The Ministry Around You

Recently, I had the incredible privilege of talking to seven people in twenty-four hours about the hope and forgiveness they can find in Jesus Christ!

Each encounter is its own story, so I will try to write them individually in the next week or two. Until then, here’s an overview of the amazing twenty-four hour day.

The Lived Out Gospel by Judy Douglass

The young woman who would be my seatmate on a flight from Ghana had a very heavy carry-on bag. The overhead bin seemed full, but the coat of the man in front of us was taking up half of it. He told her that her bag was too big and that was his space. He was rude. She was bewildered. I spoke up, reminding him calmly but firmly that the bin was shared space and his coat could go on top of the suitcase. He grumbled as he lifted his coat out. I helped her lift her bag.

Later the young woman turned to me and said, “Why are you so different? Why did you do that for me?” We had a wonderful conversation about our Lord. This is evidence of the lived out gospel. (I wish I always lived it out well.)

When we share Christ with someone who doesn’t know us, God can use the combined power of the truth of the gospel and His grace to open a heart to repentance and salvation even using imperfect vessels like us to communicate His message. But often winning takes time and relationship, especially in a generation where relationship is supreme. We must live out the gospel before them even as we tell them the truth.

What does the lived out gospel look like? God gives us many characteristics of the Spirit-filled life as evidence of this. Three stand out to me as key.

Without question, the first is love. The Lord Jesus Himself said the first commandment is to love God, then others. He even said we are to love as He loved, which was to lay down his life. Are we to lay down our lives for others? Some of us may be asked to make that sacrifice. But most of us give our lives to people in love by giving of our time, our abilities, our finances. Sometimes love is just being there. Other times we love by listening, encouraging, praying. Sometimes we give the shirts off our backs, or buy a meal or provide shelter.

This lived out love that gives is a powerful witness.

A second witness is grace. Grace is often an unclear or vague concept for us, so here are a few synonyms to help us grasp the meaning of this essential truth: mercy, forgiveness, benevolence, charity, clemency, compassion, favor, forbearance, generosity, good will, goodness, indulgence, kindliness, kindness, leniency, pardon, reprieve, responsiveness, tenderness.

Grace doesn’t hold a grudge, or refuse to forgive, or demand what’s due or insist on its own way. Grace does overlook an offense, extend time or help, speak kindly when verbally attacked, believe the best about another.

Lived out grace is also a powerful witness.

A third evidence of walking with God is authenticity. How many times have you heard someone say something about “hypocrites in the church”? Authenticity means we speak truth in a generation with no absolutes, we live what we say as much as possible, we wear no masks. We consider the impact our words and actions have on those watching. We are even willing to be vulnerable. Those are risky actions. We could be misunderstood, disapproved of, even shunned—or taken advantage of. But we wouldn’t be hypocrites. We would be true, real—authentic.

And lived out authenticity is a powerful witness.

My prayer for you and for myself is that we will live out the gospel so that people actually see Jesus in us.

Used by permission from Judy Douglass

The Delivery

“Would you like to have this magazine?”

I stared at the Awake magazine twenty inches from my face.

Startled, I replied, “no way!” I kept walking and reflected on the encounter. I thought some other shoppers probably will take offense at these two women walking the store aisles like they do when going door-to-door in our neighborhoods.

Someone later suggested to me that I should complain to the store management. That thought also flitted through my mind as I headed to the grocery section. I decided I really did not want to see a sign on the store window saying: “The distribution of literature is prohibited.” After all, I hand out tracts regularly in stores.
Two minutes later, someone stopped me.

“M’aam, which one of these would be better in potato salad?”

I turned around and looked into the smiling dark face of a man in his early sixties. We discussed the merits of regular dill relish or relish with larger chunks.

As I began to leave, he still had a pickle jar in each hand. I offered “The Passage” tract to him and tucked it under his thumb.

“Thank you!“ He beamed, “I know the Lord!”

“Well, then you can share that with someone else,” I suggested.

“I will,” he promised.

I could not help thinking of the contrast of these two encounters. They were close in time and space but they were worlds apart in delivery.

Eduardo’s Wife Is Dying

Finally, Eduardo was stepping out to his car. I had been gardening and hoped he would come outside. I ran to get the Magdalena DVD waiting by the front door and rushed across the street.

“This is for your wife,” I explained. “It is in Spanish.”

“Thank you,” he smiled weakly, the gold glistening on his teeth.

Eduardo accepted the DVD and I went on to tell him the movie was about Jesus and about the different women He healed. He thanked me and I concluded our brief conversation with, “We are praying for you.”

I wrote about our neighbors, Eduardo and Luz, before. They are Jehovah’s Witnesses and do not speak English very well. About two years ago, they accepted a “Jesus” DVD from me. (I only recently learned that JWs are not allowed to accept literature, so maybe a DVD or the Who Is He? Mini-CD are the best things to offer them.)

In just over a year, three families near us have faced the loss of a loved one. First, a seven-year-old granddaughter died from a car accident. Soon after that Eugene, a man in his fifties, died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Now, Luz is dying at home and has daily hospice visits. I have been unable to communicate with Eduardo and Luz, but I have noticed her housekeeper has a Christian radio station bumper sticker on her car. I hope she has explained the Gospel to them and will also pray that Luz will be able to watch the Magdalena DVD and accept God’s free gift of life eternal or that God will miraculously heal her for His glory and to lead many of her family and JW friends to Christ!

This is also a reminder to all of us that we may not have more time to share with the people in our lives.

More help for reaching Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Meeting Needs

Maybe handing a tract to someone is not your idea of loving the nonbeliever, but handing them a box of groceries would be your best expression of God’s love to them.

I ran across a number of different Christian websites today letting you know how you can volunteer your time and reach people for Christ. I am listing them specifically on the Sower’s Tools and Tips blog and will add to them when I find more.

REMINDER: I also highly recommend a very good article by Tim Chester in The Sower’s online newspaper. Tim encourages us to reach out to nonbelievers instead of expecting them to come to us.

The Sower and His Seed

I learned a lot from Joe Jack Dement. Since the excellent video on the Parable of The Sower, featured in the last post, is only on the web temporarily, I am posting some thoughts I gleaned from this 80-year-old wheat farmer. Jesus explains the seeds and the meaning behind the birds, the footpath, and the other parallels in His parable. Mr. Dement’s knowledge of wheat farming adds to our understanding of the parable.

WHEN and WHERE
Just as the farmer casts the seed away from him, we can drop a little word about Jesus, a Bible verse, or a Scriptural truth as we interact with people every day. For instance, one day last week, I ran errands to five different stores. What normally would be drudgery for me was a joy as I shared a little conversation and tracts with nine people! My perspective was sowing, not shopping, as I went about my work.

WHO
We do not choose who gets to hear God’s message. God wants everyone to hear. God promises His Word will be active in a person’s life, even if we don’t see it. The seed becomes a fruitful plant over time and under the right conditions.

According to Mr. Dement, birds gather around the farmer, waiting for the seed sown on the path. Pray for the people who are not open to God’s Word to retain even a little bit of what you have sown. You do not need to fear that “the enemy” knows you are sowing. Pray for those who need to hear what you have to share with them. They are really the ones under attack!

Shallow soil means the plant will have no resistance and will dry up and die before maturity. To grow in Christ, people need to grow in their knowledge of the Word. As much as you possibly can, help this person get into the Word and into fellowship with believers. Even so, they may still have trouble when their faith hits the bedrock in their soul, so again, prayer is needed.

The seed growing in a weedy area was competing with a huge weed and did not yield fruit. Many people, rich or poor, are worried about their things and other financial concerns. When I share my faith I may even find that the Christians that I meet have not dealt with the weeds in their life and bear very little fruit for God. I suspect a lot of Americans are in the weedy category. Perhaps God will use the current economic woes to bring more people to follow him wholly.

I was very fascinated with the seed planted in good soil. One seed resulted in twelve plants, each with its own head of seed. I could not help but think of Jesus’s twelve disciples with their disciples. Farmer Dement said that 85% is a good, and a typical, yield. What if EACH Christian could leave a legacy of 85 mature Christians who are also telling others about Christ?

WHAT, HOW, and WHY
I named this blog The Sower because I envision that my Christian readers will be encouraged to speak about Christ frequently and everywhere. Thank you for visiting and please come back for more stories and answers to your questions to help you share your faith.

The Disconnect

I was glad and sad when my husband bought a transponder for the van I drive. I liked the convenience of not having to stop to pay tolls, but was saddened that I would not be handing tracts to the toll collectors anymore.

Have you ever thought of the many ways we have been disconnected from the people around us? We swipe a card at the gas pump. We use an ATM instead of chatting with the bank teller. We can do our own checkout now at several stores.

Increasingly, we can do many things without interacting with people. When I have the choice, I’ll choose a person over a machine. If you can, make a choice to interact with people and to plant a thought about God and their relationship with Him.

Does Your Life Reflect Christ?

“Out of 100 men, one will read the Bible, the other 99 will read the Christian.”
- D.L. Moody

The Word Association

One day last spring, my daughter slid the door open and stuck her head in the van. “Can Leon have a ride home, Mom?”

“Sure, Sweetheart,” I replied.

My daughter introduced me to Leon, a freshman she knew from riding the school bus.

After we were underway, Jennifer said to Leon, “My mom and dad work for Campus Crusade for Christ.”

“Oh…” Leon said. “Halloween!”

“Wow!” I thought. “Where did he make that connection?” I had to chuckle when I learned it was because of the tracts I hand out every year for Trick-or-Treaters.

Last year, I learned to plan ahead and buy the tracts I will need in plenty of time.

This year, thanks to Leon, I’ve decided to get more of the Who Is He? Mini-CDs for the many teens who come to our door. I know many of the tracts may go unread, but I suspect the mini-CD will rouse their curiosity.

Go to The Sower: Tools and Tips for more Halloween suggestions.

The Encouragers

“I already know the Lord,” she smiled and tried to hand the Passage tract back.

Pearl was the third, vibrant Christian I had given a tract to in the past ten days. I said she should keep the tract and share it with someone else. I would much rather have her share Christ with someone I may never meet than get the booklet back! Besides, if any of these Christians need to share their faith, I hope my example may encourage them to start.

Also, last week, Jenny and I stopped in the Wal-Mart hair salon for some shampoo and got into a great conversation with Jorge.

“I have been in a dozen countries on twenty-two missions trips!” he exclaimed. “I wish I could get out of debt so I could be a missionary full-time.”

“Next time you go on a mission trip, your group should take the Jesus film,” I explained. “It’s been translated into over 1,000 languages!”

Jorge had not heard about the Jesus film and was very interested to learn about it. He was willing to start receiving our email newsletters. I hope we can encourage him over time in his desire to be a missionary.

I also gave him some new tracts for women that he could share with the ladies that come into the salon: Beginning Your Journey of Significance and Living a Life of Significance?

Ten minutes later, as we checked out of Wal-Mart, I handed a tract to Vince in the Garden Center.

“Thank you for sharing, Sister,” he remarked.

I was very touched that he encouraged me to “keep on sharing.” We talked only briefly because he had a LONG line of customers. It also encouraged me to see how God has placed His people as His ambassadors in the workplace.