Hey, I'm new here, and I was wondering if anyone could help me with a problem I've been having with witnessing to one of my friends. He 's an atheist, and he smokes weed. I'm having diffculty convincing him not to smoke weed, because he finds it fun, and he has this belief that Christianity is boring, making it difficult to convince him that he needs Christ. Any advice?

5/19/2009 8:08:09 PM by BillyB, Member of Delve into Jesus since 5/12/2009

Billy,

Welcome to Delve Into Jesus. It's wonderful to have you here!

I have some advice for you, and that is to focus all your witnessing energy on Jesus and the message of the Gospel and not on your friend or his behavior. You want to make sure you do things in the right order. If you focus your energy on getting your friend to live a cleaner lifestyle, you're asking him to live according to a standard he hasn't accepted yet. There is no reason for him to give up drugs given the way he currently sees the world, so that will be a futile, losing battle. Instead, if you lead him to Jesus, then not only will he see the world differently and decide for himself to change his habits, he will also have the power of the Holy Spirit inside convicting him and guiding him.

The most powerful witnessing tool I know of is for your friend to see something so special about you, such peace, faith and hope that he wants what you have. The Holy Spirit in you should shine so brightly that your friend simply has to ask what is so special about you.

The second best tool I know of is to get people to start thinking about the really big questions in life, such as why we're here, how we got here and what happens when we die. When someone is narrowly focused on their daily life, it's easier to ignore the need for God. When we get them to think about life outside of that small, protected bubble, it's not so easy to deny that something bigger and more powerful is at work. There are questions that have to be answered, and we can ignore those questions if we choose, but then life will never really make sense. Deep down, we all want to make sense of life and only Jesus Christ answers all those questions in a satisfactory way.

In my mind, there is no such thing as an atheist. There are only people who are ignoring God and pretending He does not exist because they want to feel like they are completely in charge of their life. Helping them to see the ways in which their life makes no sense without God is a good way to break that way of thinking.

I hope this helps! I'll be praying for you and your friend today.

5/20/2009 4:55:20 AM by Michael Lane, Executive Director, Delve Christian Ministries

Thanks for the advice. I have already established that i am a serious christian at school and it earned me the nickname of "Jesus". Hopefully what you said will happen soon

5/20/2009 4:21:53 PM by BillyB, Member of Delve into Jesus since 5/12/2009

Love him be there for him PRAY for him God answers prayer and His desire is for none to perish, there was a man that smoked weed, he had a friend that friend prayed, he not only is saved he is now in the worship team and reaching out to others, he said when he was on weed that God was cool and He met him where he was. Your not this mans friend for nothing or by accident. Lord we pray for wisdom in this and for an open heart. God bless.

5/21/2009 3:18:53 AM by mammak, Member of Delve into Jesus since 9/3/2008

Billy,
I too am new to this site. This is just a word of encouragement and a little advice from someone who has been in your shoes.

I witnessed to my mother for 20 years, praying for her daily. Six months before she passed away she called me to tell me that a friend of hers had led her to Jesus. She was so excited because she finally got what I had been telling her for so long. Her apology for not listening to me was unnecessary as I was so overjoyed at her salvation. Sometimes we plant the seeds, sometimes we water seeds already planted by another, but in the end it is the Holy Spirit who guides and harvests.

I have now been witnessing to my best friend for about 25 years. He is a little tougher because he and I used to smoke pot, drink and do cocaine together in the 80's. I cleaned up in the late 80's and early 90's, but he cleaned up just a couple of years ago. He still sees me as I was, because we no longer live close to one another. I don't see this as a problem because I believe that I am simply the planter and eventually someone else will see the harvest. The important thing is to continue to love him and encourage him and, most of all, never make him feel like you judge him for his habit. Eventually he will come to faith.

6/27/2009 8:15:14 AM by kcgodlyman, Member of Delve into Jesus since 6/17/2009

I'm sorry your Mum died but how bless are you you know where she is and she's happy and you will see her again, i like the we water someone elses seed, it's good to know we only have to do our part God does the rest, He want's that NONE shall perish, Praise God and God bless you.

6/27/2009 10:47:37 PM by mammak, Member of Delve into Jesus since 9/3/2008

All God asks of us is for us to do our part, He delights in coming along side us and working with us. I used to always look for the harvest, now I take joy in planting seeds and watering gardens for the harvest is the Lord's! God bless you my friend!

6/29/2009 9:35:00 AM by kcgodlyman, Member of Delve into Jesus since 6/17/2009

Amen God bless you and yours.

6/29/2009 9:28:32 PM by mammak, Member of Delve into Jesus since 9/3/2008