Be Prepared

• When was the last time something took you by surprise? How did you react?

• Have you ever been asked a question about your Christian beliefs that you couldn’t answer? If so, what was it? How did you respond? How do you wish you’d responded?

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
1 Peter 3:15

The Bible tells us to share the Good News about Jesus with others. But it doesn’t tell us how they’ll respond. It would be great if they all immediately dropped to their knees and believed that Jesus died for their sins. But that’s not likely to happen.

What is likely to happen is that people will challenge us with statements or questions like these:

“I’m a good person. Why do I need to accept Jesus to get into heaven?”

“You believe what you want to believe, and I’ll believe what I want to believe.”

“Why would I want to have a personal relationship with a God who allows so much suffering in the world?”

“I can’t stand church people. They’re all hypocrites. Why would I want to become one?”

“How do you know you’re right? How do you know that Muslims or Hindus or Jews aren’t right?”

The best way to deal with those challenges is to prepare. We need to spend time thinking about questions or arguments people might have. Then we need to talk about these challenges with other Christians and find answers in God’s Word. Finally, we need to pray for wisdom and clear thinking. When we prepare ourselves the best we can, God will do the rest.

PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for giving us resources to prepare for the questions we’ll get asked about you and your Word. Give us the confidence and wisdom to give people the right answers. Amen.