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.

No Fear

The next time you are fearful about sharing your faith, remember this 92-year-old woman.

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.

In His Time

“It’s you!” Angela exclaimed.

I looked at her with a puzzled look. She had just taken a sample for a blood test and I held out a tract for her like I usually do.

“I had just started working here last May when someone gave me a little booklet,” Angela explained as she took “Beginning Your Journey of Significance” from me. “Since I was new here, I did not know who gave it to me. I still have it and read it.”

“Yes, it was probably me.” I actually had been at the doctor’s office quite a few times in the past nine months, but not in the lab area. I continued, “Have you ever heard before about knowing God personally?”

Angela then told me how she was interested in church and her husband wasn’t, but he finally, reluctantly, went with her. He was interested after he discovered the church had a motorcycle “club” and got involved in the group. I learned more about her husband and asked if Gregg liked computers.

“Yes,” she replied.

I rummaged in my purse but did not have what I was looking for. “I will bring something for Gregg next week when I come back to see the doctor about the test results,” I promised.

After my doctor’s appointment the following week, I stopped off at the lab and waited for Angela to be finished with a patient.

“Hi,” she smiled.

“Here’s something for your husband,” I said, as I handed her the Who is He? mini-CD.

“Thank you so much,” Angela said, and then her next statement almost knocked me off my feet. “I’m so glad to have this for Gregg; and he will be interested in this because he just had a mild heart attack.”

God is so amazing! I am so grateful that Gregg survived his heart attack and apparently is more open to spiritual things. It could be that he was more open to receiving the mini-CD after his heart attack and now has a chance to learn more about Christ. It is such a privilege to step into the stories of people’s lives and watch God at work. I was only a bystander watching God fit different pieces together to woo Angela and Gregg to Himself.

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.

Jury Duty and the Truth

Kathy arrived at the courthouse with two books and a bunch of snacks, expecting to sit in the jury pool all day. No one wants a missionary as a juror, you know. At least that’s what all her friends told her. Within the first ten minutes of sitting in the potential jurors’ holding room, four cases were called up and about 100 people were needed, including Kathy.

Kathy was intimidated sitting in front of the judge, the attorneys, and the defendant for voir dire, where the attorneys ask questions to determine the six jurors for the case. Some of their questions were personal and humbling. Then, an attorney looked at Kathy’s profile which showed that she worked for Campus Crusade for Christ. He came over to her and asked her what she did.

She was a little tired and out of it, but she bravely said, “I work for the Jesus film. Have you heard of the Jesus film?”

“No,” he replied, a little surprised.

“The Jesus film is the most translated film in the world. We just reached 1000 language versions this summer. My job is to go to other countries and record these new language versions.”

“Oh, okay.”

He seemed finished with her and she seriously doubted they would pick her after that. However, she was picked for the case and was later picked as the foreman, the person who facilitates the deliberation among the jurors and gives the conclusion to the judge.

After the voir dire, one of the other six jurors, Rob, asked Kathy more about what she does. Kathy shared her testimony with him. They talked about what he believed, too. He seemed to think that as long as you believe SOMETHING, it’s okay. Sitting in the courthouse, they talked more about truth and how important truth is.

“In a science lab you can easily determine truth quickly, such as, this chemical plus that chemical results in this reaction. But for things that happen in the past, you must rely on evidence and testimony,” Kathy explained. “Take the four gospels for instance. To have that many similarities between four different eyewitnesses is amazing! And they all were willing to die for their testimony.”

Later in the deliberation room, the jurors took as much time as they could to deliberate and still couldn’t come to a unanimous conclusion. At first, Rob was scared to judge anyone. Later, Rob was adamant about his view of the truth (the man’s guilt). Kathy prayed God would continue to show Rob that truth is important and that Jesus is the Truth.

Since Kathy works in an office with hundreds of Christians, she is around believers much of the time and finds it challenging to recognize everyday opportunities to share her faith. She had no idea jury duty could be so full of great opportunities. She admits being a little shy to talk to groups, but she spent all day with strangers who WANTED to talk with her about herself. She explained the Gospel to her captive audience, telling several people how Jesus changed her life. She is looking forward to her next jury duty opportunity to proclaim Christ boldly, speak up for the truth, and see what God will do!

NOTE: Most people get a jury summons in the mail and groan, but Kathy was excited. As part of her job, she had visited various countries where it is impossible for local citizens to have a voice in their government (and if they try, many are shot). So, Kathy considered it a great privilege to participate in a jury trial, as guaranteed by the U. S. Constitution.

The Jesus Memorial

I was not going to answer.

The doorbell rang this morning, and when Mike is not home, he has told me I do not need to answer the door.

Peering through the peephole, I saw an older man and a young boy. I still was not going to answer, just because I did not want to, but I felt compelled. I picked up a few tracts I keep by the door and turned the door knob.

The twelve-year-old boy held out a glossy flyer with a face of Christ on it. The man stood behind him holding a stack of flyers. “Would you like to go to a Jesus Memorial next Saturday?” the boy asked. “Would you take one of our flyers?”

“Is your church having an Easter service?”

“Sometimes we use the rodeo arena,” explained the older gentleman, “but this year we are meeting at Kingdom Hall.”

“Oh!” I replied. “We do not believe in the same Jesus. He is fully God and fully man.”

Just that quickly, the man mumbled something and left. I was a little surprised because Jehovah’s Witnesses would usually want to get into a discussion. I suspect he did not want to do that with the boy present.

The whole idea of a memorial service for Jesus struck me as so odd. Again, in hind sight, I think I would have said something to the effect that Jesus is alive, not dead!

Also, I did not want to open my door and I did not pray before opening my door. If I had been thinking about THEM, instead of ME, I could have had a better attitude and said a quick prayer, which may have resulted in a different ending to this story.

So, I offer this story in case someone comes to your door this week and invites you to a Jesus Memorial. You can be better prepared than I was. I also wrote on my Sower Tools website this week about some different ideas you might try for reaching out to people at Easter.

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15b NIV

More help for reaching Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Tuned in to God’s Plan (excerpt)

“Craig Lawrence… started and ran two TV stations and owned an advertising agency in his home state of South Dakota. Yet he felt a growing sense of discontentment. One day he traveled to a retreat center to talk to God. He told his wife, Marcia, ‘I’m not coming back until God speaks.’ At the retreat center he dropped to his knees and cried tears over his seemingly wasted thirty-four years. He told God, ‘I’ll do anything and give You everything.’ Craig gave Christ control of his life that day, and the Holy Spirit stepped in to give him the power to live a meaningful life for God.

“[Dr. Bill Bright] met Craig shortly after his decision to live under the control of the Holy Spirit, when he agreed to serve as [Bill’s] communications director. His life completely changed and became an adventure in a way that his business success had never provided. In the 1990s Craig and Marcia felt God leading them to Mongolia, a country that had just been opened up to the gospel. The couple and their team were the largest delegation of Americans ever to visit the Communist nation at that time.

“While they were in their hotel room, a detail of Mongolian soldiers came to take Craig and the team members to a government office building. When a group of Mongolian politicians asked the group who they were, Craig replied, ‘We are men whose hearts have been changed by Jesus Christ. When we asked Him where we should go to tell of His love, He sent us here.’

“At that moment, a Mongolian committee was drafting a new constitution for the Mongolian people. The committee was stuck on the topic of religious freedom – they didn’t know how to write it into law. The leader asked the Christian team from the United States to help them write their constitution.

“. . . Eventually the team not only helped write the constitution but also helped start a TV station in Mongolia, a task that fit Craig’s past business experience so well. The new TV station carries many Christian programs, including testimonies from Mongolian Christians. Craig will tell you that he is an ordinary man but that God has turned his life into an extraordinary journey through the power of the Spirit.

“God calls each of us to serve Him in a unique way. Whatever He has designed for your life will fit your personality and will give you more joy and pleasure than any worldly attainment.”

–[Excerpt from Discover the Real Jesus by Bill Bright, pages 84-85]

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. ~ Ephesians 2: 10 NAS

In Memoriam

Even though we had known each other for fifteen years, I did not talk to our neighbor, Sonia, very often. We would have a little conversation once in a rare while. We prayed together out on the street the morning of 911. I had not really talked to her much since that morning as I stood at her door early in 2007. She invited me in and our conversation took an unexpected turn.

“Rajan is an alcoholic,” she told me. I was shocked! I never suspected Sonia’s husband had a drinking problem.

“I’m thinking about a divorce,” Sonia confessed.

I was stunned as I knew Sonia is a strong, charismatic Christian and that she travelled frequently in her ministry to others. I encouraged her to trust and obey God and to stay married. By the time I left, Sonia’s mood had shifted. She was praising God and decided to stay with Rajan. I was rejoicing, too, that God had led me to her home that day to keep her from making the wrong decision.

And then, on December 31st, we were just about to start our annual family New Year’s Eve party with food, games and a movie when the doorbell rang. Mike opened the door and stepped out to talk to Sonia. In a minute, he motioned to me to join them.

Sonia was sobbing as she explained that her seven-year-old granddaughter was dead. Little Janel’s spinal cord was damaged in a car accident. She had been brain dead for three days and the family had stopped life support that afternoon.

The funeral home was packed out and overflowing yesterday. The family spoke of their trust in God and assured us that Janel knew the Lord and was now with Him.

As we start a new year and in thinking about my experience with this neighbor, I wanted to share a few thoughts with you for 2008:

• Our lives are short. I don’t know how long I will live or how long anyone else will live. Young girls and old men. Close family and distant strangers. Struggling Christians and confirmed agnostics. Today is the day to share my faith with them.

• I should not have assumed my Christian neighbors were “all right” and did not need me. I was naïve to think they would not have struggles.

• I need to be in prayer and available if God would choose to use us further to help our neighbors through the difficult years ahead. I need to pray that Rajan turns to Christ and not to alcohol and that this child’s death may even be used to heal their marriage.