Podcast Introduction Our reading today is Luke 7-8. I’m calling today’s episode “Got A Light?” Comments on Luke 8 Jesus speaking: 16“No one lights a lamp and then hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand. Then those who come in can see its light. Jesus is saying here that when you have a light, you let the light shine. Of course, in this chapter Jesus is speaking in parables. In this parable He is saying that when you have the truth of who He is, it is your responsibility to share that truth, you don’t hide it. Whenever God gives you the opportunity to share the Good News, He expects you to grab that opportunity. If you saw someone running toward a cliff, you wouldn’t just let them go, would you? I read an article today about the president of Gateway Seminary. His name is Jeff Iorg. Since I’m not sure about the pronunciation of his last name, I’ll just call him Jeff. He was speaking at a meeting of church leaders, and his message was that evangelism has an “image problem”. I won’t go into the whole article, but the crux of his message was this: The Christian polling company known as Barna Research, who does really good work, has found that there is a large gap or contradiction among Christians when it comes to evangelism. Statistics indicate that most Christians believe sharing the Gospel is an important part of being a Christian and they feel equipped to share the Gospel adequately, but still almost half of millennial Christians and 20 percent of Boomers think it is wrong to share one’s Christian faith with someone of another faith with the intention of converting them. “We imagine evangelism positively, until it turns personal and then the image turns much more negative,” Iorg said. He added that though practical strategies are important, they cannot substitute for spiritual methods to bridge the gap in evangelism understanding. “Tricks and techniques are not going to change the way we’re evangelizing in metro communities or in any communities,” Iorg said. “We’re not going to close this gap by arguing with someone, showing someone a video or helping them to rethink it. “You’re going to change their minds through the Word, prayer and the Holy Spirit.”  Beloved, it’s gratifying to me that Jeff and I agree. This is the message that I’ve been convinced of since I started the Lifespring! podcast. It’s the message God gave me when He called me. “You’re going to change their minds through the Word, prayer and the Holy Spirit.” Debating rarely works. Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them…” Beloved, our job certainly is to make disciples of all nations, but conversions don’t happen by debating or clubbing people over the head. People don’t come to the Lord by shaming or insulting people. How did Jesus win souls? First, He loved them. And then, once they knew that He cared about them, and they were receptive to Him, He said, “Go and sin no more.” Of course, that’s an over-simplification, but you get what I’m saying. When He was speaking to those who needed Him, He