The Fumble

You were nervous. You shifted your weight from one leg to the other as you began to speak.

“Uh, fellows,” you started.

We turned and looked up at you.

“I, uh, I just wanted, uh, to invite . . .”

You were way out of your comfort zone. I had no idea what you might be about to say, but I knew that it had nothing to do with work.

“I just wanted to tell you that, uh, our church is having a service tonight and, uh . . .”

”What?” I couldn’t believe it. “He’s talking church? Out here? With us?”

“I wanted to invite any of you to come along.”

Silence. Screaming silence.

****

Have you been there?

You were uncomfortable and perhaps after your fumbling attempt you thought of what a mess you made of the whole situation. You re-think and analyze what you said and did. You apologize to God for your “failure” at witnessing. You are embarrassed for presenting “church” instead of Jesus.

Wait a minute! God is sovereign and is not hampered by our humanity. God used this man’s apparent failed attempt to invite construction workers to church. Max Lucado was laying pipe that summer and was with the workmen on their lunch break. Five years later, he remembered this man and gave his life over to Christ.

Your efforts may have seemed insignificant or even like they were wasted. God sees the bigger picture, however. You don’t know what God will do. Just be available to Him.

NOTE: The above excerpt is from Max Lucado’s testimony in Chapter Seven of In the Eye of the Storm. Read the entire story online on Google Books.. Search for “Thanks for the Bread” which will take you to the chapter heading.

No Fear

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

Caring for the Earth … and for People

I glanced at a jade pendant dangling about two feet from my face.

“Your necklace is interesting,” I said as Lindsay tied a latex strap around my arm.

“It is a Japanese good luck charm,” Lindsay said, as she gently tapped my vein.

I found out within a few minutes that this young phlebotomist was a Buddhist.

“That’s obviously your choice,” I commented, looking at her pale skin and blue eyes. “Why did you choose Buddhism?”

“I like the way they respect all of life. That’s also why I went into this work.”

I commended her for wanting to help people and then asked, “Well, did you know that Christianity also teaches us to take care of the earth?”

No,” Lindsay admitted.

I encouraged Lindsay to go to my blog site to watch a YouTube presentation of the Good News. I wrote down the blog address on a piece of paper and then asked, “Will you take some time to investigate what Christianity really is?”

Lindsay assured me that she would.

I left the clinic rejoicing for God’s work in Lindsay’s life.

NOTE: Sending her to the right link was a little complicated, but I have improved this technique. Click here for more ideas about sharing web addresses when witnessing.

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.

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.

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.

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.