We've had a lot of rain here the past few days (about 4 days straight), which means the snow is nearly gone (just a few remnants of the very large snowbanks remain). Soon people will be out of their houses and congregating in parks and the like (probably a few weeks to go on that). Until then, I find myself at the local mall on Friday nights seeking to share the gospel with those I meet.
Tonight I walked around the mall passing out gospel tracts. Several times, I passed a well-dressed woman sitting on a bench. She appeared to be waiting there for a particular reason, perhaps waiting for someone. One time, when I passed her, I noticed she was reading the receipt from her items purchased that evening. The next time I passed her I said, "Would you like something to read while you wait?". She said, "Yes." So, I gave her one of the gospel tracts I wrote myself. It's 13 pages long (small pages, large print), and it reads like a story, so I thought it would be appropriate for the situation. I decided to make another loop around the mall and talk to her on my way back. I saw her intensely reading the gospel tract. When I got back to that spot, she was gone. I could tell she was reading the tract, so I pray she will respond to the gospel message in repentance and faith if she has not already done so.
My courage was low this evening, just enough to pass out gospel tracts, so it appeared. I handed out about 20 tracts before deciding to make my exit for the evening. I was sitting on a bench when a lady and her two children came by with a cart from a store at the other end of the mall. She was leaving. I offered to return the cart to the store for her.
On my way back from returning the cart (toward my exit door), I met Joe. I would guess Joe was in his 70's. He was sitting on a bench. Parked next to him were his walker and his oxygen tank. I handed him a million dollar bill tract and said it had the million dollar question on back (What happens to a person when they die?). Joe proceeded to tell me jokes and stories. I sat next to him on the bench and chatted. I asked him what he thought happens to a person when they die. He said, "Oh a lot of people have opinions on that" and continued telling me stories of his glory days in the navy (he rode a camel--said they growl like a lion--it was a good story). I kept trying to talk to Joe about the gospel but he wasn't having it. In Joe's stories I learned that his wife died two years ago, and they had been married 54 years. His stories eventually led to his health concerns and the many ailments he deals with on a daily basis. I tried to bring it back to the gospel one more time by saying, "You're dependent upon an oxygen tank to breathe, are you're telling me you don't think about what happens to a person when they die? Do you think there is a heaven and a hell?" He said no one really knows for sure and then told me a few more stories. During the course of our conversation, I had given Joe another tract (again the one I had written myself--bigger writing--I could see that might be necessary). Joe had very little interest in serious conversation, but he was clearly lonely, so I stayed and talked with him for awhile. As I wrapped up our time together and got ready to depart from Joe's company, I said these words, "Joe, I encourage you to read that gospel tract. I believe there is a heaven and hell, and when you die you will stand before God in judgment. This is worth your time to figure out." He said, "Yeah, yeah." and chuckled. We shook hands. I thanked him for the chat and then made my way to the exit door.
Please pray for Joe and the others who received the gospel in their hands this evening. My prayer is that they will respond to the gospel message in repentance for their sins and faith in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Cookie Baking Night 3/08/10
Tonight was Cookie Baking Night with the nieces and nephews. In attendance this evening: Ethan, Carissa, Emily, and Meghan.
We made peanut butter cookies. Cross-crossing with a fork on top of the cookie is harder than it looks, so we discovered.
Meghan made chocolate bon bons from a kit that grandma Clara had given me around Christmas time. Meghan followed the directions on the box and completed the project by herself (with a little advice from Aunt Katrina here and there). She did a great job.
We made peanut butter cookies. Cross-crossing with a fork on top of the cookie is harder than it looks, so we discovered. Meghan made chocolate bon bons from a kit that grandma Clara had given me around Christmas time. Meghan followed the directions on the box and completed the project by herself (with a little advice from Aunt Katrina here and there). She did a great job.
Tonight we picked up where we had left off with our Josh McDowell curriculum, "Is the Bible Personally From God?" We are on lesson three entitled God protected His message. We talked about the job of a scribe and then practiced the art of copying verses using a worksheet from the lesson.
We also started a project that will help us memorize the books of the Bible. We'll be working on that one over the next couple months.
As usual, a good time was had by all!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Frightening Friday 03/05/10
With my favorite bench MIA, tonight I decided to hit the "streets" (of the mall). I spent a lot of time in prayer this week for the people I would be talking with on Friday night (and for courage). I also spent time reading about the gospel and listening to sermons about it.
Approaching total strangers to engage in conversation with them (any kind of conversation) is the hardest part for me, so I gave some thought to that as well. There is a popular theory circulating in the culture right now involving the end of the world and the Mayan calendar. The calendar of the Mayan civilization (a technically sophisticated civilization in many ways) ends on December 21, 2012. There is an idea circulating (by Christians, sadly, and non-Christians alike) that the world will end on that day. There have been many such predictions about the end of the world over the years. When I was a teenager, there was an idea circulating in the popular culture that the world would end in 1988. That was the year I graduated from high school. I was a professing Christian at the time, but this prediction terrified me (hmmm, should have been my first clue that something was wrong--but that's another story). With that in mind, I decided to use the following questions when I approached people at the mall this Friday night, "Have you heard about the theory involving the Mayan calendar? What do you think about it?"
That's exactly what I did, and God allowed me to have three different conversations with people. Everyone I approached had heard about the Mayan calendar. Some were concerned, some were not.
The first conversation did not end well. It was with a young man sitting on a bench (I didn't get his name). He said he had heard about the theory of the world ending in 2012. We chatted amicably for a few minutes, but when the conversation turned to Spiritual matters, he started to get agitated. He perceived me to be pushing my ideas "down his throat". He was pretty angry when he left. The gospel was not presented in that conversation.
Side note: When I left the conversation with the first young man, I was a bit shaken by it. But, to my surprise, I did not die. Having realized one of my worst evangelizing fears (encountering the very angry person) and living through it, I thanked God for it, prayed for courage, and moved on in search of another conversation.
The second conversation was with a young man named Jeff. He said he had heard about the Mayan calendar theory but didn't put much stock in it. When I asked Jeff if he had a Christian background he said, "Oh, yes, I'm a Christian." When I asked him if he could tell me about the gospel he didn't know what I meant by that. I clarified my question, but he still struggled explaining it. As I left Jeff, I gave him a gospel tract with a thorough gospel presentation in it. He was about to catch a bus and said he would read it.
The third conversation was with a group of young girls sitting on a bench in the middle of the mall, Jessie, Jade, and Ashley. I asked them if they had heard about the Mayan calendar theory and they said they had, but they didn't think too much of it. I asked them if they had friends who believed it, and they said they did. Then I asked them, "Does it scare you a little bit?" And they all said, "Yes." Two of the girls professed to be Christians and one did not. They (Jessie and Ashley) seemed to have an understanding of the message of the gospel but could not clearly articulate it. When I asked them if one needed to be a good person to go to heaven they said, "No, but it's hard to explain it." Jade said she didn't know what she thought about God or heaven or hell. I asked her if I could share the gospel with her, and she gave me permission to do so. All three girls listened as I used the 10 commandments to show them their sin, talked about the holy nature of God and that because He is good and just He must punish sin (they agreed). I talked about how Jesus came to earth and lived a sinless life, died, and rose again to take the punishment for our sins. Then I explained repentance. As I was doing that, Jade's phone rang (I continued talking to the other girls). She hung up the phone, and they were off in a flash. As they made their exit, I gave them each a gospel tract with a thorough gospel presentation in it for further study should they wish to do so.
Please pray for the young people who heard the gospel this evening (and the one who didn't), that God would convict their hearts and draw them to Him.
Note of clarification: I am in no way endorsing the Mayan calendar theory of the end of the world. I simply wanted to get a pulse on how the popular culture is processing this information and use it as a springboard into a conversation about the gospel.
Concerning such matters as the end of the world (second coming of Christ) Jesus said:
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
Matthew 4:36
Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Matthew 4:44
Approaching total strangers to engage in conversation with them (any kind of conversation) is the hardest part for me, so I gave some thought to that as well. There is a popular theory circulating in the culture right now involving the end of the world and the Mayan calendar. The calendar of the Mayan civilization (a technically sophisticated civilization in many ways) ends on December 21, 2012. There is an idea circulating (by Christians, sadly, and non-Christians alike) that the world will end on that day. There have been many such predictions about the end of the world over the years. When I was a teenager, there was an idea circulating in the popular culture that the world would end in 1988. That was the year I graduated from high school. I was a professing Christian at the time, but this prediction terrified me (hmmm, should have been my first clue that something was wrong--but that's another story). With that in mind, I decided to use the following questions when I approached people at the mall this Friday night, "Have you heard about the theory involving the Mayan calendar? What do you think about it?"
That's exactly what I did, and God allowed me to have three different conversations with people. Everyone I approached had heard about the Mayan calendar. Some were concerned, some were not.
The first conversation did not end well. It was with a young man sitting on a bench (I didn't get his name). He said he had heard about the theory of the world ending in 2012. We chatted amicably for a few minutes, but when the conversation turned to Spiritual matters, he started to get agitated. He perceived me to be pushing my ideas "down his throat". He was pretty angry when he left. The gospel was not presented in that conversation.
Side note: When I left the conversation with the first young man, I was a bit shaken by it. But, to my surprise, I did not die. Having realized one of my worst evangelizing fears (encountering the very angry person) and living through it, I thanked God for it, prayed for courage, and moved on in search of another conversation.
The second conversation was with a young man named Jeff. He said he had heard about the Mayan calendar theory but didn't put much stock in it. When I asked Jeff if he had a Christian background he said, "Oh, yes, I'm a Christian." When I asked him if he could tell me about the gospel he didn't know what I meant by that. I clarified my question, but he still struggled explaining it. As I left Jeff, I gave him a gospel tract with a thorough gospel presentation in it. He was about to catch a bus and said he would read it.
The third conversation was with a group of young girls sitting on a bench in the middle of the mall, Jessie, Jade, and Ashley. I asked them if they had heard about the Mayan calendar theory and they said they had, but they didn't think too much of it. I asked them if they had friends who believed it, and they said they did. Then I asked them, "Does it scare you a little bit?" And they all said, "Yes." Two of the girls professed to be Christians and one did not. They (Jessie and Ashley) seemed to have an understanding of the message of the gospel but could not clearly articulate it. When I asked them if one needed to be a good person to go to heaven they said, "No, but it's hard to explain it." Jade said she didn't know what she thought about God or heaven or hell. I asked her if I could share the gospel with her, and she gave me permission to do so. All three girls listened as I used the 10 commandments to show them their sin, talked about the holy nature of God and that because He is good and just He must punish sin (they agreed). I talked about how Jesus came to earth and lived a sinless life, died, and rose again to take the punishment for our sins. Then I explained repentance. As I was doing that, Jade's phone rang (I continued talking to the other girls). She hung up the phone, and they were off in a flash. As they made their exit, I gave them each a gospel tract with a thorough gospel presentation in it for further study should they wish to do so.
Please pray for the young people who heard the gospel this evening (and the one who didn't), that God would convict their hearts and draw them to Him.
Note of clarification: I am in no way endorsing the Mayan calendar theory of the end of the world. I simply wanted to get a pulse on how the popular culture is processing this information and use it as a springboard into a conversation about the gospel.
Concerning such matters as the end of the world (second coming of Christ) Jesus said:
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
Matthew 4:36
Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Matthew 4:44
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Blogging Tips
I've been blogging for about 10 months now (since May of last year). I don't think that qualifies me as an expert, but I have gained some knowledge since first starting the blog. So, I will attempt to pass on to you a few tips I've learned so far.
- Pick a theme. If you wish to remain consistent with blogging, I think the best way to do that is by picking a theme for your blog. My theme is consistency. I blog about living the Christian life, day to day. I use daily blogging categories (both general and specific) to accomplish this goal.
- I often schedule my posts. I write the post while I have an idea in my head and then schedule it to be posted later (this is particularly easy to do with some of my daily categories such as Resource Wednesday and the evangelism videos).
- I aim to have a post appear on the blog six days a week, but I'm not bound by blogging six days of every week (sometimes Monday's entry is posted on Wednesday).
- I strive to keep it gospel centered. I make it a point not to trust my own thoughts. I keep them anchored in the truth of God's Word at every opportunity.
Joys of blogging:
- I enjoy processing life, good sermons, good books and what I read in the Bible through the written word. It's fun for me to get it out of my head and onto the page.
- I enjoy the opportunity to present the gospel.
- The feedback from readers sharpens me.
- The feedback from friends encourages me.
- It holds me accountable to follow through on what I say I will do.
- It challenges me to compose my thoughts in an intelligent manner.
Pitfalls of blogging:
- It can be an open door for pride. There is a temptation to think of yourself as brilliant while you're blogging. I constantly pray for God (and not myself) to be glorified through this blog.
- It can occupy your thoughts entirely too much.
- There is a temptation to embellish life's events in order to make them more appealing.
Blogging advice:
- Read your Bible and pray everyday (without that you will be tempted to be wise in your own eyes).
That's the short list of the ups and downs of blogging. If you've ever considered writing your own blog (or maybe you already do), I hope these tips are helpful to you.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Resource Wednesday 03/03/10
This Resource Wednesday, I would like to highlight for you the Voice of the Martyrs website (http://www.persecution.com/). Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) is a ministry that focuses on the persecuted church around the world. If you've spent any time on my blog, you've heard me endorse this ministry many times.
I encourage you to visit the VOM website. Here's a few areas of the website that I appreciate and utilize often:
I encourage you to visit the VOM website. Here's a few areas of the website that I appreciate and utilize often:
- Voice of the Martyrs magazine. You can sign up to receive a free monthly copy of this magazine. Each issue highlights a different country or area around the world where Christians are being persecuted for their faith. The magazine also highlights tangible ways we could help the persecuted church.
- Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand. There is a way to receive a free copy of this book (or have it sent to a friend) via the website. Richard Wurmbrand is the founder of the Voice of the Martyrs ministry. I highly recommend reading this book. I found it impossible to remain unchanged after doing so.
- Prison Alert is a tool on this website that allows you to write letters of encouragement to persecuted Christians around the world. You can pick phrases and verses that will be translated into the language of the prisoner to whom you are writing. It allows you to compose a letter to the prisoner and then gives you instructions on how to mail it. I've used this tool a few times and found it very user friendly.
- Kids of Courage is an area of the website that focuses on children of persecuted Christians, persecuted children, or areas in which to involve your own children in the cause of the persecuted church. There is an area on Kids of Courage (Downloads) that allows you to download an entire curriculum on a country (many countries available) in order to educate your children about the culture and Spiritual condition of the country. I've downloaded a couple of these and find them very useful. My niece, Emily, is currently working through the curriculum on China.
In this post, I've highlighted some of the areas on the VOM website, but it's just a few of the resources available. I highly recommend checking it out.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
You Have Only To Be Silent
Right now we're reading through Exodus in our family Bible reading plan. We've just read through the beginning of Exodus where God calls Moses to appeal before Pharaoh for permission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, where they are enslaved to Pharaoh. Pharaoh continually promises to let them go and then goes back on his promises. God sent 10 different plagues to the land of Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to let His people go, the last being death to all of the first born males in the land of Egypt. Finally, the Israelites were released from Egypt. The first big obstacle they encountered was how to get across the Red Sea with Pharaoh in hot pursuit. And these are the words that came out of their mouths (spoken to Moses):
"Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better to die in the wilderness." Exodus 14:11-12
How quickly they forgot the pain of Egypt. I was struck by Moses' response to the Israelites.
"Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." Exodus 14:13-14
We hold to this illusion of control in our lives, but it is simply that, an illusion. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. True then and true today. Amazing!
"Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better to die in the wilderness." Exodus 14:11-12
How quickly they forgot the pain of Egypt. I was struck by Moses' response to the Israelites.
"Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." Exodus 14:13-14
We hold to this illusion of control in our lives, but it is simply that, an illusion. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. True then and true today. Amazing!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Seeking Instruction
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7.
I am currently studying the book of Proverbs for our monthly women's Bible study at church. The theme touched on in the above-listed verse is a theme scattered throughout the book of Proverbs. Fools despise wisdom and instruction, the wise incline their heart to understanding.
As I read through the book of Proverbs, I am reminded of my own conversion to Christianity. After God regenerated me, the first fruit of repentance that I can recall being evident in my life was the desire for correction. I found myself wanting to know what was right and to be corrected if my thinking was wrong. This characteristic was nonexistent in my life before God regenerated me. I hated to be corrected. I would take correction, reluctantly, on the outside, but my heart and mind echoed with thoughts such as, "What do you know? Who are you to tell me? Shut up, you don't know me." (vile but true). As stated in Proverbs 1:7, I was a fool. With thoughts like these running through my head and ruling my life before conversion, I was shocked when I began to seek out correction and desire it. It truly was evidence to me that God had done a work in my heart.
I now understand the verses in the book of Proverbs in a way that was completely foreign before God regenerated me. To Him be the glory!
I am currently studying the book of Proverbs for our monthly women's Bible study at church. The theme touched on in the above-listed verse is a theme scattered throughout the book of Proverbs. Fools despise wisdom and instruction, the wise incline their heart to understanding.
As I read through the book of Proverbs, I am reminded of my own conversion to Christianity. After God regenerated me, the first fruit of repentance that I can recall being evident in my life was the desire for correction. I found myself wanting to know what was right and to be corrected if my thinking was wrong. This characteristic was nonexistent in my life before God regenerated me. I hated to be corrected. I would take correction, reluctantly, on the outside, but my heart and mind echoed with thoughts such as, "What do you know? Who are you to tell me? Shut up, you don't know me." (vile but true). As stated in Proverbs 1:7, I was a fool. With thoughts like these running through my head and ruling my life before conversion, I was shocked when I began to seek out correction and desire it. It truly was evidence to me that God had done a work in my heart.
I now understand the verses in the book of Proverbs in a way that was completely foreign before God regenerated me. To Him be the glory!
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