Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
I hope your new year has gotten off to a great start. There are a couple of things I want to share with you this month, the first of which may seem a bit strange coming from an author. We live in a society that is saturated with books; there are so many Christian bookstores loaded with innumerable books from which to choose. But lately I have noticed that a lot of people can quote from books they have read, but very few are quoting from the Bible. When we are getting more of our information about God from books other than the Bible itself, there is a problem. It’s been said that people will read books about the Book, but they won’t read the Book. I believe we have hit that point in Christianity.
One problem is that a lot of untruth is circulating in supposed Christian circles. There are things happening in churches today that are unheard of in the Bible. Should we say those things are okay just because they happen in the church? No; we must apply discernment and wisdom. But how can we know if a speaker or an author is preaching untruth unless we know what the truth is? The truth is in God’s Word. Period. His Word is the light that will carry you through the darkness. I have received many compliments about the book I wrote, and it has been very humbling to see how God has used it. But please understand something: my book is only one-trillionth as good as the Bible. And that is stretching it on my end! God’s Word will endure forever, while all of the works by human authors will fade away. Make a great commitment this month to read God’s Word and nothing else. The more of His Word that we can get into us, the more He can get out of us.
You are going to love this e-mail I received. Listen to what this young lady did:
Hi Mr. Cahill!
I’m the girl who ran into you Saturday night in front of Phillips Arena. I was so stunned to see you there! I knew you have said that you go where people are, but I was shocked to see you out on that bitterly cold night. I couldn’t stop thinking over and over, That man walks his talk.
Well, you asked if I had been witnessing, and I promised to email you. The answer is yes, I have. I just turned 20, and I was a student at the first Summit session at Bryan College this summer. At the time, I thought the camp was good, but I really wasn’t excited about it. I enjoyed the lectures, but I’m not a fan of big groups, so I was a bit overwhelmed by the social aspect and the number of people there. Plus, I didn’t envision how the concepts could really be all that important.
However, your lecture on the Saturday in the middle of the two weeks made a HUGE impression on me. Right after the lecture, I went back to my dorm room and cried for half an hour until the bus left to go on the evangelism trip to Chattanooga. I was terribly nervous, but I went on the trip (that is something I would have NEVER done except for your lecture).
Nothing spectacular happened that afternoon, but the ideas stuck. I went home and decided I wanted to put the principles into practice. I made a commitment to start witnessing to at least one person on every day that I went to class for the entire semester (I live off campus, but I go to Kennesaw State University twice a week for class). By witnessing, I mean actual conversations, not just passing out tracts.
Except for one day where I had laryngitis and couldn’t talk, I kept my commitment, and some days, I had several conversations. I kept a journal about every conversation, and by the end of the semester, I believe I had gone to class approximately 30 days and had 52 conversations.
Some of them turned out to be incredible. Witnessing on campus is an ideal situation, and people have sat and talked to me for over an hour–about the gospel. I never dreamed that would happen. I know 51 people is nothing compared to how many people you have witnessed to, but it’s 51 more than I EVER would have made contact with prior to Summit.
Now that I can look back on it, I can say Summit was one of the most important experiences of my life up to this point. The principles taught there changed the way I view the world. In the past five months, I can’t tell you how many times I have used the things I learned. Those principles have turned out to be CRITICAL in reaching out to a world that doesn’t know Christ. And running into you out in the cold this weekend made me realize all over again just how CRITICAL it is to reach out. This semester, I want to do more.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your courage. It turned my life upside down.
In Christ,
Jamie
As I mentioned last month, I am writing another book. (And I just said there are too many books!) However, this book is geared for the lost. Few lost people read the Bible, but most will read a book. I am excited about it. As I wrap up the writing, please pray that this will be an effective tool to reach the lost for the Lord.
Have a great month sharing your faith. Someone once said that, when it comes to witnessing, some truth is better than no truth at all. If we don’t witness to people, they may get no truth. If we witness to them, they get at least some truth. Good point. Press on.
Until the nets are full,
