The NeighbourhoodSample

DAY 3 -  Your Story Matters 

Your story matters. 

The moment you meet Jesus, he changes the way you view the world and changes the way you view what is in your hand and your neighbourhood.

I think a lot of us discount the incredible power of our story, when Jesus used storytelling as one of his primary communication methods, through Parables. 

Throughout the Word of God, we see Jesus using parables to explain the Gospel and connect with the neighbourhoods he was communicating with. If he was speaking to fishermen, he used fishing parables. If he was speaking to farmers, he used agricultural parables. Jesus used stories to communicate profound truths & connect with the people he was speaking with.

In John 4, we meet the Samaritan woman, who came to the well to draw water in the middle of the day to avoid her neighbourhood. She was wrestling with shame and guilt, but Jesus came to change her story. One encounter with Jesus changed everything for her. Once she saw she was loved by Him, and also accepted, her identity shifted, from insecure to secure in who He said she was.

You may be reading this, with parts of your life that you want hidden, or that you are ashamed about. But, the incredible power of a relationship with Jesus, is that he sees all of us, yet loves & accepts us. 

In light of this revelation, the Samaritan woman leaves her water jar behind at the well, and now filled with boldness, shares her story with her neighbourhood.

We might not have a soapbox moment like the Samaritan woman, but we all have moments where the people around us may begin to ask questions about our lives — and what an incredible opportunity this is to share our story. 

How you conduct business, how you treat people and how you walk with integrity, is a story everyone can read.

Together we can change the culture of our neighbourhoods through our story. 

Questions:

(1) Write down your story and the moment you met Jesus. What was life like before Jesus for you, and now what has changed for you? 

(2) What areas of your life can be a better reflection of Jesus? How does this then, impact your neighbourhood?

Prayer:

Dear Jesus. Thank you that you’ve given me the gift of my story. Thank you for your grace in not only loving me, but accepting me. I pray you would give me a new boldness today to use my story for your glory in my neighbourhood. In Jesus Name. Amen.