crawling up to you asking about God or the Bible. It’s more likely you’ll have to start the conversation. But if you follow the three tips, you’ll be ready!

TALK: What do you think is the best way you can share Christ with your non-Christian friends?

PRAY: Pray about that!

ACT: What do you think is the hardest part about sharing Jesus? Talk with a mature Christian for ideas on how to deal with that problem.