understanding the symbolism in the shirt
The idea for this shirt comes from the Greek word
MARANATHA (mar'-an ath'-ah). The meaning of this word is "our
Lord come". Maranatha is a cry for the return of the Lord
Jesus. From the very beginnings of the Christian era, every generation has
been looking forward to the promised return of Jesus.
- Men of Galilee, they said, why
do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been
taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen
Him go into heaven.
-
~Acts 1:11
come Lord Jesus, come soon
Though out history Christians have been waiting for Him
to return. Their cry has been “Come Lord Jesus, come soon”. Our cry is the
same, Come Lord Jesus. For every generation, their hope has been 'ours is to
be the generation; perhaps now this is the time of His return!'
- For the Lord himself will come
down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel
and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught
up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so
we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with
these words.
-
~1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
encourage one another
Paul wrote to the early Christians to encourage one
another with this longing for Jesus and His return. Today we should
encourage one another as well. Be encouraged, we will be with the Lord
forever! Yes, Come Lord Jesus! (Maranatha!)
but…
For so many around us this is not a cry of hope and
longing, it is a cry often ignored. When it is heard, it is a cry of
desperate terror. For many this cry demands dealing with the question, “If
Jesus is coming back, what will be?” There is great joy for those who are in
Jesus; but horrible dread for all who do not know Him as Lord.
- Just as man is destined to die
once, and after that to face judgment so Christ was sacrificed once to
take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not
to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
-
~Hebrews 9:27-28
now is the day of salvation
While we cry out for His return, we must be about the
business of sharing with our neighbors. So many do not know the joy of
living in His Lordship. They face the horrible dread of His return. As we
remind one another of His eminent return, so we must warn all we can of His
eminent return.
h ow to use
this shirt as an evangelism tool:
This shirt has been designed to give
all who wear it, the opportunity to talk about Jesus. You may have noticed that
there are no scripture references on it! People will rarely ask you about your
shirt if they see scriptural references because they are used to seeing
Christian T-shirts. While shirts with references on them mark you as a
believer, they rarely give you the opportunity to share your faith. People
see the scripture references and assume they know the ‘religious’ ideals
of the wearer. What we want to do is cause people to ask you about the shirt.
“I don't get your shirt?” “What does it mean?” “That's Cool”
Anytime someone begins the conversation
with you, the door is open to share the Gospel and the love of Jesus with them….
and remember, they asked you!
w hat to say
when you are asked about the shirt
Most Christians, when confronted with an opportunity to share
their faith often talk “religious” (they say what they think they should say
with lots of Christian Buzz words) and turn people off. Just be yourself!
After reading the above information, you should easily be able to explain how
sin is a major threat to each of us and that there is only one antidote for the
problem. Talk to them about Jesus and what He has done for us, making a way for
us to confess our sin and come to God for forgiveness.
This is your opportunity to explain the Gospel of Jesus and
then to inquire into their relationship, if any, with Him.
i f they are
open to further conversation
At this point, the person will say “yea, whatever” and walk
off, OR want to hear more. (Remember that God’s word
does not return void. Even if the person walks off, the Word of God was sewn
into that person's life… you did not fail!) If they want to know more:
Steps to Salvation
awareness of
our sinful nature
When we talk about salvation
we must bring people to an awareness of their need for salvation. The Bible is
very clear on this point. Everyone has missed the mark or fallen short of the
standard set by God. As a race we all fall short. This is not a close call, even
the best person misses the mark by a mile.
- ...
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
-
~Romans 3:23
But the good news is that God has made provision for us. He
has a free gift, the gift of eternal life for us. (See Romans 6:23)
b elief
in Jesus Christ
God chose to fulfill His standards for us. He knew that no
person could meet them and so all would fail. We would all be in a hopeless
state, with no place to turn. So God decided to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to
live as a man here on earth. Jesus lived as a man, but He met all of God's
requirements. He met God's standard perfectly.
But this still did not deal with the problem, we still fall
short of meeting God's standard. We cannot live like Jesus, even after His
example.
The answer, God's answer,
let the one who lived perfectly die in the place of all the rest. He let Jesus
die for mankind, since no one else was good enough to do so. (If a man were to
die it would be for his short comings, it would be just what he deserved).
So God has prepared for us a gift of salvation. God accepted
the death of Jesus as meeting His standard. Then He raised Jesus from the dead.
His gift of salvation is available to every one who will believe in Jesus Christ
and the work He has done for us. (See Romans 10:8-10 and John 1:12-13)
repentance
of sins
This gift from God is a
wonderful salvation, complete with everything we need to live a full life, now
and for the future. This includes forgiveness of our sins (areas where we have
not lived up to God's standard). This forgiveness comes as we admit to our sins
and ask God to forgive us. (See Luke 24:46-47 and Acts 13:38-39)
- If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
-
~1 John 1:9
r eceiving
Jesus as savior
So now we can receive Jesus as our Lord
and Savior. He now becomes the one who died for us so we can have good
relationship with God. We can now become a part of God's family, not by any work
that we have done, but by believing that Jesus has done the work for us.
- But as many as received Him, to
them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who
believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
-
~John 1:12-13
All scripture quotations, unless
otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV.
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan
Publishing House. All rights reserved.
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