One of the reasons it is hard for some folks to introduce others to Jesus is because they don’t know Jesus personally themselves. This is one reason that the sermons over the last month have been about who Jesus is. If you really don’t know Jesus, then the application of this devotion is not for you to witness to others about Christ, but to witness to your own heart and receive him as your Lord and Savior.

Another reason that we hesitate to witness is that we are afraid and do not know what to say. At the root of that fear is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of faith. God is sovereign. Yes, you want to do your best to present the gospel, answer questions and not confuse things. But God is responsible for moving in hearts and saving people.

The answer to our fears is to turn our eyes upon Jesus. Those who talk about Jesus the most are those who know what it is like to have their heart set free. New Christians are excited about the new life they have in Christ and they talk about it. They can’t help it. Why do we lose the excitement? Because we lose sight of Jesus.

John the Baptist was a born witness for Christ. That is why he was placed on this earth, that through him all men might believe. His message was the message of repentance and it is through repentance that we still humbly come to Jesus our Savior.

Men came to John to find out why the people flocked to him. Was he a somebody? Was he the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet? He told them that he was no one special. He was a witness calling attention to the one who would give the Holy Spirit. So it is with us. We do not have special powers or status. The special one is Jesus who we testify to.

We do live with eternity hanging in the moments. People need to know the Lord and we do not know how many opportunities we will have to share or they will have to hear. Not every moment is an open door to tell someone about Jesus. There will be times when people will be closed to the message. You can knock at a door, but not break it down. We need to be ready, as the scripture says, to give an answer to everyone who asks for the reason for the hope that we have in us. God provides the appointments. Will we be ready and willing to keep them?

I have my own struggles with this. When people find out I am a pastor, they often take a different attitude toward me. More guarded sometimes or more resistant. All in all, it does let folks know up front that I am a follower of Jesus. But then I have to be sure that I live like one. On the pulpit is a quote from a great preacher of the last century: Eloquence may dazzle and please—holiness of life convinces. If I claim to follow Jesus, then it must be in my walk and talk as well. The sermon of my life is as important as the sermon I preach.

This is not just true of the preacher. If you are a follower of Christ, people are viewing the sermon of your life as well. There are folks who will not want to talk with a pastor. I have found lots of people to be a little afraid of the pastor. But they will talk to their friend, their school-mate or their coworker. God will put you in a place where you will be the one to speak a word of witness for Jesus. And as Jesus said, whoever is ashamed of me before men, I will be ashamed of him before my Father and the angels in heaven.

There is that guilt thing again. We often don’t witness for Christ because guilt is a poor motivator. We need a better one—we need to spend more time with Jesus. We need to know Jesus better. Do you really know Jesus? You need to know him better.

Isn’t that really the heart of the matter? We get distracted by so many things. Not the least of which is our own sinful selfishness and self-righteousness. We need to know the presence of Jesus with us and know his power and love in an intimate way before we will be effective in sharing that knowledge with others.

John the Baptist knew God personally. The Holy Spirit was in him from before the time he was born. Our hunger to know God more comes from our knowing him. That is what spills over and can make us a witness for Jesus.