The Blessing of conversation

Greetings beloved:

I wanted to share a brief conversation I had with a man at 7-11 i frequently talk to. I was picking up some water and snacks after work, and as I was checking out, Haman, the 7-11 employee told me that the store owner had died... well, what he really said was.. the store owner had retired. after a bit of a laugh, Haman stated" well I guess we all die... me,you.." I told him "yep, just gotta know where your going, that's the important thing" He looked at me and said, where are you going? I said "to heaven" he said "no,theres no heaven or hell" I said that there was, and he asked my how did I know? I told him it says so in the Bible, he asked my who wrote the bible, I told him man did, inspired by God, he told me that there was no proof that it was God inspired, and I told him that there was no proof it wasn't inspired by God! We were at a potential stalemate.. This is usually where you can get into a "rabbit trail" was it, or wasn't it? proof or no proof? but if you are going from the natural to the spiritual, you can direct the conversation into a fact finding mission. How did he come to that opinion,has he ever read the bible? As you are finding more about how he came to his conclusion, you will find many opportunities to clarify the truth about these issues. It is important to know biblical apologetics if you are going to defend your position in these conversations, but far more importantly, it is a chance to share the Law and Gospel! This command "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." Mark 16:15 nasb is our command.. so don't caught up in the apologetics, but it is repentance and faith in Jesus Christ that saves! Natural to the Spiritual, Law to the proud, grace to the humble!

Keep up the good work of the Kingdom!

Until the nets are full, and the harvest done!

The Teaching Moment

Greetings Beloved.... It's been awhile and I just wanted to share with you a very special teaching moment that happened today with my three and a half year old son Joseph. We were heading to our local market to get some items and Joe was going to go to the "machines" with his two quarters (the ones that are always at the entrance of the store) We saw these two folks sitting outside the store and as we parked, I got Joe out of his car seat, grabbed my bible and thumbed through it, all the while trying to find a passage to read to them. As I got to the book of Ephesians, I stopped on Chapter 5. We headed to them, Introduced ourselves to this couple, and I started reading this passage to them... They were quiet and very engaged, and when I finished I was able to share the need for repentance and faith in Jesus Christ to them. They were so thankful, then the lady pulled out a well worn copy of "our daily bread" and proceeded to tell me how she had just read a passage to her man, and that she had some questions on 1 Corinthians 1:3-11. I was blessed to be able to read to them and help them to understand some background of these passages. Joe took out his coins and we gave them to the couple,"not much" I said..but they were so thankful even for a few coins (they didn't know it was machine money, but we did!) How does this relate to evangelism... Here's the point... I've been weak and lazy about sharing my faith lately ... always ready to share when the opportunity arises, but not heading out for the sole purpose of sharing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today I was not going to let this day go by without sharing God's Word, and returning to regularly sharing the Gospel and open air preaching! It's not easy to do beloved, it's scary, and it's uncomfortable true, but think about how scary and uncomfortable an eternity in hell will be for the unrepentant? How many have passed within your voice...and you refused to "snatch them from the fire"

Jude 1:23 "save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh."

Why, brothers and sisters..because of fear... fear of what... rejection? Did not our Savior face rejection and tell us we shall do so too?

Luke 6:22"Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man."

I am guilty of letting this "uncircumcised Philistine" called fear make me cower and become useless for the Kingdom of God... But dear ones, today, I started choosing the best round stones I could find, fitting them in the sling of Gods Word, and I am running towards the battle, not in armor, but in the strength of our Lord God Almighty. With just a sling and a stone!

May the Lord bless you, and strengthen you, as you prepare for battle.

Oh and the teaching moment.... Joe got to share Gods word, give, and engage in the battle for men's souls.. a teaching moment indeed!

Until all the harvest is done and the enemy has fallen at the feet of Christ!

Robert

Pray,Plant,Grow,Give..SHARE

Dear Beloved:

I wanted to give you an opportunity to share in our garden Ministry and let you know how rich of an evangelistic opportunity is afforded by something as simple as a garden. We started the Neighborhood Bible Church community garden last October, and since then, we have had so many opportunities to share the Gospel through giving out fresh,organic vegetables grown on our property. I have been so blessed to give out these vegetables, and in turn have had the opportunity to share from the "natural" to the Spiritual in many of our conversations. This is the point, you can take a simple idea, like sharing vegetables and use it as a "ice breaker" to get conversation started. Then as you are sharing the "vegetable" stories, you can move from the natural to the spiritual. There are so many analogies you can make when it comes to a Garden, like tilling the soil and planting a seed... Which is what we are doing when we share the law and Gospel. The Law tills the soil of the heart and gets the person thinking of their sin, and then the Gospel shows how God is merciful to have provided us Salvation through the shed blood of His precious Son Jesus. Watering the plants, How without constant "watering" of His Word, we will wither and die, just like plants. How a small and simple seed, will grow to feed many. This how the Lord uses us. He is so great and we are so small in comparison, yet He uses us to further HIS kingdom, He doesn't need to, but He does! Praise the Lord! How one plant produces many seed, and those plants produce even more seed, and on and on. This is how the Gospel is spread, we tell one person, then they tell another, then pretty soon, more and more people are sharing the Gospel and their faith. From that one seed, comes an abundance of fruit! Wow... I could go on and on, but you get the point. The Golden thread that runs through all of these conversations is Christ and Him crucified. We must always preach Jesus and His salvation, through His death and resurrection. He is the one who saves, He is the one who grows, He is the one who takes the seed of His Gospel and grows it in the hearts of men. Praise the Lord of the harvest, Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." Matt 9:38nasb

Until the last grain is harvested!

Robert