Have you ever gone on a "Jericho Jog"? Or a "Mall Marathon"? No? Well, perhaps you've never thought of the ministry you can have in your own neighborhood, mall, or city by jogging or walking while you pray for every person you meet, or all who live in the houses you pass. Don't think this is just silly. Recently I had a great answer to a prayer which I had been lifting up for a neighbor of mine for 3 years. I had said something VERY unkind to her in anger. As soon as she walked away, like a knife in my heart ,I thought of how wicked it was of me to have enjoyed speaking such unkind words while at the same time destroying probably ANY chance for me to witness to her about the love of Jesus.
Well, we had had some storms which had broken many branches off of her trees and littered her yard. She works painstakingly to keep her yard looking good, so God gave me the idea of picking up all the branches, leaves and twigs off her lawn and taking them to the dump for her.
While I was working two girls opened the door to the neighbor's deck and asked me if I needed any help. I had hoped that no one would see me working, but I just told them that I was doing fine and that I just wanted to help out their mom by taking the branches to the dump.
Long story short--my neighbor saw me loading up the branches for the dump and she actually spoke kindly to me. I could tell that my actions took her by surprise in a good way.
So if you walk at the mall for exercise, or around the block, or whatever, take time to pray for those around you. That is an easy way to make a difference. I know of several short-term mission groups that build this exercise into their first day of ministry. So, now you know that anybody can minister, even if you are too shy to speak and even too shy to witness with other believers. It only takes one step to start the journey to lifestyle evangelism.
S. R. C.
August 3, 2007
August 2, 2007
Getting started is the hard part. Then you have to talk...
Every group has one. I'm it in our group of "fishermen." I still have a hard time doing this.
I understand the need. I understand the methods. I'm just a bit of a chicken. Take last night, for example. I have learned that I can spend a lot of time walking in circles... But once I talk to someone, it all gets (a little) easier after that. The sum total of my contribution on this outing was handing out 4 tracts (two personally, and two left in various locations at the mall) and giving a group of three teens an 'intelligence test." The teens were polite enough, but didn't seem to want to talk very much, so I left the test with them to "grade" on their own, without talking to them further.
So - to summarize - there are two things I find difficult on these outings:
1. Taling to the first person
2. Continuing to talk...
The good news is, I can't get any worse at this than I already am. So I will keep trying to do the right thing for the right reasons. After all, God can use anyone, right???
-tony
I understand the need. I understand the methods. I'm just a bit of a chicken. Take last night, for example. I have learned that I can spend a lot of time walking in circles... But once I talk to someone, it all gets (a little) easier after that. The sum total of my contribution on this outing was handing out 4 tracts (two personally, and two left in various locations at the mall) and giving a group of three teens an 'intelligence test." The teens were polite enough, but didn't seem to want to talk very much, so I left the test with them to "grade" on their own, without talking to them further.
So - to summarize - there are two things I find difficult on these outings:
1. Taling to the first person
2. Continuing to talk...
The good news is, I can't get any worse at this than I already am. So I will keep trying to do the right thing for the right reasons. After all, God can use anyone, right???
-tony
Learning to Fish
Our son, Sam, invited a friend to go the mall with us last night. They passed out tracts to people as they walked. Last week Sam took another friend of his on our fishing trip to RAGBRAI. What a unique opportunity for these teenage boys to see how God works through us to reach others. Perhaps they won't be as frightened by "cold" witnessing as we are and will share their faith naturally all the time.
Because Sam's been with us on these fishing trip, we've had lots of great discussions about why Jesus desires us to share the Gospel. He's witnessed us loving people who seem the most unlovable. I thank God for giving us these God-ordained opportunities with our son!
Because Sam's been with us on these fishing trip, we've had lots of great discussions about why Jesus desires us to share the Gospel. He's witnessed us loving people who seem the most unlovable. I thank God for giving us these God-ordained opportunities with our son!
Fountain Man
Jan W. and I were together when we started walking around the mall tonight. She was pushing the B.'s kids in the stroller, and they wanted to see the fountain. There was a man sitting on the edge right next to where I stood. I prayed about whether I should speak to him about the Lord, but I was hesitant. I thought, "You're standing right next to him and he's not leaving... why don't you just talk to him??" So I asked him, "Have you seen one of these?" and showed him a Smartcard.
He said, "No" so I told him about putting his finger on the square to see if it turns green and asked him if he thought he was a good person. He said, "No" which surprised me. I said, "You don't think you're a good person?" and he said "No" again. Then he said, "Oh, I know where this is going."
I said, "Do you think I'm going to talk to you about spiritual things?" And he said, "Yes," so I asked him, "Do you have any spiritual beliefs?" He answered, "Yes".
Of course I couldn't leave it at that, so I asked, "Do you mind if I ask what they are?" and he said, "Just my own private ones." It was obvious, even though he was being very polite and pleasant, that he wasn't about to open up to me, so I gave him the Smartcard and thanked him for his time.
After I walked to the other side of the fountain, I saw him reading the card intently. Then a few minutes later, Tony walked up and commented on the fact that he saw the man sitting on the fountain reading a Smartcard. The writing on the card is only a paragraph long, so he must have been reading it a second time.
Even though that contact didn't seem very profitable in our eyes, God could have been speaking to that man's heart in mighty ways. We don't know how many of the seeds we sow will sprout into believing faith! So go out and sow those seeds!
He said, "No" so I told him about putting his finger on the square to see if it turns green and asked him if he thought he was a good person. He said, "No" which surprised me. I said, "You don't think you're a good person?" and he said "No" again. Then he said, "Oh, I know where this is going."
I said, "Do you think I'm going to talk to you about spiritual things?" And he said, "Yes," so I asked him, "Do you have any spiritual beliefs?" He answered, "Yes".
Of course I couldn't leave it at that, so I asked, "Do you mind if I ask what they are?" and he said, "Just my own private ones." It was obvious, even though he was being very polite and pleasant, that he wasn't about to open up to me, so I gave him the Smartcard and thanked him for his time.
After I walked to the other side of the fountain, I saw him reading the card intently. Then a few minutes later, Tony walked up and commented on the fact that he saw the man sitting on the fountain reading a Smartcard. The writing on the card is only a paragraph long, so he must have been reading it a second time.
Even though that contact didn't seem very profitable in our eyes, God could have been speaking to that man's heart in mighty ways. We don't know how many of the seeds we sow will sprout into believing faith! So go out and sow those seeds!
August 1, 2007
An Evening at the Mall
We had five adults, two teens and three children at the mall this evening. It was an awesome night to be there. Lisa made a comment about there being so many potential people to talk to this evening.
I talked with three teen girls in the woman's restroom while my oldest played with a stall door beside us. That was really awesome because one had a 'problem' with, as she said, "God destroying cities full of homosexuals and then turning a woman into stone because she turned around." I have just been reading Genesis so I was able to explain it to her truthfully and it then seemed to make sense to her. We talked about creation (painting is proof that there is a painter - creation is proof that there is a creator) and one girl said that even if she did believe in God, her sins were too great. I was able to tell her that that wasn't the truth. It was AWESOME!
I talked with another lady (just asked questions about her beliefs and then gave her a tract) while our children played in the play area. Then gave out a couple tracts to other parents. Then, while I was standing with our group 'debriefing' my sister-in-law's high school friend who I've only met a few times walked by. We recognized each other and (this is totally of the Lord) I remembered her name and said, "You're such-and-such!" I talked with her and her boyfriend for about thirty minutes but never gave them the gospel. Their mouths were never stopped by the Law (see Romans) and they had a lot of lies they were believing about the Bible. I kept telling them to get a copy of The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. It was good and it couldn't have been a coincidence that we talked! It was AWESOME! Have I said that already?
As I was leaving the mall, I handed my last tract on me to a very tough looking teen who was with his female friends in a shoe store. Then I turned around and knocked over a stack of shoe boxes. Very embarrassing but I'd like to think I handled it okay! :c)
I can't wait for Matt to post because God has been working a miracle in his heart since the 4th of July when we were at the Freedom Festival.
-Sarah
I talked with three teen girls in the woman's restroom while my oldest played with a stall door beside us. That was really awesome because one had a 'problem' with, as she said, "God destroying cities full of homosexuals and then turning a woman into stone because she turned around." I have just been reading Genesis so I was able to explain it to her truthfully and it then seemed to make sense to her. We talked about creation (painting is proof that there is a painter - creation is proof that there is a creator) and one girl said that even if she did believe in God, her sins were too great. I was able to tell her that that wasn't the truth. It was AWESOME!
I talked with another lady (just asked questions about her beliefs and then gave her a tract) while our children played in the play area. Then gave out a couple tracts to other parents. Then, while I was standing with our group 'debriefing' my sister-in-law's high school friend who I've only met a few times walked by. We recognized each other and (this is totally of the Lord) I remembered her name and said, "You're such-and-such!" I talked with her and her boyfriend for about thirty minutes but never gave them the gospel. Their mouths were never stopped by the Law (see Romans) and they had a lot of lies they were believing about the Bible. I kept telling them to get a copy of The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. It was good and it couldn't have been a coincidence that we talked! It was AWESOME! Have I said that already?
As I was leaving the mall, I handed my last tract on me to a very tough looking teen who was with his female friends in a shoe store. Then I turned around and knocked over a stack of shoe boxes. Very embarrassing but I'd like to think I handled it okay! :c)
I can't wait for Matt to post because God has been working a miracle in his heart since the 4th of July when we were at the Freedom Festival.
-Sarah
Running Errands
Here is what I'm curious about... How do I go about my day as a stay-at-home mom with three children, ages three and younger, and still be a witness for Christ Jesus? So, today I was extra aware of opportunities around me when I went to an orthodontist (I used to have buck teeth and they are moving back again - yicks!) appointment, Walmart for diapers/photos and the Post Office for stamps. Here is what happened...
Dr. Orthodontist
Yicks, I was scared to talk with my orthodontist! I was sure praying hard! I thought about what I was going to say ahead of time but when I was sitting in the chair (my three children where at my feet reading books) I really didn't think I was going to do it. It is a miracle to me that I said anything at all so God must have really wanted him to hear what I was planning on saying!!! I said, "You've been doing this for so long in the same location that each day must just run into the next. You probably don't even remember specific days because of that." [talking] Then I said, "Well, I'm going to ask you a question now that you've probably never been asked before so you'll probably remember this day." [talking about being asked a lot of strange questions]
So, I asked, "When we die, what do you think is on the other side?" I couldn't believe I was asking him this... It was all very surreal. I was really scared. I went on to ask him, "How do you get to this place called Heaven [that you hope is there]?" He said something about living a good life and asked me if I have [lived a good life]. I said, "No." Then, and this is really interesting to me, he said something (kind of mumbling) to the effect of me knowing how to get there (remember, I've only asked questions) and when I questioned what he meant he said something like, "You know (like I really did know),... Jesus." Then it was time to go so I handed him the good person cartoon tract and he firmly and up-beat"ly" said that he would read it. I left more of the same tracts with the girls in the office as I was leaving and they thanked me.
Wally World
So, off to the "world of wally" for diapers and to pick up my photo order. As we were getting out of the van, two people were getting into their van next to us so I handed the lady a good person cartoon tract by asking, "Did you get one of these yet?" She said, "No [I didn't]. Thank you." Painless.
I handed the photo guy (who also checked me out) a billion dollar bill and said, "Here's a tip. There is a billion dollar question on the back." Pretty painless and a seed was planted even with three children in tow.
As we were leaving, I handed the door lady a good person cartoon tract and said, "I always walk by you and wanted to give this to you. It probably gets boring standing here all day so this will give you something to read." She was very positive and thanked me.
Post Office (I can't think of a cute heading - haha)
First, I put a "Pope Collectible" tract on the car next to mine. Once inside I left a God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life tract on the counter for customers to get their stuff together. I bought my stamps (and my oldest bought a little mail truck) and left a Smart Card with the mail man by saying, "Here is something fun for you to do when you have a break." As I turned around I saw a man looking down at the Wonderful Plan tract I had left on the counter but even though he looked like he wanted to pick it up, we were all watching him so he didn't. I felt bad about that and regretted not handing him one.
As I walked out the door I handed another man a Wonderful Plan tract (I was running out of tracts - I usually save these for specific types of people but I trust that God works these things out) by saying, "Sir, did you get one of these?" Easy. Then I got the children in the car and decided to leave a Smart Card on the vehicle next to mine (an old beat up Bug). As I was backing away, I saw that the Bug belonged to the man who was looking at the Wonderful Plan tract I had left on the counter. The one who I regretted not giving a tract to! Isn't that awesome!?
What I Learned Today
First, I realized that it isn't a coincidence when we hand someone a tract or talk to them. If God knows (and He does) that we will hand someone a tract when we are at "such-and-such a place" then I believe that He would make sure that the right people are at that location to receive the tract or to be talked with.
Second, besides talking with my orthodontist, it was easy and it didn't take any more time than if I hadn't done anything. But, here is what is amazing (and this is why we all need to be out there doing this stuff all the time - me included!)... At least eleven seeds of faith were planted today that would not have been if I had chosen to not try this out! And, I was able to do it with three children in tow.
Dr. Orthodontist
Yicks, I was scared to talk with my orthodontist! I was sure praying hard! I thought about what I was going to say ahead of time but when I was sitting in the chair (my three children where at my feet reading books) I really didn't think I was going to do it. It is a miracle to me that I said anything at all so God must have really wanted him to hear what I was planning on saying!!! I said, "You've been doing this for so long in the same location that each day must just run into the next. You probably don't even remember specific days because of that." [talking] Then I said, "Well, I'm going to ask you a question now that you've probably never been asked before so you'll probably remember this day." [talking about being asked a lot of strange questions]
So, I asked, "When we die, what do you think is on the other side?" I couldn't believe I was asking him this... It was all very surreal. I was really scared. I went on to ask him, "How do you get to this place called Heaven [that you hope is there]?" He said something about living a good life and asked me if I have [lived a good life]. I said, "No." Then, and this is really interesting to me, he said something (kind of mumbling) to the effect of me knowing how to get there (remember, I've only asked questions) and when I questioned what he meant he said something like, "You know (like I really did know),... Jesus." Then it was time to go so I handed him the good person cartoon tract and he firmly and up-beat"ly" said that he would read it. I left more of the same tracts with the girls in the office as I was leaving and they thanked me.
Wally World
So, off to the "world of wally" for diapers and to pick up my photo order. As we were getting out of the van, two people were getting into their van next to us so I handed the lady a good person cartoon tract by asking, "Did you get one of these yet?" She said, "No [I didn't]. Thank you." Painless.
I handed the photo guy (who also checked me out) a billion dollar bill and said, "Here's a tip. There is a billion dollar question on the back." Pretty painless and a seed was planted even with three children in tow.
As we were leaving, I handed the door lady a good person cartoon tract and said, "I always walk by you and wanted to give this to you. It probably gets boring standing here all day so this will give you something to read." She was very positive and thanked me.
Post Office (I can't think of a cute heading - haha)
First, I put a "Pope Collectible" tract on the car next to mine. Once inside I left a God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life tract on the counter for customers to get their stuff together. I bought my stamps (and my oldest bought a little mail truck) and left a Smart Card with the mail man by saying, "Here is something fun for you to do when you have a break." As I turned around I saw a man looking down at the Wonderful Plan tract I had left on the counter but even though he looked like he wanted to pick it up, we were all watching him so he didn't. I felt bad about that and regretted not handing him one.
As I walked out the door I handed another man a Wonderful Plan tract (I was running out of tracts - I usually save these for specific types of people but I trust that God works these things out) by saying, "Sir, did you get one of these?" Easy. Then I got the children in the car and decided to leave a Smart Card on the vehicle next to mine (an old beat up Bug). As I was backing away, I saw that the Bug belonged to the man who was looking at the Wonderful Plan tract I had left on the counter. The one who I regretted not giving a tract to! Isn't that awesome!?
What I Learned Today
First, I realized that it isn't a coincidence when we hand someone a tract or talk to them. If God knows (and He does) that we will hand someone a tract when we are at "such-and-such a place" then I believe that He would make sure that the right people are at that location to receive the tract or to be talked with.
Second, besides talking with my orthodontist, it was easy and it didn't take any more time than if I hadn't done anything. But, here is what is amazing (and this is why we all need to be out there doing this stuff all the time - me included!)... At least eleven seeds of faith were planted today that would not have been if I had chosen to not try this out! And, I was able to do it with three children in tow.
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith,
so that you will have a full understanding
of every good thing we have in Christ.
Philemon 1:6
July 31, 2007
Telemarketer
Because I have children, I can't "go out" witnessing as easily as I could if I didn't have children. But, I know that it is the Lord's will for my life to have children and I also know it is His will for me to share my faith so the two must be able to work hand-in-hand. During prayer earlier this afternoon, I asked Jesus to have someone call my house if He wanted me to talk to anyone today. Because of being on the Do Not Call list, I wasn't expecting anyone to call.
I got a call at about 4:30 p.m. from a young woman taking a bank survey. I couldn't hear her well at all. It sounded like she was whispering through a tunnel. Wonderful, I thought. How was this going to work? But, I said, "Sure, I'll take the 4 minute survey." That gave me time to get a feel for her voice so I could understand her a bit better.
When she was done with the survey, I asked her, "Can I ask you a question?"
Her, "Sure."
"If you were to die tonight, are you 100% sure you would go to Heaven?"
"No, I'm not."
"Did you say 'No, I'm not?" (Remember, I can barely hear her!)
"Yes, I did."
"Well, would you consider yourself to be a good person?"
"Yes."
[talking]
"Okay, so by your own admission, you are a lying, thieving, adulterer at heart and if God judges you by His standard on the day of judgement, would you be Innocent or guilty?"
"Guilty."
"Would you be going to Heaven or to Hell?"
"Hell."
"Does that concern you?"
"No."
"Did you say 'no'?"
"Yes."
Me, surprised, "So, you are telling me that if you died tonight, that you are not concerned that you would be going to hell?"
So, here is where I went wrong. I went on to start telling her about the Good News - Jesus - because I felt like I didn't want her to not hear it. But, I think God gave me this experience for learning. I think I understand the not throwing pearls to pigs thing better now. Because, she didn't want to hear about Jesus (she said she had to go) and I felt foolish afterwards giving her the Good News. I should have just stopped when she said she wasn't concerned (Ray Comfort and Mark Cahill, too, I think, tell you to reason with the person - but maybe they mean when the person is angry vs. just not caring).
I should have stopped when she said that it didn't concern her because I then came across as a "crazy religious person" at that point which could be a disservice to her if she writes off the stuff about her sins (instead of being convicted of her sinfulness).
So, the conversation went "well" in the here-and-now sense (I didn't get yelled at) although I think it could have gone badly in the eternal sense - for her at least. Maybe people actually do need to be either pissed off - angry or they need to be weeping at Jesus' feet?????????????? I'm going to search scripture about this. What is the consensus regarding this - what did Jesus do?
-Sarah
I got a call at about 4:30 p.m. from a young woman taking a bank survey. I couldn't hear her well at all. It sounded like she was whispering through a tunnel. Wonderful, I thought. How was this going to work? But, I said, "Sure, I'll take the 4 minute survey." That gave me time to get a feel for her voice so I could understand her a bit better.
When she was done with the survey, I asked her, "Can I ask you a question?"
Her, "Sure."
"If you were to die tonight, are you 100% sure you would go to Heaven?"
"No, I'm not."
"Did you say 'No, I'm not?" (Remember, I can barely hear her!)
"Yes, I did."
"Well, would you consider yourself to be a good person?"
"Yes."
[talking]
"Okay, so by your own admission, you are a lying, thieving, adulterer at heart and if God judges you by His standard on the day of judgement, would you be Innocent or guilty?"
"Guilty."
"Would you be going to Heaven or to Hell?"
"Hell."
"Does that concern you?"
"No."
"Did you say 'no'?"
"Yes."
Me, surprised, "So, you are telling me that if you died tonight, that you are not concerned that you would be going to hell?"
So, here is where I went wrong. I went on to start telling her about the Good News - Jesus - because I felt like I didn't want her to not hear it. But, I think God gave me this experience for learning. I think I understand the not throwing pearls to pigs thing better now. Because, she didn't want to hear about Jesus (she said she had to go) and I felt foolish afterwards giving her the Good News. I should have just stopped when she said she wasn't concerned (Ray Comfort and Mark Cahill, too, I think, tell you to reason with the person - but maybe they mean when the person is angry vs. just not caring).
I should have stopped when she said that it didn't concern her because I then came across as a "crazy religious person" at that point which could be a disservice to her if she writes off the stuff about her sins (instead of being convicted of her sinfulness).
So, the conversation went "well" in the here-and-now sense (I didn't get yelled at) although I think it could have gone badly in the eternal sense - for her at least. Maybe people actually do need to be either pissed off - angry or they need to be weeping at Jesus' feet?????????????? I'm going to search scripture about this. What is the consensus regarding this - what did Jesus do?
-Sarah
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