No Fear

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

The Harvest: a Bible Study

Today, I re-read this Bible Study from John, chapter 4, that Mike prepared for a Sunday School lesson. I know you will be blessed by these thoughts from God’s Word.

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.

The Amazing Ministry of an “Ordinary Man”

I hope you will take a few minutes to watch this encouraging video.

Frank Jenner may have seemed ordinary on the outside, but spiritually, he was extraordinary!

Frank Jenner spoke just a two-sentence witness to ten people daily on George Street in Sydney, Australia. He may have spoken to over 100,000 people in the twenty-eight years of his ministry. For sixteen of those years he never knew if these brief conversations with strangers ever bore any fruit.

God arranged for him to learn that countless people from all over the world had not only responded to the Gospel, but went on to lead many others to Christ as well.

Whatever God calls you to do, even if it seems simple and even if you may never know the impact of your message, remain faithful and know that God is making an eternal harvest come from the seed you planted in someone’s life.

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 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.

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.