How to share the Word

How to Share Encouraging Verses Without Sounding “Preachy”

Most Christians want to share their faith, but struggle to work Scriptural ideas into casual conversations. Even when the moment feels appropriate, bringing up the Bible can make people feel defensive. Either it comes across like you’re trying to sell them something, or it leaves them feeling like you’re looking down your nose at them.

But the fact that it can be risky to share Scripture doesn’t mean we should shy away from it. We just need to be wise about how we do it. Here are some tips for sharing the Bible in a way that feels natural and leaves the door open for future discussions:

1. Carefully consider how you use the Bible

As a follower of Christ, the Bible has authority in your life. And there was a time when it had a little more influence in our culture. But it’s easy to forget that other people don’t necessarily feel the same way today. They’re going to resist you dropping Bible passages into a conversation as if it’s the final word on a topic. The typical response to a non-Christian being corrected by what the Bible says is, “Yeah . . . so?”

But people don’t have to believe the Bible is authoritative to receive encouragement from it. In fact, people are not only open to scriptural comfort and encouragement, but they’re also caught off guard by it. Hearing an inspirational passage at the right moment can overcome someone’s defenses and open them up to future faith-oriented discussions.

It’s also incredibly effective to share Scripture that agrees with someone who wouldn’t normally welcome a biblical discussion. For instance, if someone was telling you about an incident they’d recently experienced of a parent screaming at their child in public, it can be incredibly effective to simply respond, “I hear what you’re saying. Even the Bible says, ‘Do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.’”

For people expecting to hear the Bible used to correct, silence, or shame others, this can have a profound effect and arouse their curiosity.

2. Regularly memorize Scripture

Sharing Scripture is a lot more comfortable when it’s conversational, and memorizing Scripture allows you to share it in a way that feels completely natural. It’s a lot less intimidating than someone reaching into their pocket to pull out a New Testament.

You don’t have to worry so much about memorizing chapters and verses. Your main goal is to be able to express the gist of a passage. It’s a lot more compelling and interesting for someone to hear, “That’s interesting; the Bible says . . .” instead of, “As it says in 2 Corinthians 3:2. . . “

3. Familiarize yourself with topical verses

As you read your Bible, keep track of verses and stories that speak to specific topics and situations. If you’ve recognized and memorized verses that deal with mourning or sadness, it will be easier to recall them when the time is right.

You might even want to keep a list in your Bible and/or your phone with the verse reference and a prompt:

Fear
Psalm 118:6: The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid . . .
Proverbs 29:25: Fear of man will prove to be a snare . . .
1 John 4:18: There is no fear in love. But perfect love . . .

Peace
Isaiah 26:3: You will keep in perfect peace those whose . . .
John 14:27: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
Colossians 3:15: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts . . .

These not only help remind you of important verses later, but they can be used to help you brush up on your Scripture memorization.

Other topics could include things like:
● Faith
● Forgiveness
● Love
● Responding to challenges

If you’re looking for a place to start, we’ve put together a list of inspirational verses from every book of the Bible.

4. Pray when you’re reading the Bible🙏

Every time you open your Bible to read, you should pray. It doesn’t have to be time-consuming and involved—it can be as simple as, “Lord, help your Word to not only have an impact on me, but also on the people in my life.”

As you’re struck by the passages you’re reading, spend time praying about them. Ask God to bring these truths to life in you, and to help you remember when it could be an encouragement to someone else. Prayerfully reading the Bible is a way to embed that passage in your heart and make it available for the Spirit to recall at an appropriate time later.

🙏Getting Scripture inside of you

If maintaining a regimented Bible reading schedule is a challenge for you, consider committing to a regular quiet time. If you struggle with staying focused and engaged when you’re reading the Bible, try Bible journaling. It can really make a difference for creative or easily distracted personalities.

As you become more comfortable with Scripture, it will become a natural part of your life and speech. As we steep ourselves in God’s Word, the more it comes out without feeling forced and awkward. The key to sharing Scripture in a non-confrontational, organic way is to respect your listeners and spend regular time in God’s Word. Begin to work on your list of verses so you are ready, and say a short prayer asking God to help you identify those times when it would be appropriate to share an encouraging verse. You will be glad you did!

04 when The Spirit falls

21-04  WHEN THE SPIRIT FALLS
By: Samuel Rodriguez

In a world full of moral relativism, cultural decadence, spiritual apathy and ecclesiastical lukewarmness, there exists good news; The Holy Spirit of God still moves. He continues to convict. He continues to reveal Jesus and he continues to sanctify.

When God's Spirit descends, everything changes.

When the spirit fell, Joseph stood recognized and came out of his pit. So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”

When the spirit fell, Moses encouraged the prophetic.
When the spirit fell, the Israelites listened to Joshua–enabling him to conquer.

When the spirit fell, Saul became a different person.

acts 1:8 
Correspondingly, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, he empowers you to come out of the pit. When the Spirit falls, you prophesy. When the Spirit falls, you conquer your promise and when the Spirit falls, you will be changed into a different person!

Yet there's more! When the Spirit fell, David was anointed to reign.
When the spirit fell, Gideon blew the trumpet and won the war.
When the spirit fell, Samson broke the ropes that bound him!

And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them. And you will be turned into another man.
1 Samuel 10:6 MEV

Get ready, for as the Spirit falls upon you in this season, you will function under your anointing, you will win the battle and the all the things that held you back will be broken.

Accordingly, it's time to rise up. Arise with the power of His Spirit and…Walk like Enoch, Believe like Abraham, Dress like Joseph, Stretch like Moses, Shout like Joshua, Dance like David, Fight like Gideon, Pray like Daniel, Build like Nehemiah …And live like Jesus!

For it is not by might nor by power but my Spirit says the Lord!♨

What is the Holy Spirit saying to me?


🙏 Pray for the Holy Spirit to fall upon you!

Ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to be a different person.

Pray that the power of God’s Spirit will bring favor upon your life, work, and ministry🙏

Christian life principle part 6 - 10

The Principle of 🌲Sowing and Reaping🍎

Life Principle 6: You reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow.

Today is the father of tomorrow.

What we are 🌷today is the result of what we’ve been thinking and the way we’ve lived in 🔔the past. Those who act wisely today will have wisdom in the future to make wise decisions. The same is true when we come to the subject of finances. Those who save 🍓wisely today will have plenty 🌷tomorrow. Those who spend everything they have today will have little or nothing in the future. It’s a shortsighted person who thinks only of the now, doing as little as possible, for on pay day he will have no way to avoid the poor quality and small quantity of his rewards. The nation of Israel had to learn this in a very personal way. Their waywardness and 😟failure to do what God instructed them to do often placed them in a position where they would not have His blessings.
Judges 2:2
The Lord gives principles in Scripture to serve as warnings and as an encouragement. In Galatians 6:7, His Word states, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man 💡sows, this he will also ⚠reap.” Every farmer understands the meaning of this principle: We reap what we sow, more than we sow, and later than we sow.

The fact that we reap what we sow is good news for those who sow 🙏good habits, but a frightening thought for those currently involved in ungodly😈 activities such as promiscuity, drug and alcohol abuse, neglect of family, or mistreatment of others in order to climb the ladder of success. We cannot sow crabgrass and expect to reap pineapples. We cannot sow disobedience to God and expect to reap His blessing. What we sow, ⚠we reap. Let us not deceive ourselves: We will reap the harvest of our lives.

This same principle is a comforting and assuring thought to those who faithfully labor under difficult circumstances. “For whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” Faithfulness in such situations will produce a rich harvest in the future, for our heavenly Father always keeps His promises.

7. The Dark 😠Moments in Our Lives

Life Principle 7: The dark moments of our life will last only so long as is 🔔 necessary for God to ☕accomplish His purpose in us.

1 samuel 30:1 - 3

If you want 🎯God’s best for your life and desire🙏 to be used by Him, at some point you’ll have to travel the road of 😟adversity. This means that God can and will use adversity in your life for a 💡good purpose—and yet, sadly, many people view adversity as only negative and defeating. But you don’t have to be among them.

God has designed adversity, regardless of its source, to become a turning 🌷point from which you take your greatest😀 leaps forward in spiritual 🙌growth. He allows adversity to remain in your life only until He accomplishes His purpose in you. He will not keep it in your life one second longer than is necessary.

Right now, right where you are, remember this: God has put a limit on all adversity. Because you are a child of God, the Holy Spirit is living inside of you, and He knows how 🌲much you can bear. The psalmist said: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord 💕delivers him out of them all” (Ps. 34:19). And, “Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has 💖 compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust” (Ps. 103:13-14).

Through adversity, God is 😇molding you into a mature and effective servant. When you know Christ as your Savior, God sees you as a saint—sometimes struggling, sometimes falling, 😇but justified, redeemed, forgiven, and reconciled to Him. He sees a person full of His unconditional love💖, indwelt by His presence, sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, whose name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. He also sees all of your potential—all the good you could accomplish for His kingdom. So take comfort— adversity😠 won’t take up permanent residence in your life. But when it’s present, it can develop good things if you’re willing to 🍓trust Him. Therefore, no matter what dark moments you may walk through, be confident🍑 He’s going to bring you into the light. And when He does, it will certainly be worth it.

8. Fight Your Battles on Your 🙏Knees

Life Principle 8: Fight all your battles on your 🙏knees and you win every time.

Faith👍 is saying to God, “I 👍believe You will.” In our battle to overcome the enemy, we might pray this way: “I believe You will defeat the enemy and cause him to flee from me as I resist him and put my trust in You.” Again and again, David made this declaration of faith to the Lord: “O my God, in You I trust⚠” (Ps. 25:2; also 31:6). Perfect faith views the battle as being done and God gaining the victory. When David said, “In You I trust,” he meant: “It is done. Lord, You are perfect in nature. You do all things well. And You have victory over all my enemies.” He had absolute faith🌲 in God’s ability. There was no hint of “I hope He will” because David knew it was as good as done.

We grow in faith🎯 by exercising🔥 it, by trusting🙏 God in situation after situation, circumstance after circumstance, relationship after relationship. We develop a personal history in which we 🔔obey God and He remains faithful in His loving care of us.

It’s impossible for you to resist the devil for very long if you don’t believe that Jesus through you can and will defeat the devil. Furthermore, you can remain firm 😇in your faith only when you completely submit🔥 to God in all areas of your life. When you refuse to submit a problem or area to the Lord, you’re saying, “I can handle this. I don’t need Your help.” That’s precisely what Satan wants you to do: trust in 😟your ability and not in omnipotent God. It’s also the place where he will level his greatest attack against you!

The good news is that God has given each of us a measure🍔 of faith to develop. He also gives us the ability to trust⚠ Him and 🌹surrender our lives to Him. We can stand firm and resist the enemy, but only by the power of God. He’s the One who hears our prayers and rushes to our defense. When we pray, Satan flees.

9. The Thrill of 🙏Trusting God

Life Principle 9: Trusting God means looking beyond🍐 what we can see to what God sees.
2 kings 6:17
At some point, each of us will face what seem to be mammoth trials and difficulties. This is why we must know how to 🌷respond to every threat by laying hold of the kind of victorious faith💒 that looks beyond 😇what we can see to what God sees.

In times of extreme pressure, God stretches 😃our faith and deepens🍇 our dependence on Him. Without a strong, abiding 🍎faith, we can quickly yield ⚠to temptation and fear, especially when the trial or difficulty is intense or prolonged.

Whatever Goliath you face, you need to bury one 🔔truth deep within your heart: God 💖loves you, and when you place your trust in Him, He will help you🍟 triumph. You may go through times of 🍄failure. Life may not always turn out the way you planned. But ultimately, God will be glorified, and you will be blessed.

Every challenge presents an opportunity 🍑for the Lord to display His faithfulness 🎯and love. Instead of yielding to thoughts of fear and failure, make a commitment 🙏to trust God, even when you 🌲don’t know what the next day will bring. Train yourself to look beyond 🍎what you can see to what He sees.

How can you gain that kind of faith?

Recall past 🔊victories. Reject🍓 discouraging words. Recognize the true nature of the battle. Respond to the challenge with a positive🍇 confession. Rely on the power 🔥of God. Reckon the victory.

You can face any circumstance with confidence and 🍟hope because it’s not your strength, wisdom, energy, or power that brings victory. Triumph comes because of 🙌Christ’s ability. And when you place your trust in Him, you tap into an irresistible force that no one and nothing can successfully oppose.

10.
God Will Show🍇 You His Will

Life Principle 10: If necessary, God will move heaven and earth to show us His will.

God always wants the😊 best for us, and He’s committed to showing🍓 us how to follow 🍟the specific plan He’s designed for each of our lives. And when we begin to wander from the course God has set for us, He’ll take all kinds of measures to capture our attention and protect us from harm.

He has a wide variety of ways to ⚠help us take notice, among them:

1. A Restless Spirit

Sometimes God gets our attention by making us restless (Est. 6). If you experience ⚠restlessness deep within—something you cannot quite identify—stop 🙏and pray, “Lord, are You trying to say something to me?”

2. A Spoken Word

God also gets our attention by using the words🎁 of others. If several people in a short span of time begin telling you ⛅the same thing, ask the Lord if He’s trying to speak to you through them.

3. An Unusual Blessing

God may bless 🎁us in an unusual way to gain our attention.

4. Unanswered Prayer

Sometimes God will answer a prayer with “no.” He may remain silent to our prayers as a way of prompting us to examine🍎 ourselves.

5. Disappointment

The Lord may allow 😠setbacks in our lives to keep us from charting our own course.

6. Extraordinary Circumstances

Sometimes God will use extraordinary circumstances to get us to stop 🍎and listen. Learn to look for the presence 🙏of God in every circumstance of life; He leaves His footprints and handiwork all around us (Ex. 3).

7. Defeat

God may use defeat 😠to show us the truth. But even this can prove to be a great stepping-stone to success (Josh. 7).

8. Financial Troubles

The nation of Israel fell into idolatry and 😠disobedience in the time of the Judges when “every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 17:6). Only when God took away every material belonging did they cry out to Him (Judg. 6:3-6). The Lord knew exactly what it would take to get their attention. The same is true for us.

9. Tragedy, Sickness, and Affliction

When King Hezekiah became prideful, God used 💡illness to alert him to the problem (2 Chr. 32:24). When Saul of Tarsus persecuted Christians, God struck him with 💒blindness—a tactic that certainly got his attention (Acts 9:1-19). We should regard our tragedies and afflictions as reasons to inquire 🙏of the Lord, “What are You trying to say?”

The Father always 💖knows exactly where you are in your journey of faith and precisely what it will take to get your attention. Take notice 🎯if any of these divine methods are occurring—or recurring—in your life. If they are, ask Him what He wants to tell you, and then listen ... not simply to hear, but to 😇obey.


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