He Speaks

We can be confident that God is ordaining and orchestrating relationships, positioning others to hear from His people and preparing us to boldly proclaim His truth.  His intent is expressed in 
Ephesians 4:
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

In order to speak the truth, we have to know the truth. And, we can be devoted to learning and practicing the principles of God's Word.  He calls us to spiritual growth; as we grow, we reflect His presence in us and we are able to live out what we say we believe.  We can become more sensitive to the leadership of the Spirit, so that we can be available when God opens a door for us to share His truth with someone else.

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We can be open to the direction of the Holy Spirit and prepared to speak truth to those who are needing 
to hear it. 1st Peter 3 tells us:
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

The clock certainly seems to be ticking on the availability of the app TikTok in the U.S., about which Faithwire states:

If you’ve read any recent headlines about the viral video app TikTok, they’re probably over its connection to the Chinese government, or its warring with the Trump administration. But while there’s plenty to be concerned about, it’s not all bad news, and this story about a professing atheist who rediscovered Jesus on the app is a perfect example.

As the story goes, a user named Felicia, who is 32 years old and who had professed to be an atheist, related to her followers how Christian videos had made an impact on her. She said, "Now I’m really confused, because all I see are videos about God and Jesus, and I actually prayed the other night, and I don’t know why,” adding, “I guess I need help, because I just don’t know where to start. I just don’t get how, if you guys claim He loves me so much, I don’t understand why I have denied him so many times.”

Felicia admitted that she had abandoned the Christian faith and "done so many bad things."  She wasn't sure how she could come into a relationship with Jesus.  She admitted that people had responded to her and provided encouragement on this new direction for her life.

And, she believes that God directed her through a Scripture verse: 2nd Timothy 4:18, which says, “Yes, the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into His heavenly Kingdom.” She also saw a bumper sticker later that day that said, "Do not stop believing."  She believed that those were “a sign from God to say, ‘Don’t believe in that and believe in me...'"

Hopefully, Felicia can find a community of believers who can strengthen her in her faith, a flesh-and-blood fellowship to augment her online experience.  She does say she'll leave her old videos up, even though there is objectionable language as a reminder of where she has come from and to hold her "accountable" for her new life.

So, even though TikTok is tainted, it is still a platform that God has used in the past, as I shared in an earlier commentary, and is continuing to use.  

In this story, we find that God, through His people, ministered to a lady who was trying to find His peace and to know Christ.  He does speak to and through His people.  And, remember, God uses a variety of ways to speak to us, some unusual, some improbable - He is devoted to getting His message to people.  He spoke to Moses in a burning bush.  He spoke to the wishy-washy would-be prophet Balaam through His donkey.  He got His message to Mary and Joseph through angels.  And, He has given us His Word through the Scriptures and leads us by His Spirit.  He is intent to reach us and to reach others through us. 

But, we remember that His primary way of communicating is through His Word, activated by the Spirit, and spoken by His people.  We have to be grounded in the Word so that when an occasion arises, we can share the right words to be able to minister in a particular situation.  And, we can expose ourselves to solid Bible teaching that lines up with the truth in His Word.

We can remember to be ready, prepared to speak His message of hope.  Perhaps someone will ask us a question about faith in Christ.  We have to make sure that we can give an answer that will reflect God's intent.