No Fear

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

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 Christian’s Secret of . . . Service

I am reading an abridged version of Hanna Whitall Smith’s The Christian Secret of a Happy Life. Her advice in her chapter, “Service”, is very encouraging.

If you think you have to meet every need and help in every ministry opportunity, or you are unsure about what directions to take in ministry, she advises:

“The life of trust also delivers us by reminding us no individual is responsible for all the work in the world, only for a small share. I may have five, or two, or only one talent. I am to do that which I am called to do, nothing more.

“A young Christian, sent to speak a message to one soul she met on a walk, supposed she must speak to everyone she met while walking, a perpetual obligation and an impossible task. A friend told her to put herself under the Lord’s guidance and trust Him to point out each particular person to whom He would have her speak. He assured her He never puts forth His sheep without going before them… This freed her from bondage, and she was able to do much blessed work for her Master without worry or care.”

If you trust God to use you in others’ lives, but you find yourself taking credit for the ministry God does through you, or you blame yourself for mistakes, such as not speaking up, or saying the “wrong thing” when witnessing, Mrs. Smith assures us that the work is God’s, not ours:

“Years ago, I ran across this sentence in an old book: ‘Never indulge, at the close of an action, in . . . self-congratulation or self-despair. Forget the things that are behind, the moment they are past, leaving them with God.’ To sum it all up, put your work into the Lord’s hands and leave it there. Even in the midst of a life of ceaseless activity, you shall ‘find rest to your soul’ and be an ‘instrument of righteousness.’”

The Olympics

The two young men carried on with their conversation and ignored me, even though I was just three feet away from them.

You’ve been there before, too. You stand in a grocery line and the bagger and the cashier chat with each other while they work. This situation makes it harder to connect with them, but I still try to talk, even briefly, and give them the Gospel in a tract they can read during their break or at home. The natural time in this case is when they are finished working and the cashier asks for my payment.

After I swiped my card and signed, I handed each of them a tract.

“This is for you, if you would like it,” I said. “It’s about Jesus.”

This is the minimum conversation I hold with cashiers, especially when I did not get to chat with them while they worked and when people are waiting behind me.

I did not run off this time, though.

“Did you guys watch the Opening Ceremonies last night?” I asked.

The three of us agreed that the drummers were awesome.

As I left the store, I remembered that the Olympics is a great conversation starter, so I have put some thoughts together on the Sower Tools site on how to use the Olympics to communicate the Gospel to others.

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.

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

Small Talk

“Mike! Look at that!”

I pulled my husband over to look through the wall of windows behind the desk. We were standing at a reception area and we could see a raised platform skirted with a black drape in the gymnasium beyond the glass. A sign on the counter top read: “Fitness Center closed all day tomorrow for evening’s boxing match.”

I turned to the gal at the front desk, “Are you working tomorrow?” I asked.

“Yes, unfortunately,” she sighed.

“Not your favorite sport, huh?” I commented.

After our workout, I chatted with Stephanie some more and handed her a tract and asked, “Have you ever heard about knowing God personally?”

“No, what do you mean, personally?”

“Well, God speaks to me every day and gives me guidance,” I replied. “If you read this, we can talk further when I see you next week.”

Stephanie agreed to do that and we’ve chatted a number of times since then. It turns out she may be a Christian and was looking for a singles group. We have a good one at our church that I could recommend.

When I first started talking with people I cross paths with, I worried that I would not know what to say to get a conversation started. I did not think I was good at “small talk.”

I guess I would suggest just use what is happening around you or use something that might relate to that person (their name, if they are starting their work day or if they will be working on a holiday). You will also start conversations more naturally the more you do it.

MP3 and Me

“There she is again,” I thought. Almost every time I went to the fitness center, I saw a tall, Middle Eastern young woman. I had never talked to her and I was feeling awkward as the weeks turned to months. It seemed that she was a little awkward about seeing me, too.

Normally, I strike up conversations early. The longer the time goes from initial encounter to introduction, the harder I find it to introduce myself. During this time, I had also been given a MP3 player, so I was listening to music or audio books when I could have chatted with some of the regular members.

Then one day, it dawned on me that she had lost quite a bit of weight, so I decided to ask her about it. I introduced myself and my daughter first.

Then I asked, “Excuse me, but it looks like you have lost weight.”

“Yes, I’ve lost thirty pounds.”

“Wow! How did you do it?”

She explained what she had done and we also learned that she was studying for a realtor’s license. When she said her name was Pooja, I asked her what it meant.

“Divine prayer”

What an opening that was for a spiritual conversation! I did not say anything, however. I thought I must have appeared to be snubbing her for months and I assumed my actions had given a negative impression. “Better to chat with her a few times first,” I thought.

The next two times I saw her, we chatted only briefly. I remember God giving me another spiritual opening which I did not take. I have not seen her since.

So now I want to be aware of any personal hindrances:
• Am I talking on the cell phone when I should be chatting with the clerk or waitress?
• Should I turn off or turn down the music and tune in to those around me?
• Am I making assumptions that might not be true? Instead, I need to respond to those little cues that can move a conversation to spiritual topics.
• At least for me, it is better to have little bits of conversation to build on later than to wait to meet people.

The Right Tract at the Right Time

I was waiting my turn as the clerk answered questions for the man in front of me. I was half-listening and began to check my purse for tracts.

Nuts! I thought. I had not re-stocked my purse and only had Spanish Four Laws.

“Where are you from?” the clerk asked his customer.

“Mexico,” he replied.

As the man finished his purchase, I welcomed him to our country and he accepted a tract from me. Like many non-English-speaking people I meet, he was pleased to get a booklet in his own language.

I was amused that God made sure I had the right tract even when I thought I didn’t!

Part 2 of 2 <Prev Next>

Adding or Subtracting?

“Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.

“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”
~ Joshua 1: 7 – 8

“Wow! I had not seen that before,” I thought.

Pastor Steve was preaching on Joshua 1: 7 – 8. I had seen this passage many times and knew we should obey the Word and meditate on it, but these words jumped out at me: “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth.”

Instead of wondering how I can ADD God to my conversations with others, I am commanded not to SUBTRACT Him!

Pastor Steve offered these tips for speaking continually about God:

1. Educate people in His ways
2. Encourage people in their walk
3. Exalt God’s wonders

God promises success with this new mindset. I believe God gives more opportunities if He knows that we will speak. If God nudges YOU, what pops out?