Have you ever experienced being suddenly placed in the spotlight? Like, someone catches you by surprise and asks you a question, and you find yourself cramming for a quick answer that will satisfy hearers? If you have, then you probably know how it feels to be pressured not to blow the moment.
Blowing the moment
People in the world today fear blowing the moment. They are afraid that if they blow their opportunity to do something, such an opportunity might never come again. They fear missing their breaks - the ones that could spell a huge career jump for them, a huge raise, or the chance to marry the person they love.
Christians aren't any different. We fear blowing the moments that God allows us to experience. We worry that we might give a wrong testimony to unbelievers, we are worried that we might not be able to communicate the Gospel to others when we share it, and we fear failing the very tasks we believe that God is calling us to do.
Ways we successfully blow the moment
The Bible tells us that we should all make the best use of our time. Ephesians 5:15-16 tells us,
"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil."
Yet despite the abundance of instruction given to us in the Word of God, many of us still blow the moments we find ourselves in. While it's pretty normal for any person to make mistakes, we must be careful not to make the wrong decisions every single time. We must be wise.
To help us make wiser choices every time, here are a few sure ways we Christians can blow the moments we find ourselves in
1) When we give in to sin
While the devil is always on the lookout for someone to tempt to commit sin, the choice to commit sin is still ours to make (see 1 Peter 5:8). The Bible tells us that we should learn to master sin, and not let it master us:
"If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it." (Genesis 4:7)
Thankfully, the grace of God enables us to rule over sin. Because Christ has set us free from slavery to sin, we are no longer obliged to give in to its demands (see Romans 8:1-16).
2) When we give the wrong message and cause others to stumble
The Bible tells us that we are free in Christ, but we must make sure not to misuse the freedom we are given and cause others to fall into sin. 1 Corinthians 8:9 warns us,
"But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak."
We must be careful with our words and our actions, even the way we carry ourselves. We must remember that we "are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses," and so we must "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (see Hebrews 12:1-2).
Also, we must be careful not to mislead people into sin by twisting or sugar-coating the word of God. Many Christians do this in order to avoid offending people. Well, the message of the Gospel of Christ is very, very offensive, and we must keep it that way so that sin can be recognized as it is: sin.
3) When we fail to bring people to Christ
Lastly, we blow the moment when we fail to lead people to the Lord Jesus Christ, who commanded us to preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations (see Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:18-20).
Whatever we do, we should strive to lead people to the Lord Jesus Christ. So many Christians are busy living a good life that allows for a good testimony, yet they fail to speak to others about who Christ is.
Many Christians are intent on gaining a good and "Godly" reputation among men, but fail to lead these people to Christ. Friends, our goal is not to present ourselves as religious or even good Christians. Our aim is to present Christ to men. Colossians 1:28 should be our desire:
"Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus."
Without the preaching of the true Gospel, men cannot believe in Christ. Romans 10:14 tells us,
"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?"
We must, then, make it our aim to preach Christ to all men.
