Be Prepared With Your Answer

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?  But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." But in your hearts set apart 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, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
1Peter 3:13-17

If you are like me you feel a bit of apprehension when you think of having to explain yourself to a person who does not know about your faith.  I always feel that I am ill equipped to verbalize my reasons for what I believe. Don't get me wrong.  I am strong in my faith and praise God for it.  I am not bothered by a need to reason everything out and understand it before I believe it.  It is enough for me that God said it, so it is true.  I feel blessed by this kind of willingness for faith.  Many people do not enjoy such a blessing in their faith life, and I do not take it lightly.

I recently heard something that makes it easier for me to explain the reason for my hope. I do have a hope. Jesus has changed my life. I can explain it now without dreading the comments that are meant to make what I believe look ridiculous.  No one can argue with what you hold true in your mind and in your heart. There is no need to apologize.

Then there are the people who say that those 1500 writers played around with the words and changed things according to their own whim.

Do not be afraid of that age old argument that the Bible is just a book written by man.  In face all books are written by men. Still I believe the Bible when it says...
 
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
2 Timothy 3:16
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This book was written over a period of 1500 years by people as different from each other as they could be. As differet from each other as a tax collector is from a scholar of Jewish law.  Still they were all in agreement about every life topic that was included in the Book. Why wouldn't they be in agreement since what they wrote was God breathed into them. It is what it is.  If people cannot accept it it is their affair. My job is to just let them know.
 
Then there are the people who say that they believe Jesus was a moral teacher, but they cannot hang with the fact that He was God.  Well the moral teacher said He was.  How can anyone they have defined as a moral teacher be a liar or even worse evil by what He preached. Think about it and never worry about having to to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

Written by Corinne Mustafa