WOOing others for Jesus

For the longest time, I just thought that was how everyone operated.  I wrongly assumed that everyone had an innate sense of woo about them and could talk people into changing their minds.  As I’ve grown older though I’ve realized it is nothing short of a gift.  It is a gift that should not be wasted on paltry things like meaningless online arguments but rather one that should be used with care and compassion. 

If you have the gift of woo, you need to exploit it.  You need to first get your heart right with Jesus so you can line up with what He’s doing.  After that though, rest assured you’ve been given the gift of winning others over so that you can help people in their walks with Jesus or in the case of the unbeliever to point them to Jesus.  Maybe you’re the only believer someone knows who seems to have their head screwed on fairly straight.  If you don’t open your mouth about why you believe what you believe, they may never hear the message of Christ.  And that, my friends, would be utterly tragic.  Everyone is out there searching for truth, you owe it to humanity to share the truth that you’ve found in your own life.

With this gift of woo, I’ve even been able to challenge my parents as I’ve gotten older.  They raised me wonderfully to be sure, but as I’ve become a man myself I’ve been able to challenge them to give away a higher percentage of their income.  That is an incredible honor to be used by God to do that type of thing.  It is one that I don’t hold very lightly either; I can assure you of that. 

Thankfully, and by God’s grace, I’ve also been able to help others start on the pathway out of debt.  I’ve encouraged them to read Dave Ramsey and in the case of a couple of friends in particular sat down and helped them develop a budget to get on track with their finances.  Another friend of mine who I played a very small role in his finances (I mainly just would ask him from time to time how it was going) recently paid off the last of his debts with his wife.  Even just learning that put me on such a high for a couple of days.  What an incredible testimony he now has to share!  He said when they started he just assumed they would always have debt.  9.5 months later and they’ve paid off more than $20,000!  Furthermore, when they sat down and ran the numbers, he said they had figured on it taking them a little over 2 years!

Since my early 20’s till present day, I’ve been able to influence others to go on mission trips.  This is a great honor.  Even my dad is going to go on one in the next year or so which I’m super excited about.  He will undoubtedly have his whole world thrown upside down but I can’t wait for that moment and to walk him through the inevitable emotions that come with your first mission trip overseas.  Again, I count this to be an incredible honor and gift; something that I truly cherish.