From Chapter One of Act Now, Offer Ends Soon, written by Ginger Sinsabaugh MacDonald Available at TastyFaith

Free Wills and Free Snacks

Ever wonder why there are so many varieties of fruit-flavored snacks? Fuzz-free peach taffy, wobbly watermelon chews, banana-tangerine frozen juice bars ... and what's with those orange Circus Peanuts? Let's just say advertisers make the most of your free will.

God created free will. He gave it to Adam; He gave it to Eve. They were free to choose whatever fruit snack they desired. Unfortunately, they made the worst possible choice. And yet God didn't rescind His offer of free will; we still have a choice. That's why it's important that the gospel message be more desirable than an apple (or a quince).

Think about it for a moment. What was it about the Christian life that first got your attention? What was it that appealed to you?

Why I Craved the Christian Life

When I think of the person in my life who played the biggest part in leading me to Christ, I chuckle. As I was growing up, I paid little attention to the people who told me I needed Jesus, but when I was in college, I finally listened to one young woman who simply made me want what I lacked. You can charge me with breaking the tenth commandment, but I coveted her happiness.

Now I'm sure you've heard my brand of testimony before: I grew up in a typical Christian family. Went to church. Memorized verses. Even saw A Thief in the Night three times. Christianity was something everyone said I needed. My parents said I needed it. My friends said I needed it. Billy Graham said I needed it. The guy on the street corner with a megaphone said I needed it. But it was never something I really wanted. Before long, church became a place where I sat listlessly until Mom's Sunday roast was done, and Christianity became nothing more than another belief system with a few major holidays.

So, I went to college, putting my relationship with God on the back burner in an age of microwave ovens. During my senior year at Michigan State University, only weeks before I was to graduate, I found myself in trouble and was about to be thrown off campus. I had hosted a party in the dormitory that I, uh, really shouldn't have. Everyone short of the dorm director was there. Alcohol was flowing and the party was in full swing-until the dorm director showed up. As I faced suspension, I feared the worst.

But someone stepped in and went to bat for me: an optimistic young lady who was nothing at all like me. She didn't drink, didn't smoke, didn't swear, didn't consume any of the things I lived for. She even ate the dorm food without complaining! She was my resident hall assistant and she was a Christian. For the life of me, I can't remember her name, and to this day I doubt whether she knows the effect she had on my life.

As she reviewed with me the university policy regarding parties, as well as the dangers of drinking, not once did she berate or belittle me. There was something genuinely different about her: She always seemed happy without indulging in the vices common to college students. Her happiness was founded in her relationship with Christ and she didn't get in the way of allowing others to see it. There were no tracts slipped under my door; her testimony was in her actions.

She didn't judge me. In fact, she saved my neck, preventing my suspension. As a good witness of Christ, she saved much more.

I didn't know my resident hall assistant well, but I knew that I wanted what she had. Not needed, but wanted. That's when I first craved the Lord-and now I can't get enough! Yo quiero Jesus Christ!

Seeking vs. Seeking Cover

Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad (Psalm 105:3).

Sometimes when we share the gospel message, we become so excited that a living, breathing person actually wants to hear it that we blow our big chance. We can get so carried away listing all the reasons why people need Christ that we never make them want Christ. Our captive audience ends up feeling trapped and instead of seeking Christ, they seek cover.

It's just like the friend that's always selling you Tupperware. How many airtight cucumber keepers do you really need? But you ended up buying another one out of guilt, thinking you'd give it to your mother-in-law for her birthday. Eventually, you stop answering the door when that friend stops by because she's pushing plastic. That's seeking cover. But seeking is another story.

Christ was big on the word "seek." "Ask, and it shall be given to you," He said. "Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). Jesus knew the importance of letting us do the seeking. He put us in the driver's seat.

Face it, no one goes out seeking halitosis or embarrassing denture odor. You only seek what looks good and what feels good, whether it's a Whopper or the Word of God. So if a nonbeliever sees what you have in Christ and wants it, too, before long they'll be seeking Him.

The Secret Ingredient

Granted, there are some things we're better off not knowing, like what kind of animal Spam actually is. Or just what makes Jell-o jiggle. Then there are those secrets that you do want to know. For instance, just what are the 57 ingredients in Heinz 57 Steak Sauce? Sorry, it's a secret recipe. If you call up Heinz (like I did) and ask what's in it, they will kindly say, "We're not telling."

Secret recipes (and secrets in general) are irresistible. As a Christian, you hold the secret to an irresistible way of life-a life people will crave, just the way I craved the lifestyle of the nice young woman whose name I can't remember. If they can see Christ in you and hear Him in your words, they will know there's something different about you. They won't be able to put their finger on exactly what it is, but they'll want it.

This is one secret too good to keep to yourself. Share it with a couple of friends. And make them promise to tell two friends. And they'll tell two friends. And so on, and so on....

Ahhh, my favorite indulgence of all time: Little Debbie's Star Crunches, the poor man's 100 Grand bars. No one stops with one Star Crunch; I've been known to eat an entire box, even though it means spending the next three years at the gym. Obviously, the Bible can't compare to Little Debbie's Star Crunches. It's better-there's no treadmill.

So, take a lesson from Little Debbie. Let your friends crave the guilt-free rewards of Christianity-the joy, the happiness and, of course, all that milk and honey. Focus on the good stuff and they'll be eating it up in no time.

So what's the big trick to advertising? Naked people in ice cubes? I don't think so. Simply make people want something instead of telling them they need it. You don't have to be a giggling doughboy to do that.

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