I am not ashamed of the gospel
Luk 9:26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
2Ti 1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord,
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
I often think about how rarely I share the gospel with those around me. I know that some truly do have the spiritual gift of evangelism, and those are the people who make it look so easy to tell the grocery cashier, plumber, or banker about Jesus. But the rest of us who do not have that gift are still commanded to "go therefore and make disciples." And I fail miserably.
It hit me recently - one huge reason why. I can honestly say I'm not ashamed of Christ. But I am ashamed of Christians.
When an opportunity arises (or even when there isn't one and I really should create one), my first thought isn't about what they think of me as it relates to Jesus. It is, "Will they think I'm just like all the other so-called 'Christians' who put a bad taste in their mouth about Christianity?"
I fear that someone will think that being a Christian is about rules, regulations, and appearances, since unfortunately, that's how many Christians make it sound. And I'm sometimes ashamed to be associated with that reputation.
But those do's and don't's aren't the gospel. The gospel is this:
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
My prayer is that I'd quit focusing on those who have given Christianity a bad name and start focusing on Jesus. My prayer is that I'd be like the early disciples:
Act 4:31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Edited to add: It turns out that Catez Stevens and I have been pondering the same things, even though we are on opposite sides of the planet from each other. She has a very thought-provoking post about the Christians that at times cause me to want me to keep my mouth shut about being one. 
Dumb Ox Academy wrote,
I can so relate. You know that old saying of St. Francis, “Preach the gospel at all times, if necessary, use words.” The truth is many Christians do not behave in a Christian way. But also I think the media often portrays them in a bad light. They always pull out the extremists who are so embarrassing OR they take things out of context and cast things in a very biased light.
I am a terrible evangelizer. But I think we all evagelize in our own way. Some are meant to evangelize whole crowds, while others are restricted to their own children.
Blessings,
Faith
Link | June 9th, 2006 at 3:43 am
Yes, some definitely do have the gift of evangelism - I think of Kirk Cameron right off the bat!
I do have to be careful though…so often I think of my current ministry field being my family, and then I limit myself to that. But biblically, my children aren’t my only opportunities to share the gospel. So I need to step out of my little world here at home into the one that is dying around me.
Link | June 9th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
Angela wrote,
Wonderful post there dear sister. I feel the same way at times; not only about Christians, but also about homeschoolers. It was very refreshing to read your perspective.
Thanks~ Angela
Link | June 10th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
dollymama wrote,
I would venture to guess that you are currently engaged in a full-time ministry of making disciples of all the children in your household. That plus a life-long commitment to discipleship is not nothin’, my dear.
Yes, there is more out there, and if you keep your eyes open to opportunities you will find them. It may be kids in your neighborhood that come to play in your yard or go to church with you, it may be helping those in need, or witnessing to the check out person at the store.
I think that when you have lots of littles you need to be careful not to put too many expectations on yourself. We can quickly feel condemned and overwhelmed if we aren’t careful.
Link | June 11th, 2006 at 12:38 pm
Oh I hear ya, DM, but trust me, for me it has been a cop out.
All too many times I truly COULD open up and share with someone, but I don’t because I use my ministry to my children as an excuse. And our family pretty much keeps to themselves, which isn’t all that cool either. 
Link | June 11th, 2006 at 1:27 pm
Jennifer wrote,
I agree. I don’t ever want to use my children as an excuse. I think it’s easy to think I am exempt from a lot because I’m so busy with all these kids. But I know God will equip me to do big things for Him if I have a big enough faith. He’s a BIG God. He can use me in huge ways, and I can still be a good momma to my little ones.
-Jenn
Link | June 30th, 2006 at 12:23 pm