Tag Archives: Evangelism

12.7.10 The Fifth Gospel

I heard someone say, “There are five gospels, and four of them no one reads.  The fifth one read by many is YOU.”  During this Christmas season, I find myself asking, “What gospel are others reading in me?”  We all know people in our circles of influence who are unchurched and may not even be hearing the Christmas story, so how do we help them experience and not just hear about the Christ of Christmas?  

I have been pondering this while enjoying the Christmas messages during this Advent season.   I love hearing sermons at this time of year to see how pastors share the same, unchanging story of the virgin birth of Jesus and focus different characters in the story in fresh, new ways.  I found myself with a similar challenge as I was preparing the Sunday school lesson on John 1:1-14 last week, but the Spirit did not disappoint me.   John chooses to introduce the Christmas story by sharing that Christ dwelt above us (John 1: 1-3) before He came to dwell among us (John 1:14) as the God-man, i.e.  being  fully God and fully human.  This is what we call in the Christianese language the incarnation of Christ.  Christ dwelling among us by entering the world as a baby is what we celebrate during the Christmas season.  So it begged the question, “What happened after Christ dwelled among us?” 

If we get out our binoculars and look ahead to see how the Christmas story unfolds, we will see that  Christ did not come to dwell among us just to hang out with us as His creation, but rather  to hang on a cross as a sacrifice for His creation.  He came to pay the penalty of our sins so that those of us who believe that Jesus is the Son of God could be reconciled to God (I Pet 3:18) and enjoy the free gift of eternal life that comes with our profession of faith in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation (I John 5:11-13).  Once Jesus accomplished the mission of being the perfect sacrifice for our sins by shedding His blood on the cross, He was resurrected.   Between the time He was resurrected from the dead and His ascension back to Heaven, He made sure to meet with His disciples to prepare them for the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).  The gift of the Holy Spirit is sealed within all believers the moment we declare our faith and trust in Christ for our salvation.  

So here is how Christmas has a brand new energy that is being experienced in a fresh and powerful way for me, and I hope for you as well.  Christ originally dwelt above us, then came down to dwell among us, and now dwells within His believers.  I have never attached the indwelling of Christ in me to the Christmas message, but this whole theme of incarnation just kept blossoming.  John 14:10(b) quotes Jesus, “…it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”  Jesus was telling Philip that God the Father was indwelling Him.  Christ was modeling how to live in our earthly bodies with the power and presence of the living God within us.  Now that Christ has ascended to Heaven and no longer has an earthly body, Christ is looking for bodies to indwell, and that is you and me!  (You may be yawning at this point and needing a seventh inning stretch here, but my spiritual adrenaline is rushing!)  I have known for years that Christ lives in me.  Galatians 2:20(a) says, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”  It absolutely excites me to think that when Christ was in human form, His Father dwelled in him, and now that we are in our own bodies, Christ chooses to dwell in us.  As believers, we are the “incarnation” of Christ.  Since Christ parted with his earthly body, He is counting on our hands to be His hands.  He desires for our feet to be His feet, and our mouth to be His mouthpiece.  He wants to permeate every part of our being.  If you would like some inspiration around this idea through music, I invite you to listen to a beautiful benediction piece by John Rutter called “God be in my Head” that can be offered as a prayer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPQcRmN6hvg). 

Since there are people who have never read the four gospels, may we be the hands and feet of Christ as we go through this Christmas season to be the “fifth gospel” that draws people closer to Christ.  The power of the CHRISTmas story is living and dwelling in us!  If people can see Christ in us, then from the vantage point of Christ who is celebrating His birthday,  I can only imagine that He is having a very Merry Christmas indeed!  You have a very Merry Christmas as well!  

Blessings,

Lee Ann

10.4.10 Tug of War

Do you remember as a kid playing Tug of War?  Do you remember the sandpit, the rope with the red ribbon in the middle, and the goal line that the red ribbon had to cross to declare a victory?  It was always a test of not just strength, but also endurance. Teams could have comparable strength on both sides of the rope, but the team that endured the longest in the tug of war usually won.  The winning team was the one whose arms had rope burn and were ready to drop off from extreme fatigue.

This word picture came to mind after a dear friend sent me spiritual encouragement.  The Scripture was Ephesians 6:18 that says, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”  Those who are familiar with Scripture know this verse follows the well known admonition by Paul for each of us to put on the full spiritual armor of God, and the reason he tells us to do this is because Eph 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against  flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  We’re obviously up against the evil one and his demons!   Thus, it’s no surprise that Paul commands us to “be alert and keep on praying for all of the saints”.  But I will also tell you that we should  be praying for lost souls too. 

The reality of spiritual warfare reminds me that there is a major tug of war for souls.  Each of us can probably identify family members, friends, colleagues, etc, who do not know the Lord and need us to pray for them.   The problem is I am not sure how many of us are consistently taking our place on the rope to ask the Lord’s assistance to reach a lost soul.  I even wonder if some us are so wrapped up in ourselves and enjoy our gift of salvation that we have walked away from the rope?  Do we have the heart of God that breaks knowing that a loved one is going to face a Christless eternity unless they turn their heart over to Jesus? 

I am a huge believer in the power of prayer.  I believe this tug of war can be won for lost souls if we would just be willing to take our place on the rope and start praying for them.  There is no question that it takes spiritual energy and time to get on our knees.  There will be times as we persist that we are tempted in our discouragement to walk away from the rope because our red ribbon hasn’t moved in years.  On the other hand, if ALL believers made it a priority to start praying for lost family members and friends on a consistent basis, my bet would be that we would see many more victories, and it would motivate us to pray even more.  

Scripture shows that  Jesus was a soul-winner.  Christ came to Earth to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10).  In John 17:18 he prayed to his Father that just as God had sent him into the world, he is now sending us.  In Acts 2:8 we see recorded Jesus’ last word to his disciples before ascending into heaven saying “you will be my witnesses”.    He trained his disciples to be soul-winners.  He trusted us so much with the gospel message that he commanded us to “go and make disciples…” and promised to be with us on the journey (Matt 28:16-20). 

This tug of war is not a game to God.  For each engagement at the rope, for every time the red ribbon comes across the goal line, it means that a lost soul becomes a child of God and crosses over from death into eternal life.  God was so invested in this tug of war that He sent Jesus incarnate to die on a cross and pay the penalty of our sins with His blood.  Jesus was clearly about winning the lost, and we should be too.  He is not willing that anyone would perish, but that all would turn to Him with prayers of repentance (2 Peter 3:9).   Let’s be faithful prayer warriors and take advantage of the fact that “Christ who is in us is greater than he who is in the world” (I John 4:4) is our anchor at the end of the rope.

It’s time to get our knee pads and assume our positions at the rope.  This tug of war is real.  We have family and friends who deserve our spiritual energy to reach out to them with prayer.  NEVER GIVE UP.  We need prayer warriors to stay on the rope for however long it takes to win.  See you at the rope!

Blessings,

Lee Ann

12.13.09 He’s Got the Whole World Wide Web in His Hands

What in the world would we do without the internet?  Technology is such an amazing thing, and I marvel at the many applications we have available to us that allow us to communicate with anyone all over the world with the click of a “send” button through a computer or a mobil phone.   Today,  the internet allowed me to exercise what I love the most: sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others who are seeking Him and trying to understand who He is and what He has already done for all of us.

Because of the power of technology, and because I am in transition having just relocated to Austin 2.5 months ago without a small group to go to just yet, I have been going online over the last month and watching Andy Stanley preach “live” from Atlanta, GA, from 5-6pm CST, and then processing his sermon via the chat room with about an average of 25 participants.  I have done this over the last month, and I have been greatly energized by the chatting that follows a sermon.  I am reminded on a weekly basis that people are hungry to understand what is really missing in their life and how to fill that void.  Each time I have participated, I see the most genuine questions being asked.  Today the questions we dealt with from someone signed in as “truthseeker” were:

1. What is the atonement theory all about?

2. Why couldn’t God just forgive us our sins without having to send Christ?

3. Why is it that Jesus is the only way to God?

4. Isn’t sin just “missing the mark”?  If yes, why can’t God put up with a little imperfection?

Several of us stayed in the chat room until 7:30 just processing some very heartfelt questions with this one individual because it was important to him, and he needed the support.

I signed off completely energized by this experience as I have each time I have gone to the chat room.  I believe God has given me a gift to share God’s word with people who are skeptics, genuine seekers, or anyone who is just wanting to know an answer to a specific question without feeling strong-armed or pressured.  I was reminded that God can use me over the internet as well as face to face with individuals. 

As we continue to go through the Christmas season, I can’t help but wonder how many FB friends are deep down inside questioning:

The reality of God, or

The reality of His deep love for you, or

His ability to forgive you of your past failings, or

His real interest in having a personal love relationship with you, or

His perceived “absence” in the midst of suffering or loss of a loved one

Does He really hear my prayers? 

These are just starter questions, and you may have many more, but I want to invite you to “attend” Andy Stanley’s worship service to hear him share God’s Word.  He is NOT boring.  In fact, he is very engaging.  I feel like I am at his kitchen table having a cup of coffee with him when I listen to him.  The link is at http://www.northpointonline.tv/  He comes on every Sunday from 5-6pm CST.  I encourage you to go to the chat room following his sermon and create a username that is anonymous (if that is important to you), e.g. abc123, Fred Flintstone, or whatever.  Ask your hard questions.  There are many of us who want to see you discover your purpose as to why God put you on this Earth in the first place!  Since God is in everything and is in control of everything,  I want to assure you that He really does have the whole world wide web in His hands.  That means that if you are genuinely seeking Him, He will meet you wherever it is safest for you to meet Him.  If you want to meet Him through the internet, He has your URL address and will join you there.  He assures us in His word that “if anyone seeks me, he shall find me.” (1 Chronicles 28:9; 2 Chronicles 15:2; Jeremiah 29:13)

For my Kansas friends (for that matter any of my friends no matter where you live), I would also point you to a pastor and friend based in Hutchinson, KS, Andy Addis.   You may catch him leading a live bible study on Wednesday nights at 7:00pm at http://live.crosspointnow.net/live.php.   You may also hear his sermons at http://www.crosseyedlife.com/   and click “This Week’s Teaching” in the right hand column.  You will find him to be very engaging and far from boring!

My point is that the internet now opens a door for anyone who is seeking God to easily connect with others and safely explore Christianity without the intimidation of showing up at a church building where you don’t know anyone.  I would also like to invite anyone who has questions to feel free to ask me if you feel safe enough to do so.  You have my personal email address and phone number in my contact information.  I would consider it a privilege to even dialogue with you.  In the meantime, please take advantage of the technology.  It is my prayer that this Christmas season you will personally discover Christ in CHRISTmas.  Jesus is asking you to “ADD” Him as your friend.  Please “CONFIRM”.

Blessings,

Lee Ann

8.9.09 Soup Kitchen – I’m “In”

It was another Saturday afternoon from 4-5pm that my friend Barb and I showed up at the Soup Kitchen to continue to build our friendships with those in need.   No sooner did I step out of my car when Chad who has been filling me in on his life story couldn’t wait to give me an update.  We probably stood outside listening to his update for the first 10-15 minutes of our visit.  I can’t begin to tell you how touched I am by that.  He’s like all of us.  We all want a safe person we can talk to and know that the person we are talking to actually cares about our life and well being.

Once Chad had filled us in on the latest changes, we proceeded indoors to find our place at the table to continue our friendships with Bessie, Sonya, Judy, Jaz, and Tony.  Bessie with a few chuckles lovingly confronted us and asked, “Where have you been?” (I was gone playing in a golf tournament last weekend, but she was gone the two Saturdays prior.)  I bantered back and said, “What do you mean?  Where have you been?  I have only been gone once!”  She just smiled and couldn’t wait to share that her cataract surgery went well and could see so much better.  It was such a relief to have that behind her.

Celebrating Bessie's Birthday at IHOP

The last 15 minutes of my time with these dear people was taking alot of teasing from Bessie and her attempt to figure out my age because of my white hair.  She suggested I was 55 (I must say that was discouraging!) When I told her I was only 48, she took a much longer, harder look with her better eyes and decided I didn’t look as old as 55.  For those who know me well, you know I just had to give her a little bit of grief for it!  Once we got our ages established, she just looked at me and Barb and said, “You are really nice. Are you going to be here next Saturday?”  I sat there stunned and realized that after intermingling with these folks week after week that I was accepted as part of their community.  I’m “in”!  Life is good.  They haven’t asked me for a thing.  They just appreciate anyone who cares and who is “nice”.  I think that is what the Lord requires of us as we build relationships with others.  Genuinely care about others and be nice (treat others as you would want to be treated).  Pretty basic, huh?

Blessings,

Lee Ann

6.28.09 Life Nuggets from the Soup Kitchen

In-vis-i-ble (adj): 1. Not visible; that cannot be seen  2. Out of sight; not apparent  3. Too small or too faint to be seen; imperceptible; indistinct  4. Not publicized; kept hidden

Let me tell you where I am headed with the word “invisible”.  How many of us have come to a stop at a signal light where a poor person is holding a sign that says, “homeless-will work for food” and not even give eye contact to him or her?  How many of us when we are among crowds of people tend to avoid people who don’t look like us and don’t seem to fit our perceived socioeconomic class?  How many of us do that even inside the four walls of our own churches? 

People feel invisible when we act like they really don’t exist.  They feel invisible when we don’t even make eye contact with them.  They feel invisible when there is an impending encounter and we work hard to make sure an encounter doesn’t happen.  They feel invisible when we are socializing in a group situation and we don’t bother to engage them.  When the unspoken message to the underprivileged is that they are “invisible”, it is no wonder they have learned over the years to not even attempt eye contact with us.   

It has been about a month and a half that I have had the weekly opportunity to connect with the poor at the Soup Kitchen.  The joy of taking the time to sit with the poor is that they know they are not invisible at the Soup Kitchen.  These are precious creations of God who are loved just as much as any person God has created.  They know that they can be open, share their stories, get good eye contact, and build their friendships with others with similar struggles.  I am pleasantly surprised that they are letting me be a part of their community and are sharing their stories with me. 

As I continue to reflect on my experiences at the Soup Kitchen, I am finding myself challenged with whether I am treating anyone in my circle of influence as “invisible”.  Who am I avoiding because conversation with them is hard or they make me uncomfortable?  Who do I not make eye contact with?  It is my prayer that I am not ignoring the very people God has purposely placed in my circle of influence.  He has placed them in my circle for a reason, and it is up to me to make sure I am building bridges to them for the cause of Christ.

Blessings,

Lee Ann