Friends,
I don't know about you all but here's my dilema and I hope your words can help me to deal with it. One thing we all have in common in here is that as believers in Jesus Christ, we have all identified our current times as the end times. I believe that personally I have a very good handle on the scriptural background that verifies this belief. Here's the problem though. We will all be facing God very soon and how will we respond to Him when He asks us about how we spread the gospel? I'm a high school teacher in the public schools. I am not allowed to "preach" to my students. Should I respect the law and keep a separation of church and state? Is that what the great martyr spirit of the world has done, sit idly by with imminent knowledge and just think what a good legal American I am? Or should I be sounding the alarm? When I have sounded the alarm amongst friends and family, most of the people get angry with you or turn off to the subject like the plague anyhow. I'm sure most of you have experienced that. My parents have gotten into shouting matches with me (them leading the shouting of course) about being right with Jesus and being sure of salvation. We know what is coming like a freight-train yet I have inspired none to listen and really understand what it is they are facing. Actually my son, thank heaven gets it. So what should we do?....put ourselves up for mockery and be looked at like a nutcase for many lukewarm people who aren't going to believe us anyhow? If we do choose to lead from the bully pulpit how do we do that? Should we have private conversations where we think the ground is fertile or literally set up shop in a parking lot of the Walmart and speak to any souls that will listen. I'm willing but I don't feel as if I have the answers. If any of you brothers and sisters have any suggestions I'm game for some leadership here. Thanks in advance....In Christ

Jon,

(in regards to family and friends, anyway)

Jesus was a great miracle worker but the scripture says that in Nazareth, he could do no mighty works. Why is that? These were people that knew him and watched him grow up. Their thinking was, "who does he think that he is." Even later the Lord said that a prophet is not known in his own country."

Same situation here. These are people that have known you for 'apparently' long enough and when you witnessed to them they just "threw it up." Even a baby can withstand a little bit of "spiritual" milk but when you throw a little bit of tiger meat out there....watch out. It absolutely brings the worst out in some folks. Just the way it is.

You have planted the seed. That is all that you can do.

I would spend a great deal of time in prayer about this until you get a release about what HE wants to do. He may have you going in a completely different direction. Remember, if the Lord isn't in it...you may fail miserably. If the Lord IS in it, you will see a breakthrough.

jon, Here is an idea for you. I know that people are allowed to come on campus and have bible clubs. Maybe you could offer a meeting after or before school on campus. Maybe you could even put up a sign in your class room regarding a rapture discussion group ( or call it a current event from Christian viewpoint discussion group) that you want to form or something to that effect.

You could set a time and see who shows up.

I think prayerfully approaching this and following the Holy Spirit's leading and checking on your rights as a teacher maybe this is a good idea!

I am sure that you as a Christian have been very impactful on your classes over time! In any case it is not too late to in the very least pray over all of your students!! God bless you and will pray for you! Melissa

So jon, do you believe that one can lose his salvation?

Jon,
Brother you are not a failure.Thats the enemy
attacking you.
While at school.You can silently pray for all every
one.Then after school,witness to people.
Witnessing,is only one of our crosses to bear.
As this vessel is sure that you know.
Ask the Lord to prepare the way.So you can witness
to whom Jesus wants you to witness too.
In my case,most all my neighbors are drunks.So this
vessel witnesses when she can.
The Lord is bringing this to mind.
The Lord is getting me ready to annoint the
ground.That this trailer park sets on.
And you can pray an annointing on the school
grounds.And ask the HOLY SPIRIT to come in to every
area of the school.
This vessel prays that Jesus will Bless you in
this.As JESUS knows your heart.
Love in Jesus,
Star

Jon....I can't believe you posted this, I have been struggling with this all morning for myself!!!! I have said your exact words in prayer today. I feel like a HUGE failure, that I'm not doing anything productive. My family won't listen anymore and if I start in on how soon the Lord is coming back they immediately change the subject. My husband won't listen and isn't following Jesus, I can't seem to influence ANYONE!!! I know that I cannot save anyone, but I feel like a useless servant for the kingdom. My friends don't want to hear it and say they are tired of hearing about "doom and gloom" (UM HELLO!!! Paradise doesn't seem like gloom to me!) I have hit a brick wall and no one want to hear me, no one wants to see and now what do I do?
My heart is troubled with you Jon, I am broken in spirit, I have been humbled and rendered useless.

Sadly, ysiC,
LAZ

One more thing....

If you are a failure...then we are all failures here...but you are in good company. Noah preached for 120 years and got "zero" converts. Well...we are in the days of Noah.

My faith is in the words and prayers that I have spoken over family and friends. I believe it was Star's word that she posted the other day that the real Harvest was yet to come and the seed we've sown NOW will come to life at that time.

LAZ:

Your beautiful children won't think you are useless!!! You are a witness to them, your parents, and even though your husband won't "listen" to you, you are still witnessing to him through your actions, your love for Christ, and your children. YOU ARE UNIQUELY MADE FOR CHRIST; therefore, YOU ARE OF GREAT USE TO HIM!!! His plan for you has never wavered, and it never will! He is right there. I have a song for you from The Sidewalk Prophets, although I don't know how to do that YouTube thingy. Please KNOW, KNOW, KNOW that the enemy is just messing with ya, girl! He doesn't want you to be joyful. That is his plan: to steal, kill and destroy. Don't let him take you down. You stand strong now, ya hear!!!

Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT7UBWbjKjo

call me--anytime - or e-mail me. I LOVE YOU, DEAR SISTER!

Josh please dont hijack this glorious thread.

Jon I could have written that myself. I totally feel as you do. But I also know that here in America where I witness to people, they are not open, they have pretty much already heard this and have little respect for Christians. It is very dificult here.

I also believe that after the rapture there will be a powerful unprecedented move of God where signs and wonders like havent been seen since Jesus walked the earth ill happen and the greatest harvest of souls will take place at that time.

So be encouraged that these people will have another chance but it will be much harder for those who have waited but there will be salvation for all who call upon the name of the Lord in that day, which is upon us.

Even so, come quickly Lord.

Bless you Jon. You have a great heart for the Lord.

Thank you Rhonda....you have brought tears to my eyes. You are such an encouragement. I can't wait to be with all of you in heaven, to be surrounded by like-minded people and our Lord.

I'm going off to listen to that song, thank you again sis.

LAZ

Melissa has a great idea!!!

We live in a senior apt. complex and have posted on the bulletin board a weekly bible study for women which is being taught by our Pastor's wife.

We often will take the liberty to invite those whom we feel the Holy Spirit is leading us to speak with. Others will just come.

Also, we have become the "helpers" in the building - doing what we can to help some of the needy. For instance doing shopping, transportation, etc.

People know we are christians and are watching us and I'm sure judging our every move. So, our actions speak to them and hopefully in a good way.

Jon, your heart is heavily burdened and Jesus sees this. Let Him speak to you directly as to what you need to do - He will. Sometimes the hardest thing is to do nothing when we are in that blank zone - (not knowing what to do.) Your readiness to speak is noted and He will honor your committment with His leading. Trust that fact!

Above all don't allow condemnation to cripple you or discourage you. The enemy (the flesh and Satan) will always want to bring you down. We know this is an effective way to hinder us. So refuse to listen to these thoughts and replace them with His promises.

Hope this helps.

God bless.

Email: sweetbyandbyx2@yahoo.com

Jon,

I have quite a few friends who are public school teachers and Christians and it is hard. However, each of them is very open about their faith. They don't preach, necessarily, to others, but they don't hide it, either. One is a science teacher. When it comes to evolution vs. creation, she point-blank tells her class that she is a Christian and she believes in creation and why. Then she teaches what she has to teach, but she tells them evolution is only a theory and not proven.

When I grew up in a public school, we had a few Christian teachers. They didn't have to say much. If they were respected among the faculty and the students, just stating they were Christians in the context of conversation was enough to make a witness.

As Christian students undergoing intense persecution in the public school, we clung to those teachers for advice and moral support. Just KNOWING they were on campus meant the world to us.

You don't have to get on a street corner to make an impact.

I often look at my life, too, and think, "Oh, boy, how can I stand before the Lord with the little I've done!" But it's not about us. We will stand before the Lord in the Blood of Jesus and that's IT. As for our works, it may be a small pile, but if we go into a frenzy trying to earn enough "works" or souls to please God, then we have really run amuck from the truth. Just relax.

There are only two things God requires of you to please Him: obey Him when He tells you to do something and love others as He has loved you.

Do those two things and all will be well!

The answer:

WITNESS WITHOUT WORDS

Find the need in each individual and meet it. Be the Miracle.

How?

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Grace, Mercy, Faith, Compassion, Unity, Order, Integrity, Humility, Goodness, Friendship, Hope, Humility, Sacrifice, Justice, Holiness, Self Control, Righteousness, Selflessness.... Etc.

This is what attracts EVERYONE to THE LIGHT. By this you will be used mightily for His Kingdom.

Jon my dear Brother,

Before I came to RITA full time I was a lurker and a lukewarm Christian. My search took me all over the internet searching for end time media. Even though I was lukewarm, I could see the signs around me.

I now see that the lord was directing my paths, I eventualy found RITA. When I started viewing RITA as a lurker, my heart started to change, I was been convicted. Why?

Because I was reading all the posts from people here, just like you. Without realising it, EVERYONES posts were witnessing to me about the Lords love, mercies and grace.

In the end I watched a you tube video make by a young man, the words he spoke changed my life. I heard God calling my name, calling me back to his loving arms just like the father in the prodigal son parable.

So be encouraged Jon my dear brother. You do not know what the Lord is doing behind the scenes. People like me, in my own time found RITA. It was the love shown and passion about Jesus that made me run into his arms again.

And remember this important reminder- "By the love you show, all men will know that you are my disciples"

That is the biggest witness a Christian can do.

Love ybiC / Paul

Dear Jon ~ You have the power of prayer!

That's almost all you can do in your situation as a teacher. And by living and showing Jesus example as the way, God can open doors for conversation where the student comes to you.

Unbelievers don't see their need for God either because they have never heard, or because they have heard but prefer to trust in everything they hold dear.

You might consider praying that God begins to remove from their lives the worldly crutches they are hanging onto. You are not a failure, you or LAZ. My family never listened to me about the Lord in these 30 some years, and I've never had evangelist giftings. Only now am I seeing glimmers and rays of hope that God is getting through to them.

Remember that prayer is powerful, and as you do that, you are sowing seed, someone else waters, and God gives the increase. As I believe another reply said above....just silently pray pray pray through out your day for those God gives you.

HE will make sure they are watered, and HE will give the increase, so, you pray, and let Him have the burden for the rest.

Jon, this is a wonderful thread - so glad you started it.... You are not alone Jon.... but I have finally come to the point that I know all I can do is leave it up to God.... after praying for my family for so long... and trying to get through to them in the small ways I can... I know these are the seeds that have been planted and they will be saved in the Great Harvest. God knows this is my heart's desire and I know He will bring it to pass.

Just keep praying Jon for those you feel a burden for and God will bless your prayers. Let your students know from speaking that you are a Christian and they will remember that and they may approach you on their own.

God Bless You Jon - I hope we're home soon.

I do feel like a failure sometimes because I'm not out there preaching to everyone I see. I also feel bad when I don't preach to all my clients at the pregnancy center, but I'm not sure if I should be feeling bad or not. I try my best to love them all unconditionally and live the love of Jesus, instead of just talk about it - although I'm sure there is a balance. When I feel a leading I certainly talk about the Lord, but I don't feel that with everyone. I'm not sure if I should be going by feelings though, or just telling everyone Jesus is coming soon.

I know I told all my husband's unsaved family at Easter that Jesus was coming soon and there was no visible caring or change in any of them at the time, but maybe seeds were planted.

When I became born again, it was all by myself as I watched Jesus of Nazareth on television. I have never had any person tell me about what God was doing without God having already confirmed it with me somehow. God showed me my "wake up call" Himself as far as the end-times goes, God led me to RITA, and many other things. I can't say of any person that if they hadn't told me about the Lord, then I would be unsaved. God got the job done on His own.

I'm sure I have missed many opportunites to share the Lord, but God knows my heart - that I want to go where He is leading me and I want to say what He wants me to say. Admittedly though, it doesn't seem like I'm doing very much. I feel like the servant who buried his talent in the ground and didn't reap a harvest.

Here's an idea.

Create an anonymous email account (gmail, etc.) and then craft the very best email you can put together that summarizes why you believe we're in the last days, and why we all need to accept Christ before it's too late and send it to those you want saved. If they don't respond after a few emails, then you've at least established that you tried, and that's all you can do.

You can also post those emails anonymously on blogs unrelated to Christians that are not moderated. Sometimes they delete them, but they can't delete them without reading them first and sometimes not before others read them too. You'll never know if your message resonated with anyone, but what a joy it would be to find out on the other side if they bore fruit.

Email: Armageddon.thru.to.you@gmail.com

Jon...

WOW!!! You have gotten such great advice, there is virtually nothing to add. This question is one we all struggle with and trust me, it's easier to answer the question for you than for myself. Hence, it's good to get outside opinions, so that you might get the mind of Christ.

It's funny, because I don't want to go into eternity and not have lived the life that He really wanted me to have. I guess that is why He calls it the "Mercy Seat"!!!

Each of us were "molded" to be what He wanted us to be. Some are molded to wash dishes, clean houses and just pray and interceed. Others are called into very public and powerful ministries. Neither carries a greater reward. It's simple obedience, not forcing your way in.

Here's a key to life. If you know on the inside the Lord is asking you to do something, then be obedient. If you really want to talk to someone and you feel the leading of the Lord to do so, then do. But if you feel "FORCED", and you feel obligated, it's not of the Lord!!! God is always a gentleman. He never forces Himself on a person.

My suggestion is to obey the rules at the school, as that is being under authority, but pray and ask HIM to open what He wants. That may be a single conversation from time to time with students after school. You never quite know the impact just living and walking the real Christian walk makes. Are you really aware of the power in prayer and how that scatters the powers of darkness because Jesus has won the victory? There is so many things to do that doesn't require breaking the law, and yet seeing the victory. Just having light in a dark school makes a huge difference. The enemy knows that.

So just sit back and let God be God in your situation and see Him work. He will and He will be glorified.

Now like I said, it's easier to say than to do, because we somehow think we need to force a situation. Some are called to do just that, but so many have a different calling. Not wrong, just different!

Bless you brother!!!

YBIC
Steve

FWIW, Jon...the Lord told me to quit casting pearls before swine. I was very stubborn and wouldn't give up and kept pressing the issue thinking I had a duty. Well, I do have a duty to do it WHEN He instructs me to do it....He chooses, when, where and who and it is just my duty to obey when He calls me to do it. Unfortunately these opportunities are few and far between now. I just pray for more opportunities and to know when to open my mouth and when to keep it shut.

He saves people, not me.....He calls them when the time is right, not me. We are just vessels to be used according to how He plans and not how WE plan....this is what gives me peace.

As long as you are in His will you have no worries. In my work it would be frowned upon to 'talk religion' too....but I look for opportunities and thankfully the Lord opens the doors...might be as simple as a person wearing a 'I love Jesus hat'...but when I see stuff like that I KNOW He wants me to speak up so I do it!!

YES YES JON i lookd like a complete idiot infront of my bro and fly yesterday well i was tryg to convince them about why i dont go to catholic churches for pryr i am a believer myself and like to go my worship place.

i am currently jobless bsn nurse by profession on a job hunting in dubai and feel awfull when people tell me i am not gettg a job coz i dont go to churches.

anyway jesus is comg soon and i have done the best to convince them rest i have left it to jesus hands.

Here's the video that Rhonda recommended. I needed that encouragement too. Thanks, for this post as I have also (as you can see here, many have), run into the same wall of resistance.