William Fay - Share Jesus Without Fear Journal: A Prayer Journal

YOU CAN DO THIS! This journal has 160 pages in it. And long before you reach the last one, you'll already be sharing Jesus without fear. I promise you. It's not because there's some magic formula inside. It's not because you're going to be learning a lot of things you don't already know, probably. But there's just too much prayer that's going to be happening between now and the end of this book for you to fail at this.

There's no way! In fact, no one fails when they're telling others about Christ. No one! Have you ever felt like a failure as a Christian before? Have you ever gotten put out with yourself for not being more generous, more compassionate, more disciplined, more grateful, more accepting of others? It's not hard for us to get down on ourselves, because we do come up short in so many areas of the Christian life. But when it comes to being a witness for Christ, you simply cannot fail! The only way you can fail to share Jesus effectively is by not sharing him at all. Yes, I Mean You! Now, this is where people start to look at me funny. They get all jittery and jumpy. They see themselves floundering around, lost for answers, going blank on their Bible verses, and coming off looking like a big fool.

They're scared to death that they'll try saying something and it'll come out all wrong. Then they tell themselves they're going to change. (At least the ones who don't give up right away do.) They tell themselves they're going to get a better plan. They tell themselves they'll do better next time. No, you won't do better next time. You won't change.

You won't find a plan that finally fits every situation and works neatly around your schedule. If you're going to do this, God's going to do it through you. But guess what? That's where things get really encouraging, because God is simply too big, too great, and too in love with both you and the lost to mess this up. So everything good that's about to happen in your ministry as a Christian witnessand it is about to happen, I'm telling youwill come from God's Spirit working inside you. It'll start when you sincerely pray, Father, take away my fear, as well as anything else that's keeping me from sharing the gospel. For example: Let him take away your excuses.

Never again fall for the line that you're not gifted enough to share your faith. Does God ever ask you to check and see if you're gifted in moral purity? Or in telling the truth? Or in reading his Word? Sharing Jesus is a clear command of Scripture, just like all these other things are. Don't you dare let the so-called qualified keep all the blessings to themselves! Let him take away your pride. It's our over-the-top concern for our own comfort, safety, and reputation that keeps us clammed up and uncaring. Let him take that self-centered side of you and smash it into a million pieces! When he picks you back up, you'll be just right for what he needs. Let him take away your bad memories. Don't let your seeming failures as a witness rob you of the joy that comes from fearlessly sharing Christ. Being turned down or turned away is not defeat.

People are not rejecting you when they refuse to believe. They're rejecting Jesus! You are not responsible for what people do with your love, care, and Christ-centered words. But you are responsible to share with them. Get Fearless! So, are you ready? Ready to start each day with no greater priority than being an ambassador for Christ? Ready to become more concerned about others' eternal destiny than you are about your own desire to read the newspaper, or run your errands, or keep to yourself? Ready to get involved with God, becoming part of his plan to forgive sins and to promise people forever? Are you ready to see his grace pouring out on people right before your eyes? Then let's get to praying. That's what this journal is, really. It's a prayer journal. Even the parts of this book that are more informational in nature are meant to be received and read in prayer.

As you read, as you pray: God will help you discover a long, running list of peoplepeople who are right within the flow of your average daywho are in need of Christ and might very well respond to a word from you. He'll help you start recognizing opportunities to share Jesus that you'd never even noticed before. He'll help you match biblical truths with observations from your own experience, giving your witness more than just chapters and verses but real-life conviction. He'll inspire you to take deliberate steps into people's lives, praying for them, pleading for their surrender to his will, and fearlessly sharing Jesus with them. He'll renew your heart, your mind, your will, your emotionseverything about youtransforming you into a bold, believable, responsive follower of Christ. One More Thing This is not necessarily the kind of book that you work through from start to finish. One More Thing This is not necessarily the kind of book that you work through from start to finish.

There are certain sections you'll want to jump ahead to or flip back for, and many more that you'll want to keep adding to as God takes the fear out of your faith. I do encourage you to start, though, by looking at the worship and personal testimony sections that come next. They'll get you ready to go. After that, the field is yours. I think you'll quickly find yourself at home in it. The largest part of the book (by far) are the four big journaling sections that help you keep an ongoing log of answered prayers, God-opened opportunities, and lessons you're learning along the way.

This is your place to pray out loud, make notes to yourself, and keep track of your journey. Don't let the blank pages intimidate you. Start filling them in with everything the Spirit is teaching you as you share Jesus without fear! I, for one, am praying for you as you let God lead you into this exciting experience. You can be sure that he'll take you all the way! OPEN UP IN WORSHIP Take Time to Bow Down. One of the main reasons why we sometimes choke on our witnessing words is because we think sharing Jesus is all up to us. We tend to forget that when we're out there in the action, God is already actively involved, drawing people to himselfand steering us hard in each other's direction. So use the next few journaling pages to reacquaint yourself with some things about God you may have forgotten or had let slip onto the back burner.

This is a big God we serve. And it's always a good time to remember that! Lord, just stopping to think of you, so many words come to mind, so many reasons to praise and honor you...like your purity...your wisdom...your mercy...your unchangeableness _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ A few of the things you've written down probably strike you more strongly than others at the moment. For one reason or another, the Holy Spirit has made these pop out in your mind. So spend a few minutes praying through these choice characteristics of God, trying to sense from him why they may be of increased importance to you at this time in your life. _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ React now to these expressions of praise that flow so freely and confidently from those who already live in God's visible presence. Pray about anything that may be keeping you from letting things like these matter to you today: