There was a time when I wanted to do it all. I would loved to have had the privilege to share the Gospel with someone and lead Him or her to the Lord. But how does God work in all that?
We know the Bible says that one sows and another reaps, but God gives the harvest. God is the One who initiates the work in someone's heart to hear the Gospel. Many times, we share the Gospel with a person who is resistant and has a hard heart. It can be very discouraging unless we understand that, at one time, we all had hardened hearts to the Gospel. We resisted God when we heard the words of truth. But, somehow, God continued to work and we came to Christ, in spite of our resistance to Him.
Sometimes, when we attempt to share the Gospel with someone, that person is hard. But, there are times when the person's heart will soften if he or she continues to listen to the voice of truth. Many times, people take home the message we tried to share with them, but were not able to because of their resistance to us.
God uses His word to soften hearts. Then, another person comes along and shares some more Gospel truth with the person. Eventually, the person's heart is prepared to hear the Gospel message and it is gladly received. God had prepared the person's heart and used His word to soften their hearts.
You might be the third person to share the Gospel message with someone. Or maybe, you just prayed for someone to get well and they were ministered to. The next time a person talks to the person you just prayed for, he or she will be more open to hearing the Gospel.
If every person who has called upon the name of the Lord were to share the Gospel with people and demonstrate the Gospel with their lives, people on the outside would have no excuse for their rejection of the Gospel message. If the person has 6 or 7 seeds sown into him or her, the Gospel can take root as God works in that person's heart.
The other day, I was at a restaurant, and as we were coming out, there was a family there, three women and one man (not sure how they were all related). Somehow, my friend was talking with them and they were explaining that the man was sick and was going to have his gall bladder removed. I tossed the idea around of offering to pray for him, but was not sure I should do that. As I continued to think about it, I decided to ask if he wanted prayer, which he said he did. They all seemed happy that I would pray for the man. So I did.
I did not however, have the opportunity to share the Gospel with him. But, perhaps someone else will. If more than 2% of the people who know the Lord would share the Gospel, then there would be a greater chance of this family hearing the Gospel message.
Sometimes when we sow seeds, it doesn't look like anything is happening. This was the case of Frank Jenner, who lived in Sydney, Australia. Jenner was radically saved while in the navy, and made a decision of giving tracts out every day to people on George Street, which was in downtown Sydney. Jenner did this for years, but never saw any results.
A pastor who lived in England heard several testimonies of people who had gotten saved because a man in Australia gave out tracts to them on George Street. The man would ask the question, 'If you were to die tonight, are you 100% sure you would go to heaven?' Many were disturbed at his question. Some took the tracts. Others rejected the tracts. Frank Jenner never knew the results of his tract distribution until he was elderly. The pastor from England was so intrigued by so many coming to Christ because a man on George Street in Sidney Australia gave them a tract. So, while he was visiting Australia, he decided if he could track this man down.
The pastor from London found out that the man's name was Frank Jenner. He found his address and stopped in. He told Frank Jenner of all the people who came to know the Lord because of his tracts and questions to them. Frank Jenner was surprised, of course. He found out this information not too long before he died and left this life behind.
But my point about Frank Jenner is this; Although Frank Jenner passed out many tracts and asked many the pointed question, those who came to Christ because of his giving them a tract, did not respond to the Gospel by going back to Australia to find Frank Jenner and ask him questions. Instead, these people who responded to the Gospel, responded by finding a trusted, Christian friend or pastor to help lead him or her to Christ. This is where sowing and reaping come in.
Sometimes, you and I will be those who sow the seeds. We might just pray for someone. Or, we might even share the Gospel with someone, or give out a tract. Then, someone else comes along and shares the Gospel or ministers to that person. That is why we pray for laborers to be raised up. We want the number of people in churches who are sharing the Gospel to be more than 2%. If we had a vision for this, I think many more will hear the Gospel and come to Christ. Are we up for this? Can we handle the challenge? It will be worth all the work involved. The results will be eternal, and many will be eternally grateful.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
My Unplanned Experience Of Being In A French Culture
We got ready to go to Canada for a business trip my husband was taking. I went along for the ride this time and planned out all I was going to do. Among the many things I planned was to bring some tracts. Of course, going to this part of Canada would not be the same as going to Maine or to Boston, where people are everywhere. In fact, I was very surprised and the surprise started on the plane trip to Canada.
We were going to a place called, 'La Malbaie' somewhere in Quebec. I already knew that people in Canada spoke both English and French, but I didn't realize just how much French there would be. And, of course, I was not prepared.
The lady who hosted us on the plane (Air Canada) spoke French. She could speak English, but was much more natural at French.
I, of course, never studied French. I learned a few words from watching 'Madeline', a cartoon for little girls that had good morals. Other than that, I may as well have been in Greece or China.
Before I left, I was sure I had some French tracts, but I searched my tract box and never found them. I found some Spanish ones, but that is not the same as French. How could I have better prepared for this event?
The only English speaking people around were the ones from the work group. There were a few other people staying at the hotel or eating in the restaurants who spoke English, but most of the people visiting the hotels and restaurants were even French speaking.
Suddenly, about the third day into this trip, I got a bright idea. Since we had internet access, I decided to go to Bible Gateway and look up some verses from the French version of the Bible. There were four different French versions and I don't know if any of them are preferable, so I used the top one. I copied and pasted the verses and saved them to a file, and intended to write them on paper and put them in places where I would have put tracts.
But here is even a better idea: I went to Larry Kent's tract page, because I know he has tracts made in foreign languages. I found one in French, so I downloaded it. Then I copied an excerpt from it onto paper. This is the best way to make a simple tract when you don't know how to speak the language and don't have tracts with you that are in the target language.
The hotel provided a writing tablet which I used to write the message on. Quite an experience writing words I have never seen before. God's word will never return void, and will accomplish its goal even on a small piece of paper.
If I ever go to Canada again, I will prepare better. I will order some French tracts from Living Waters and also print out some of the French tracts from http://www.tracts.com/LKFrench.pdf
Thank you Larry Kent for making this tract available at the moment I needed it. It wasn't the same as printing the tracts off, but it was definitely better than giving up because I don't know the language and didn't have any tracts with me that were in French.
We were going to a place called, 'La Malbaie' somewhere in Quebec. I already knew that people in Canada spoke both English and French, but I didn't realize just how much French there would be. And, of course, I was not prepared.
The lady who hosted us on the plane (Air Canada) spoke French. She could speak English, but was much more natural at French.
I, of course, never studied French. I learned a few words from watching 'Madeline', a cartoon for little girls that had good morals. Other than that, I may as well have been in Greece or China.
Before I left, I was sure I had some French tracts, but I searched my tract box and never found them. I found some Spanish ones, but that is not the same as French. How could I have better prepared for this event?
The only English speaking people around were the ones from the work group. There were a few other people staying at the hotel or eating in the restaurants who spoke English, but most of the people visiting the hotels and restaurants were even French speaking.
Suddenly, about the third day into this trip, I got a bright idea. Since we had internet access, I decided to go to Bible Gateway and look up some verses from the French version of the Bible. There were four different French versions and I don't know if any of them are preferable, so I used the top one. I copied and pasted the verses and saved them to a file, and intended to write them on paper and put them in places where I would have put tracts.
But here is even a better idea: I went to Larry Kent's tract page, because I know he has tracts made in foreign languages. I found one in French, so I downloaded it. Then I copied an excerpt from it onto paper. This is the best way to make a simple tract when you don't know how to speak the language and don't have tracts with you that are in the target language.
The hotel provided a writing tablet which I used to write the message on. Quite an experience writing words I have never seen before. God's word will never return void, and will accomplish its goal even on a small piece of paper.
If I ever go to Canada again, I will prepare better. I will order some French tracts from Living Waters and also print out some of the French tracts from http://www.tracts.com/LKFrench.pdf
Thank you Larry Kent for making this tract available at the moment I needed it. It wasn't the same as printing the tracts off, but it was definitely better than giving up because I don't know the language and didn't have any tracts with me that were in French.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Garage Sale Evangelism
We have an opportunity here in our subdivision twice a year, to do a garage sale. I am not a garage sale type of person, nor do I buy things normally, that I change my mind about, but, I find that having garage sales can be a good way to promote the Gospel message.
My daughters have a lot of stuff to sell, so they usually do the garage sale at our house. I don't have much to sell, but I do make loaves of cinnamon bread to sell, in order to bring in some pocket change for me. One man came back yesterday to our garage sale, because he remembered the bread, and more specifically, the bread that I put the raisins in! I also made cookies and they sold like hot cakes!
I am not into baking food that is not good for us anymore, but, I know that those who go to garage sales enjoy the loaves and cookies, so I will make those specifically at this time. Of course, I will use the very best ingredients I can find, for what I am making and for the audience I am baking for.
But, even more importantly, we have a table of free items we give out. On this table we give out New Testaments, toys imprinted with Scriptures and/or a Gospel message, books, and tracts. One other interesting thing I have done is to print out a copy of a poem called, 'If Jesus Came To Your House' and then laminated it. I display it in a plastic frame and for the past two garage sales, people have wanted this picture/poem (they even wanted the plastic frame!).
Many people thank me for offering the stuff on this table. They are grateful for what I put out. I have not yet heard anyone be antagonistic about it, and I don't try to make people take anything from the table. If they don't want it, I just leave them alone.
The table is a great way to start conversations with people. Yesterday, a man came by who was part of some kind of benevolence ministry. He seemed familiar with the Gospel, yet, he himself was not part of any church. I met a young woman who was familiar with the Gospel and we talked for a long time. I got to meet her and we became friends. Many took the toys home. I have a sign that tells the people to take only one toy per person, but I see many take quite a few home with them. The toys have urls on them for people to go to. The beach balls are a favorite, and they go quickly. Imprinted on them are the words 'What Can Wash Away My Sin?' and on the other side 'Nothing But The Blood of Jesus!' www.thegoodtest.net
I put out 3 'Evidence Bible' New Testaments and they were gone by the time I cleaned up. The wind has a way of blowing the tracts around, but people loved them as well. Many were fascinated with the 'Giant Money' tracts and took them home as if they were souvenirs.
My husband compiled a book as well, and some of those were taken. This book ministers to a certain group of people and brings the hope of the Gospel to those who are grieving. Here is the book sold on amazon
One time, we had a woman who wanted several copies to hand out to some women at a ladies meeting.
We have given several to friends as well.
At a former garage sale, we saw something funny. Sometimes, I would get irritated at the thought of what happened. It was at my daughter's house, and we had the basket of beach balls on the sidewalk because they did not seem to get noticed by many (this was before we decided to do a 'free table'). It was time for us to start cleaning everything up because the time had come for the garage sale to be over. In the basket there were 6 beach balls left. A van pulled up and parked, and a man got out and took all the beach balls and brought them back to the van. He did not look at anything else in the garage sale that was being offered. I imagine he took the beach balls to try to resell them and make money off them, since they were free to take. But even if he did do that, the message of the beach balls was spread to whoever the recipients were, whether they were sold to them, or just given away.
Yesterday, a man who didn't speak very good English came up and took some items from the table. He wanted to take an assortment because he believed in the message and wanted others who either lived in his house or were close to him to see the message imprinted on the toys. He also took a copy of the poem and another sign I had made with a message on it. He seemed to indicate the everything on the 'free table' was a very good idea.
All we can do now is pray that God's word will penetrate the hearts of the people who took the items. Who knows, maybe some of them, like the man who came back for the loaves of bread, will come back because they are hungry for God's word? Maybe they will come back with questions and wanting to know more. Or, perhaps God will work in their hearts and send someone else to share the Gospel message with them. Maybe their time will come for salvation, and the literature and items on the free table will have had a part in playing a role in their coming to Christ. Only eternity will reveal the impact of what God will do when His word is displayed for others to receive.
" I planted. Someone else watered. But God is the One who made it grow."*
All we can do is sow seeds and water them. God is the One who activates His word in a person's heart. He makes the word come alive. He gives life and makes things grow.
* Taken from 1 Corinthians 3:6
My daughters have a lot of stuff to sell, so they usually do the garage sale at our house. I don't have much to sell, but I do make loaves of cinnamon bread to sell, in order to bring in some pocket change for me. One man came back yesterday to our garage sale, because he remembered the bread, and more specifically, the bread that I put the raisins in! I also made cookies and they sold like hot cakes!
I am not into baking food that is not good for us anymore, but, I know that those who go to garage sales enjoy the loaves and cookies, so I will make those specifically at this time. Of course, I will use the very best ingredients I can find, for what I am making and for the audience I am baking for.
But, even more importantly, we have a table of free items we give out. On this table we give out New Testaments, toys imprinted with Scriptures and/or a Gospel message, books, and tracts. One other interesting thing I have done is to print out a copy of a poem called, 'If Jesus Came To Your House' and then laminated it. I display it in a plastic frame and for the past two garage sales, people have wanted this picture/poem (they even wanted the plastic frame!).
Many people thank me for offering the stuff on this table. They are grateful for what I put out. I have not yet heard anyone be antagonistic about it, and I don't try to make people take anything from the table. If they don't want it, I just leave them alone.
The table is a great way to start conversations with people. Yesterday, a man came by who was part of some kind of benevolence ministry. He seemed familiar with the Gospel, yet, he himself was not part of any church. I met a young woman who was familiar with the Gospel and we talked for a long time. I got to meet her and we became friends. Many took the toys home. I have a sign that tells the people to take only one toy per person, but I see many take quite a few home with them. The toys have urls on them for people to go to. The beach balls are a favorite, and they go quickly. Imprinted on them are the words 'What Can Wash Away My Sin?' and on the other side 'Nothing But The Blood of Jesus!' www.thegoodtest.net
I put out 3 'Evidence Bible' New Testaments and they were gone by the time I cleaned up. The wind has a way of blowing the tracts around, but people loved them as well. Many were fascinated with the 'Giant Money' tracts and took them home as if they were souvenirs.
My husband compiled a book as well, and some of those were taken. This book ministers to a certain group of people and brings the hope of the Gospel to those who are grieving. Here is the book sold on amazon
One time, we had a woman who wanted several copies to hand out to some women at a ladies meeting.
We have given several to friends as well.
At a former garage sale, we saw something funny. Sometimes, I would get irritated at the thought of what happened. It was at my daughter's house, and we had the basket of beach balls on the sidewalk because they did not seem to get noticed by many (this was before we decided to do a 'free table'). It was time for us to start cleaning everything up because the time had come for the garage sale to be over. In the basket there were 6 beach balls left. A van pulled up and parked, and a man got out and took all the beach balls and brought them back to the van. He did not look at anything else in the garage sale that was being offered. I imagine he took the beach balls to try to resell them and make money off them, since they were free to take. But even if he did do that, the message of the beach balls was spread to whoever the recipients were, whether they were sold to them, or just given away.
Yesterday, a man who didn't speak very good English came up and took some items from the table. He wanted to take an assortment because he believed in the message and wanted others who either lived in his house or were close to him to see the message imprinted on the toys. He also took a copy of the poem and another sign I had made with a message on it. He seemed to indicate the everything on the 'free table' was a very good idea.
All we can do now is pray that God's word will penetrate the hearts of the people who took the items. Who knows, maybe some of them, like the man who came back for the loaves of bread, will come back because they are hungry for God's word? Maybe they will come back with questions and wanting to know more. Or, perhaps God will work in their hearts and send someone else to share the Gospel message with them. Maybe their time will come for salvation, and the literature and items on the free table will have had a part in playing a role in their coming to Christ. Only eternity will reveal the impact of what God will do when His word is displayed for others to receive.
" I planted. Someone else watered. But God is the One who made it grow."*
All we can do is sow seeds and water them. God is the One who activates His word in a person's heart. He makes the word come alive. He gives life and makes things grow.
* Taken from 1 Corinthians 3:6
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Evangelism In NYC/Salvation In A Person Not A Formula
Evangelism doesn't seem like something a person would do while on a trip celebrating their wedding anniversary, does it? Well, maybe it can happen anyway.
One thing I have been thinking about lately, is our understanding of evangelism. We tend to think of it as some kind of separate activity in our lives, kind of like an extra-curricula activity. We know it is important and we really don't want people to have to be under God's judgment on That Day. But there seems to be a missing component, at least that is the way it seems to me.
When I came to Christ, God used many different means to reach me. One of the most effective ways was by placing me in front of a girl in my class, whose last name had the same first two letters as mine did. God was already preparing my heart to come to know Him, and I had rebelled against Him, and wanted to do my own thing. But by this time in my life, I was ready to hear what the Gospel really was.
The girl who sat behind me told me things I had never heard or imagined. She talked about the Lord as if He were a person right in the same room as we were. She didn't go through the Romans Road with me. She didn't take me through the 4 Spiritual Laws. She just talked about the greatness of God and her love for Him. It just seemed natural.
I am grateful for all the evangelism courses I have been through and learned from. But I wonder how much is necessary if you have the gist of what the Gospel means. I think the courses and books have been helpful, but I also know that if we are not walking with the Lord, they just become a set of rules that we are obligated to give out to others so they won't go to hell.
I wrote all that to say that, first of all, I think NYC would be a great place to do evangelism. I wish I could have met every person I saw, and I saw lots and lots and lots of people there. Many foreigners were there as well. My ancestors came into NYC. I wonder if anyone ever shared the Gospel with them? I wonder if perhaps they knew the Lord?
Well, it was easy to lay a tract in each restroom I visited, for there were many. But what could I say about God to others that would help me to have an open door to communicate the Gospel?
We had a tour guide, and a tour driver for two days. We loved our tour guide. She was very personable and had a good sense of humor. She seemed to have some kind of spiritual thinking, but it didn't seem like the Gospel was there. At one point, I was able to explain some things about the book, "The Cross and the Switchblade" (David Wilkerson). Whenever I tell the stories from this book, people seem intrigued. I guess there is so much God did, and I could pull a million stories out from this one book, and make several spiritual applications as well. As I was explaining what God was doing, the tour guide wrote down the name of the book. I thought that was pretty cool.
At the end of the first day, the tour guide got a sudden headache. She explained a little bit about it. The thought came to my mind that I could pray for her. How would she react? I had a feeling that she would have been fine with it. When we got to our hotel and got out of the car, I asked if I could pray for her headache, to which she replied that I could. We gathered and prayed a little prayer for that.
Nothing was said the next day, and we had a big day planned. We went to all kinds of places and then the day was over, as far as our touring would be concerned. We were brought back to the hotel and we said our good-byes to the driver and the tour guide. She seemed affected by our time together and getting to know us for those two days. I gave her my email address and would hope that she would write to me sometime.
I got the email today, and it was a very nice one. She enjoyed the time we had together and was sorry she could not have written sooner. At the end, she told me that the prayer I prayed worked.
I have not gotten yet to communicate the Gospel to her, but will keep in touch with her and I will trust God for an open door to minister the Gospel to her.
Please pray for this lady. Pray for her heart to be open to the Gospel and pray that she will have eyes to see God with.
You might be asking, what does this have to do with what I wrote about at the top of this article? What I have learned is, and you probably have heard this many times, that we are not giving people a formula to get to heaven with. Salvation is not a formula for us to follow so we can skip hell. Salvation is a person, and lost people need to meet this Person. We can know the Bible inside and out, and we should be that familiar with the Scriptures, but I think we neglect the relationship aspect of our salvation. We are not sharing the Gospel with people because our relationship with God is growing and God is becoming more real to us. My friend, the girl who sat behind me in class, did not give me a formula to follow in order for me to have what she has. She was just exuberant about God being in her and with her. She was in awe of who God is. I don't remember her asking me too many questions, but one of them was, 'Don't you just love Him?' At first, it seemed strange because I never looked at God that way. I looked at God as a distant being and if we were going to reach Him, we would have to know the formula, whatever that was about.
I think we need to communicate God as a God who is personal, and we need to be communicating Bible truths about Him, bringing in His character. Then when we talk about the Gospel with the people we have been sharing with already, it will make more sense to them.
One more word: I personally think most Christians are Pelagian, meaning that we first of all, don't see our sin as a heart issue. We see sin as a choice issue. Second, we have this same expectation out of others. We think they need to pull up their bootstraps and get right with God in order to be saved. Pelagians tend to think of God as distant, and if they make the wrong move, they will be under God's judgment. What I fear most, is that the whole concept of having a relationship with God is very foreign to many Christians today. The reason why is twofold; many do not think they are as sinful as they are, and they have no understanding of God's mercy and grace. They do not understand the power of the Cross, not only to cleanse us from sin, but also to break the bonds of the yoke of sin over us.
This is why I believe many go about preaching/sharing/evangelizing with a formula mentality. Sure, the lost person needs to understand that he or she has sinned seriously before a holy God. But we have to remember that salvation is God's word. We do the loving, sowing, and praying. God does the work in the heart.
One thing I have been thinking about lately, is our understanding of evangelism. We tend to think of it as some kind of separate activity in our lives, kind of like an extra-curricula activity. We know it is important and we really don't want people to have to be under God's judgment on That Day. But there seems to be a missing component, at least that is the way it seems to me.
When I came to Christ, God used many different means to reach me. One of the most effective ways was by placing me in front of a girl in my class, whose last name had the same first two letters as mine did. God was already preparing my heart to come to know Him, and I had rebelled against Him, and wanted to do my own thing. But by this time in my life, I was ready to hear what the Gospel really was.
The girl who sat behind me told me things I had never heard or imagined. She talked about the Lord as if He were a person right in the same room as we were. She didn't go through the Romans Road with me. She didn't take me through the 4 Spiritual Laws. She just talked about the greatness of God and her love for Him. It just seemed natural.
I am grateful for all the evangelism courses I have been through and learned from. But I wonder how much is necessary if you have the gist of what the Gospel means. I think the courses and books have been helpful, but I also know that if we are not walking with the Lord, they just become a set of rules that we are obligated to give out to others so they won't go to hell.
I wrote all that to say that, first of all, I think NYC would be a great place to do evangelism. I wish I could have met every person I saw, and I saw lots and lots and lots of people there. Many foreigners were there as well. My ancestors came into NYC. I wonder if anyone ever shared the Gospel with them? I wonder if perhaps they knew the Lord?
Well, it was easy to lay a tract in each restroom I visited, for there were many. But what could I say about God to others that would help me to have an open door to communicate the Gospel?
We had a tour guide, and a tour driver for two days. We loved our tour guide. She was very personable and had a good sense of humor. She seemed to have some kind of spiritual thinking, but it didn't seem like the Gospel was there. At one point, I was able to explain some things about the book, "The Cross and the Switchblade" (David Wilkerson). Whenever I tell the stories from this book, people seem intrigued. I guess there is so much God did, and I could pull a million stories out from this one book, and make several spiritual applications as well. As I was explaining what God was doing, the tour guide wrote down the name of the book. I thought that was pretty cool.
At the end of the first day, the tour guide got a sudden headache. She explained a little bit about it. The thought came to my mind that I could pray for her. How would she react? I had a feeling that she would have been fine with it. When we got to our hotel and got out of the car, I asked if I could pray for her headache, to which she replied that I could. We gathered and prayed a little prayer for that.
Nothing was said the next day, and we had a big day planned. We went to all kinds of places and then the day was over, as far as our touring would be concerned. We were brought back to the hotel and we said our good-byes to the driver and the tour guide. She seemed affected by our time together and getting to know us for those two days. I gave her my email address and would hope that she would write to me sometime.
I got the email today, and it was a very nice one. She enjoyed the time we had together and was sorry she could not have written sooner. At the end, she told me that the prayer I prayed worked.
I have not gotten yet to communicate the Gospel to her, but will keep in touch with her and I will trust God for an open door to minister the Gospel to her.
Please pray for this lady. Pray for her heart to be open to the Gospel and pray that she will have eyes to see God with.
You might be asking, what does this have to do with what I wrote about at the top of this article? What I have learned is, and you probably have heard this many times, that we are not giving people a formula to get to heaven with. Salvation is not a formula for us to follow so we can skip hell. Salvation is a person, and lost people need to meet this Person. We can know the Bible inside and out, and we should be that familiar with the Scriptures, but I think we neglect the relationship aspect of our salvation. We are not sharing the Gospel with people because our relationship with God is growing and God is becoming more real to us. My friend, the girl who sat behind me in class, did not give me a formula to follow in order for me to have what she has. She was just exuberant about God being in her and with her. She was in awe of who God is. I don't remember her asking me too many questions, but one of them was, 'Don't you just love Him?' At first, it seemed strange because I never looked at God that way. I looked at God as a distant being and if we were going to reach Him, we would have to know the formula, whatever that was about.
I think we need to communicate God as a God who is personal, and we need to be communicating Bible truths about Him, bringing in His character. Then when we talk about the Gospel with the people we have been sharing with already, it will make more sense to them.
One more word: I personally think most Christians are Pelagian, meaning that we first of all, don't see our sin as a heart issue. We see sin as a choice issue. Second, we have this same expectation out of others. We think they need to pull up their bootstraps and get right with God in order to be saved. Pelagians tend to think of God as distant, and if they make the wrong move, they will be under God's judgment. What I fear most, is that the whole concept of having a relationship with God is very foreign to many Christians today. The reason why is twofold; many do not think they are as sinful as they are, and they have no understanding of God's mercy and grace. They do not understand the power of the Cross, not only to cleanse us from sin, but also to break the bonds of the yoke of sin over us.
This is why I believe many go about preaching/sharing/evangelizing with a formula mentality. Sure, the lost person needs to understand that he or she has sinned seriously before a holy God. But we have to remember that salvation is God's word. We do the loving, sowing, and praying. God does the work in the heart.
 |
| Lots of people in NYC. A great place to do evangelism |
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| Every one of those people needs to hear the Gospel. Who will reach them? |
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
How Not To Do Evangelism - Tell The Whole Story
I am full of blog ideas and would love to spend the next 6-8 hours blogging, but living in a real world makes that impossible. So, I will do one that is on my heart at this moment.
I would ask my readers to please pray for me to be able to briefly communicate the things I am trying to say. No one wants to spend all afternoon trying to get through a blog, and I certainly need help in learning how to communicate better!
This thought I have now, I am still sorting through. I remember learning something important from Living Waters while watching the videos on 'The Way of The Master'. Kirk and Ray were good at pointing out the fact that a foundation of understanding needs to be laid out before the people can actually grasp the Gospel message. I have heard this from others as well. For example, to just tell people that 'Jesus saves' will have no meaning to most people. We have to keep in mind that the majority of the people around us have never heard the Gospel message before. Many do not know who Jesus is, and most do not fear God because they do not understand that God is bigger than they are and God is holy and we will all be accountable to Him one day.
I am surprised at the number of people who have never heard of the 10 Commandments. Our job is to educate them. It is not our job to judge them and assume that they are in total rebellion against God, while we have arrived. Yes, they are in rebellion against God. But, would they repent if they hear the Gospel and it actually made sense to them? I think some would. But they need to hear the whole story, not just phrases or instructions to repent.
Greg Koukl tells of a story when he was a young man trying to tell the Gospel to someone. Greg told the other man that 'Jesus died for you'. The other man responded by saying, 'I'm sorry.' The man obviously had no clue of what the Gospel meant or why Jesus died for him.
But we get out there, so many times, like John the Baptist, and order people to repent. Do these people even know what 'repent' means? Are they being convicted by God for their sins, and do they see their need for a Savior? Perhaps they do, but most probably, they have no idea what you are talking about.
Maybe the best way to educate people is to just preach the Gospel to them. Depending upon the amount of time I have, I like to start in the book of Genesis when sharing the Gospel. When we go through the Old Testament and start explaining about Jesus' life and death, as well as resurrection, the Gospel makes sense to people most of the time. But if I were to skip all that and just tell people to repent and trust in Jesus, they would probably either look at me like I was speaking Greek or they would get angry with me because they would assume I am beating them over the head with the Bible.
So, next time you are out there evangelizing, keep this in mind. There is a lot of undoing/unlearning that we will have to do when teaching or reteaching people the Gospel. Each person has their own baggage, filters, experiences, that he or she will relate when hearing key words of the Gospel, and we will have to help them to see the bigger picture. Of course, only the Holy Spirit can help them grasp the Gospel message, but we can speak the words of life to them and God will make those words alive in their hearts should they respond.
I would ask my readers to please pray for me to be able to briefly communicate the things I am trying to say. No one wants to spend all afternoon trying to get through a blog, and I certainly need help in learning how to communicate better!
This thought I have now, I am still sorting through. I remember learning something important from Living Waters while watching the videos on 'The Way of The Master'. Kirk and Ray were good at pointing out the fact that a foundation of understanding needs to be laid out before the people can actually grasp the Gospel message. I have heard this from others as well. For example, to just tell people that 'Jesus saves' will have no meaning to most people. We have to keep in mind that the majority of the people around us have never heard the Gospel message before. Many do not know who Jesus is, and most do not fear God because they do not understand that God is bigger than they are and God is holy and we will all be accountable to Him one day.
I am surprised at the number of people who have never heard of the 10 Commandments. Our job is to educate them. It is not our job to judge them and assume that they are in total rebellion against God, while we have arrived. Yes, they are in rebellion against God. But, would they repent if they hear the Gospel and it actually made sense to them? I think some would. But they need to hear the whole story, not just phrases or instructions to repent.
Greg Koukl tells of a story when he was a young man trying to tell the Gospel to someone. Greg told the other man that 'Jesus died for you'. The other man responded by saying, 'I'm sorry.' The man obviously had no clue of what the Gospel meant or why Jesus died for him.
But we get out there, so many times, like John the Baptist, and order people to repent. Do these people even know what 'repent' means? Are they being convicted by God for their sins, and do they see their need for a Savior? Perhaps they do, but most probably, they have no idea what you are talking about.
Maybe the best way to educate people is to just preach the Gospel to them. Depending upon the amount of time I have, I like to start in the book of Genesis when sharing the Gospel. When we go through the Old Testament and start explaining about Jesus' life and death, as well as resurrection, the Gospel makes sense to people most of the time. But if I were to skip all that and just tell people to repent and trust in Jesus, they would probably either look at me like I was speaking Greek or they would get angry with me because they would assume I am beating them over the head with the Bible.
So, next time you are out there evangelizing, keep this in mind. There is a lot of undoing/unlearning that we will have to do when teaching or reteaching people the Gospel. Each person has their own baggage, filters, experiences, that he or she will relate when hearing key words of the Gospel, and we will have to help them to see the bigger picture. Of course, only the Holy Spirit can help them grasp the Gospel message, but we can speak the words of life to them and God will make those words alive in their hearts should they respond.
Monday, December 22, 2014
Tracts That Really Touch People
Most of the time, I give out the same tract to people. The reason I feel comfortable giving this tract out is because I can tell the people that I am giving the tract to, that the tract has a fun quiz on it (my nephew told me to use the word 'fun' before the word 'quiz').
At Christmas time, I have some tracts made up by a friend who gives his tracts out at Christmas parades. So, instead of using my tract with the 'fun quiz' on it, I give this Christmas tract out. I like the Christmas tract because you can use it as a post card. Instead of making the person feel like the tract is directed toward him or her, I tell them that they can send the 'card' to their friend in California (I did this one time, and the person responded by saying, "How did you know I have a friend in California?"). The tract is a post card with the Gospel message on it. How clever!
I was in Costco today, and when all my groceries and items were being paid for, I gave the woman one of these postcard tracts. I have to admit, I was not going to give her one, because I was thinking in the back of my mind that she already rejected my tracts before. There were one or two women cashiers who had rejected the tract, and I didn't want to bother with the rejection because it seems so awkward when you know that they know that it is a tract and they don't want to take it. Anyway, I did give it to her and to the other lady who was kind of like a bag boy, except that Costco does not use bags.
The lady took the tract and was really touched. She thanked me several times and looked like she was going to cry. I don't know how much of the tract she was able to read in that short amount of time, but it was enough for her to appreciate receiving the Christmas postcard tract.
I'm glad I did not listen to the voice in my mind telling me that she had rejected a tract before and not to bother with her. I pray that God touches her and by His grace reaches her with His love and mercy. Perhaps she is already one who has trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, but maybe became distant. Only God knows what is going on inside and His word will accomplish its goal in people's lives. That's why we need to be doing evangelism and promoting God's word wherever we go. How else will a dark and dying world ever understand the Gospel or see their need for a Savior?
"The People who have been living in darkness have seen a great light. A light has dawned on those who lived in the region and shadow of death." Matthew 4:16
"Jesus said to them, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will no longer walk in darkness but will have the light of life." John 8:12
At Christmas time, I have some tracts made up by a friend who gives his tracts out at Christmas parades. So, instead of using my tract with the 'fun quiz' on it, I give this Christmas tract out. I like the Christmas tract because you can use it as a post card. Instead of making the person feel like the tract is directed toward him or her, I tell them that they can send the 'card' to their friend in California (I did this one time, and the person responded by saying, "How did you know I have a friend in California?"). The tract is a post card with the Gospel message on it. How clever!
I was in Costco today, and when all my groceries and items were being paid for, I gave the woman one of these postcard tracts. I have to admit, I was not going to give her one, because I was thinking in the back of my mind that she already rejected my tracts before. There were one or two women cashiers who had rejected the tract, and I didn't want to bother with the rejection because it seems so awkward when you know that they know that it is a tract and they don't want to take it. Anyway, I did give it to her and to the other lady who was kind of like a bag boy, except that Costco does not use bags.
The lady took the tract and was really touched. She thanked me several times and looked like she was going to cry. I don't know how much of the tract she was able to read in that short amount of time, but it was enough for her to appreciate receiving the Christmas postcard tract.
I'm glad I did not listen to the voice in my mind telling me that she had rejected a tract before and not to bother with her. I pray that God touches her and by His grace reaches her with His love and mercy. Perhaps she is already one who has trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, but maybe became distant. Only God knows what is going on inside and His word will accomplish its goal in people's lives. That's why we need to be doing evangelism and promoting God's word wherever we go. How else will a dark and dying world ever understand the Gospel or see their need for a Savior?
"The People who have been living in darkness have seen a great light. A light has dawned on those who lived in the region and shadow of death." Matthew 4:16
"Jesus said to them, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will no longer walk in darkness but will have the light of life." John 8:12
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Update: I Have A Dream - I Have A Dream And You Are In It - Dream Fulfilled On December 6th, 2014
Fourteen months ago I wrote a blog on a dream I had (a vision or strong desire for something to happen). But my dream would have to be shared with other people who would participate in order for it to come to pass. So, I wrote my blog explaining my dream. On October 26th, 2013, I wrote this blog:
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2013
I Have A Dream
I have a dream. Some of you are in my dream. Don't be afraid, because it is a good dream. I think we can do this if we have enough other people who dream like I do.
Want to know what my dream is? It's simple. I have a dream that a group of us could be in a parade one day. A Christmas parade would be ideal. We would be wearing either T-Shirts or long sleeved shirts, depending upon the weather, that would be in the colors to match the wordless book. You can see a description of what the colors mean by going to my blog at: The Colorful Story
Basically, gold stands for God, and the gold streets of heaven. Black reminds us of sin, a dirty heart because of our selfishness. Red stands for the blood of Jesus Christ, who died to take away our sin and to cleanse our hearts. White stands for a cleanse heart, and green stands for growing things. We want to be spiritually healthy after we come to Christ and are born again into the family of God.
We could have some type of music. A good song would be 'Mary Did You Know?'. Perhaps it could be on an I-Pad carried by someone, or maybe a child could be pulling a wagon with the radio or cd player on it.
Another idea would be to be carrying helium balloons that will be in the matching colors as well. But the most fun thing we can do is to toss beach balls to the bystanders. The beach balls will have the Gospel message on them. There are many other things we can add to this parade idea that is my dream.
Getting into a parade is not hard, but you have to register early in the year.
This is my dream. Children can be involved also. We can glorify God in the parade and make His name known to a lost and dying world as we go down the street with the rest of the floats. Something to think about.
Want to know what my dream is? It's simple. I have a dream that a group of us could be in a parade one day. A Christmas parade would be ideal. We would be wearing either T-Shirts or long sleeved shirts, depending upon the weather, that would be in the colors to match the wordless book. You can see a description of what the colors mean by going to my blog at: The Colorful Story
Basically, gold stands for God, and the gold streets of heaven. Black reminds us of sin, a dirty heart because of our selfishness. Red stands for the blood of Jesus Christ, who died to take away our sin and to cleanse our hearts. White stands for a cleanse heart, and green stands for growing things. We want to be spiritually healthy after we come to Christ and are born again into the family of God.
We could have some type of music. A good song would be 'Mary Did You Know?'. Perhaps it could be on an I-Pad carried by someone, or maybe a child could be pulling a wagon with the radio or cd player on it.
Another idea would be to be carrying helium balloons that will be in the matching colors as well. But the most fun thing we can do is to toss beach balls to the bystanders. The beach balls will have the Gospel message on them. There are many other things we can add to this parade idea that is my dream.
Getting into a parade is not hard, but you have to register early in the year.
This is my dream. Children can be involved also. We can glorify God in the parade and make His name known to a lost and dying world as we go down the street with the rest of the floats. Something to think about.
Today, this dream has been fulfilled. Or actually, I should say is being fulfilled for it is more than a one time event. There are a few things I want to accomplish in my lifetime, and two of them are; evangelism and being in a parade.
The evangelism part is being fulfilled to some degree, but what if I could combine evangelism and being in a parade together? We could sow a lot of Gospel seeds because the crowds are large and kids are eager to receive items. We are eager to give items out. How else could we better celebrate a holiday than to give out items that people enjoy and at the same time communicate the Gospel message? Would this ever be possible though?
When I would mention this to people, either people didn't hear me (which is very possible because of my soft voice) or they never read my blogs (which also is possible, because people today don't like to read and don't have time to read blogs). I would need at least 10 people who wanted to be in a parade. Now it was on hold because no one responded to my dream request. That's ok, because God knows about it, and if He put it into my heart, He will bring it to pass.
My friend posted a picture of a Christian float in a Christmas parade (about a month or so after I wrote my blog) and she believed that this was a great way to glorify God. She was in awe of this float, so I suggested we do a parade, to which she agreed to. So we talked to our husbands and to our church leaders and everyone was fine with it. Could we get at least 10 people though who would join us?
I asked around and got a lot of interested people respond. I also had to contact the Chamber of Commerce to find out how to get in. A lot of work had to be done up front, to make sure we could get into the parade. My husband was very supportive of the idea, and helped do the really hard physical work. Should we have a float? What should we give away? Where do we get banners made up from? Should we have T-Shirts with graphics or just matching clothes? What should be the theme of the float? What would we do for music? What should we call ourselves? I'm glad we tackled each of these questions we were asking ourselves, one at a time.
By the time August came around, I recontacted the Chamber of Commerce to make sure I didn't miss anything. I received a registration form from them and promptly turned it in, as soon as the announcement was made that registration was open. We had T-Shirts made up from a company in California, with a graphic designed by a woman in our church. We had all 5 banners designed by a man in our church, and another man gladly lent us his truck and flatbed to use, which we decorated as well as we could. I had balloons printed up with Gospel messages on them, as well as stickers, DVDs from Voice of the Martyrs, lollipops with stickers (homemade graphics with Gospel points on them), Candy Cane Legend cards laminated with candy canes taped on them, frisbies with a Bible verse and church info on them, and a few other items. We made over 3,000 items each with a Gospel point or Bible verse on them. Now the question was, would my application for the parade get accepted?
It was October 31st, and I hadn't heard back from the parade committee yet. They said in the letter that if we were accepted, we would hear by November 3rd. October 31 was on a Friday. They don't work over the weekends. What if Monday comes (November 3rd) and I still don't hear? They said the applicants who don't get accepted will have their money returned. Should I just wait now for a returned check? It was a very sad weekend indeed, realizing the possibility of not being accepted in the parade, after all the work we had now put into it. How would I tell the people who were excited about the parade, about this inevitable rejection, that I was sure would come on Monday or sometime this week? Would there be any alternative parades to go to?
By Sunday evening, November 2nd, I found another parade. The person I wrote to was very accommodating as well, and welcomed me to sign up for it. I found the form online and filled it out, but on Monday I would wait for the rejection letter before I clicked it on (just to make sure we really were rejected). I had the page open, the form filled out, and was going through my email, and found the letter I assumed would be the rejection letter. I opened it up and it said, "Congratulations. You have been accepted to participate in the 62nd annual parade". Well, I guess I didn't need to find out about another parade after all.
The following weeks, we worked with full force on making the give away items and also the float. It cost a lot of money but God provided it for us. God gave me wisdom to know what to have imprinted on every item and banner. Everything turned out great! Now, for the big day, Saturday, December 6th, 2014.
The rain forecast last week was 40% chance of rain for that day. But, we prayed and the day before the parade, the rain chance was about 0%. But all did not look well. It started raining the night before. It continued to rain and at 5:30 am, when I got up, it was still raining. All I could think of was that the parade would probably be called off unless the rain stopped. I was thinking about the saying, 'Rain before 7, stops by 11" although we know that it doesn't always work out that way. And even if it did, it would have to stop around 8:30 when all the floats are setting up. My remote on the television didn't work, so I went to the Weather Channel on the internet, and saw that the rains were definitely just scattered rains, not big storms coming in. Still, there were dark green spots inside of the green areas of rain. Why was there rain only over the area where I lived and where the parade was going to be? Everywhere else, it looked clear. But the forecast said that it would clear out.
On the way to the parade, it was still raining. I was thinking that possibly the phone would ring and someone would call to say that the parade was cancelled, but that didn't happen. By the time we arrive, the rain almost was ended.
I must say, this was a very good day. Almost everything fell in place. I prayed for us to have God's favor, and the favor of the parade committee and the people. The people who were in the crowds were very receptive to our give aways. Many thanked us, even though everything was happening so quickly. Many knew what we were about, and we could tell by how they responded to us. One person liked my T-Shirt. I hope we made a hit and will be able to do this again next year, Lord willing.
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| Prayer before the parade |
Most of the parades we have done, have been done outside of the parade. We just go and hand out tracts to people. After a while, some people know what the tracts are and don't want them. But when you are in a parade, you have freedom to give things out to people and they seem to be more receptive.
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| The Introduction of our parade |
We pray many will be affected for eternity by encountering some part of the Gospel message and as the word of God was given out. We don't know how God will work, but we know He initiated this idea. Our number in the order of the parade was 77. May God's word minister to people and I pray for those who are seeking a church to come to the one we are part of.
As much as we hope and believe others have been ministered to, I believe God wants to minister to those of us who participated in this parade. We think it was for 'them', and it was. But it is also for us. God will use this to build faith in us, and to help us come out of our shells a little more. We will become a little bit bolder in sharing the Gospel and standing up for the truth when it is challenged. We will grow together a little bit more as a body of related believers. We will see how easy it is to 'sow seeds' for others. We will also see how much we need to depend upon God for everything, especially in doing the things He has called us to do.
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| Merry Christmas everyone! |
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| Praying at the very end of the parade. |
May God's Presence always be with us, when we are in a parade, or wherever we are. May God's Spirit work in the hearts of those who received the items and as the seeds were sown. May God sow His word in many hearts today.
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