Ridgell's Originals

 Luke 15 is the great chapter on bringing lost sheep home.  Or a lost son.  Or a lost coin.  Lost sheep evangelism is gaining traction in lots of churches.  It matters.  

So here are few suggestions for bringing the lost sheep home.

Pray for lost sheep.  All great ministry movements start with prayer.  Ask God to bring you into contact with lost sheep.  To help you see them.  To give you words to say.

Look for lost sheep.  When you get into Jesus conversations, always ask about life stories.  Even if you know they are not faithful Christians.  Ask if they grow up going to church, or if their family was religious.  When they start talking, you may find out they were once active believers.  Lost sheep.

Develop relationships.  Become friends.  Do some things together.  Offer to pray for them about life issues.  Show up at their family weddings and funerals.  Invite them to church.  

Talk to them.  If they talk about why they left church, answer appropriately.  If it was a sin issue, speak to it out of Scripture.  If they wondered away, talk about forgiveness, grace, and fellowship.  If they were hurt by church or Christians, be careful.  You do not have to agree and you do not have to defend the church.  Maybe an apology is in order.  Talk about how Jesus matters in your life.  

Throw a party when they come home.  Have a celebration meal.  Or bake a coming home cake.  When you announce their coming home, give the standing ovation.  Rejoice like the angels.

You will of course think of many more things to do in bringing lost sheep home.  Try them.  

After all, bringing lost sheep home is the heart of Jesus.

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 0 comments

 People that have much should give to those who have little.  

As a Christian, I agree with that.

So does that affect how one should vote?  People sometimes tell me I have to support certain candidates because they and their policies would give to the poor. 

Sounds good but I don't believe it.  Here are a few reasons why.

My giving as a Christian is from the heart as a conviction based on following Jesus.  Government programs are tax based.  Not gifts of love or freely given.

I believe my helping the poor should be for the glory of God, not the government.

I prefer to personally give to the poor so I can give God the glory and so perhaps I can share the good news of Jesus.

I can use my resources personally to buy food, or help with housing, or medical bills.  so much more direct and efficient than government programs.  

Money to the government may be used to support what I believe to be programs in opposition to what I read in my Bible.  Even tho they are done in the name of helping the poor.

Do not misunderstand... I pay my taxes.  No more than I have to, but every penny I should.  

Just do not try and convince me that it is my Christian responsibility to support political parties to fulfill that responsibility.

But it i sfair to remind me that I have to continue the commitment and action to do it personally.

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 2 comments

 I spend a lot of time talking about what to do to reach the lost.  Sometimes, I hear people suggesting things that may be helpful but are not critical.  And in fact, may even be an obstacle.  So here are five things I do not think are critical to reaching the lost.

Dynamic Preachers and preaching.  I like great communicators.  I really like great preachers.  But there are not many of those.  So if you think you have to have great preaching to reach the lost, you are probably not going to do much evangelism.  The point is for them to hear Jesus.  To hear about Jesus.  This is not to excuse bad preaching, but it is to remember that great preachers are not the key to reaching the lost.  Can be but don't have to be.

Exciting worship.  You define that how you want but we are not competing for attention.  The point of worship is God, not us.  So worrying about your singing may not be the key to reaching the lost.  Authentic, heartfelt worship of God is powerful.  And is enough.  If your worship is exciting because of God then that is good.  But authentic is best.  

Large crowds.  Lots of people worshipping and coming to Jesus is great.  But small groups are sometimes much more effective avenues to share our faith.

The right program or technique.  There isn't one.  I am amazed at how churches decide not to have me come talk about evangelism when they realize I don't a program or technique to teach.  It is really easy to be overtrained and under-evangelized.  Just start talking about Jesus.  Start inviting everyone to come worship.  Just do.

a preacher, church, or leaders committed to evangelism.  Of course it is better to have that kind of support and leadership.  and frankly, if your church leadership is not supporting, encouraging, doing evangelism they are not much of a leadership.  But if they are not, do it anyway.  They can't stop you from talking about Jesus and God is going to bless you.  If they do try to stop you, go find another church to worship with or meet in your home.

Yes, I realize I may be too simplistic.  Yes I know that I have done a lot of evangelism with dynamic preaching, exciting worship, and large crowds.  And they were not the key.

Tell people about Jesus.  Be real.  Invite them into the Jesus journey.

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 1 comments

 This is a follow-up to a question I got after the post on suicide and euthanasia.   The question had to do with capital punishment and how that relates to the Christian belief that life is sacred.

I have two thoughts on that.

I do believe life is sacred and is taught all thru Scripture.  So it would be very difficult for me as a Christian to execute someone.  Or even to vote on a jury for the death penalty.  Too much hoping that if they live they might repent.  So I personally in practical terms am against capital punishment.

However...

I can't say it is wrong because of what the Bible teaches in Romans 13.  The government and rulers of this world are instituted by God and we are to submit to their authority.  Governments do not bear the sword in vain.  They are servants of God to carry out His wrath on wrongdoers.  That sounds like capital punishment.

So I have to support the government's right to punish wrongdoers with the sword.

But I will not personally be the one to perform the execution.  

Not sure that is a coherent position.  Not sure I am right.  It is sort of a "right in theory, wrong personally" response.  

But that is how I approach much of life.  What does the Bible say?  How do I live that out?  

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 0 comments

 An assassin took a shot at ex (and possibly future) President Trump.  

Here are a few of my thoughts.

As a Christian I am opposed to violence.  I believe hating people is ungodly.  Life is precious and sacred.

My kingdom is not connected to the United States.  But I do live here.  And my passport says I am a citizen of the US.  

I do not think God protected Trump to save America.  He let Jesus die to save people way before the United States was around.  I don't think God wants Trump dead (or Biden defeated) to save any nation.  God does use use rulers and nations for His purposes.  Not national purposes.  Or our purposes.  His.  And I am not smart enough to know the best President to make it easier to advance the Kingdom.

I do hope this makes people be a little kinder.  A little nicer.

but here's the thing.  Americans need Jesus.  Always have.  Always will.

I am glad trump survived.  I am sad others did not.  It was an evil sin.  

Maybe this will make Donald Trump think about Jesus.  Of course he doesn't know me but I wish I could sit down with him and his family and talk about Jesus.

And with the Bidens.

Or maybe more realistically ... with my neighbor.

About Jesus.

The only thing that really matters.

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 1 comments

 What do you think about euthanasia?  Sitting with a friend on hospice, watching him struggle, talking about Jesus.  Then he asked that question.  

It was still on my mind that night in our Jesus journey class.  And it was at the very end of class when one of our newer Christians asked... is suicide a sin?  It was not an idle question, it was a legitimate question from someone wrestling with a lot of life issues.  

Two conversations in one day about euthanasia and suicide.  One private, one public.  Hard subjects that the church does not always address.  But we need to.  Because even in a class of fifty people, at least 10% of them had lost someone to suicide.  And there were more than one present who had wrestled with it in their own life.  

So here are a few of my thoughts about Jesus and suicide.  And choosing life.  Thoughts I shared with people I love.  God's people.

Suicide/euthanasia is sin.  I believe life is sacred to God.  He created it.  He controls it.  Murder, homicide, suicide, abortion, euthanasia take life.  As a Christian, we protect and honor life.  

Christians sometimes lose focus, get overwhelmed, and end up doing things they never intended to do.  Violence, theft, abuse, take life -- even their own.  Suicide is different in terms of finality and consequences but I don't believe it to be unforgivable.  

We Christians live under the umbrella of God's grace and the blood of Jesus.  A horrible decision, a sinful decision does not invalidate God's grace in our lives.  His blood cleanses us from all sin.  Read I John.

Don't rob God of the purpose He has for you.  God uses us in our weaknesses, in our illness, in our battles.  Suicide stops the purposes God has for your life.

Life is hard.  Satan is real.  The enemy wants to destroy us.  

God is life.  Heaven is real.  We have Kingdom business to do in this world.

Depression, guilt, and shame can lead to really bad decisions, even for faithful Christians.  

Get help.  Pray.  Read your Bible.  Talk to your spiritual family.  Get professional help if needed. Find someone that needs help and help them.    

In that same class were two people that just came thru a hard time.  They survived because they did these things.  Hard things.  But they came thru it.

As a church family, we have to talk about these things. 

Because they are real issues when you live for Jesus in a fallen world. 

# posted by Steve @ 6:03 AM 3 comments

 It is a popular phrase among Christians:  born again.  Sometimes you will even hear Christians debating what that means.  Agreeing that everyone needs to be born again, but having trouble explaining it.  

In the book of 1 Peter, the apostle uses the term born again twice in the first chapter.  In verse 3 talking about being born again into a living hope.  And verse 23 when he says we were born again by the word of God.

Of course Peter would talk about being born again because he spent so much time with Jesus and Jesus talked about being born again.  John 3 has the famous story of Nicodemus and Jesus.  Jesus clearly tells Nicodemus he must be born again to enter the Kingdom of heaven.  Then a second time tells him he must by born again of water and of the Spirit.  There is the explanation of being born again.  Of water and of the Spirit.

Here is Peter's thinking on water and the Spirit.

At the end of I Peter chapter 3, Peter talks about Noah and his family being brought safely through the water.  He then relates that to baptism saving us.  Not by getting dirt off of our bodies but as a way to obtain a clear conscience.  Clearly a literal water baptism to save us from our sins.  Being born again of water.

But what about the Holy Spirit?  It was Peter that preached the famous sermon recorded in Acts 2.  Explaining the Jesus that the people had crucified was in fact Lord and Christ.  When asked about what they could do after such a horrible sin, Peter told them to be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins (clear conscience from our sins) and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Born of the Spirit.

The Bible is always the best explanation of itself.

Peter believed in being born again of water and the Spirit to enter the Kingdom just as Jesus taught.

He clearly links baptism to water and to the Holy Spirit.

Born again/baptized to enter the Kingdom.

That's what Peter taught.

So I do too.

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM 0 comments

 Today is a day when the U.S. celebrates independence.  Freedom.  

So I am thinking about freedom today.  Mostly about being free from fear.  All because of Jesus.

So here are the things I don't have to be afraid of because of Jesus.

Death.  I love life but I am not afraid to die.  Death just means passing from a fallen world that is a mess into a world of no pain or sorrow or tears or sin.  That's a win.

I am not afraid of the election.  I live in a country where the prime leader is not like Jesus.  Policies that do not line up with the Bible. But my allegiance is not to this country/kingdom.  My loyalty is to a bigger and better kingdom.  One where the ruler is perfect and will always do what is best for me.  Always.  My kingdom will last forever.

I don't have to worry about the basic necessities of life.  God promised to take care of me.  He may use people from our Kingdom or He may just provide.  But He always has -- and always will -- take care of his people.  And that's me.

Living in fear is hard and exhausting.

And you don't have to.

I know.

So on the day when this country celebrates independance and freedom, I celebrate dependance and freedom from fear. 

# posted by Steve @ 5:42 AM 0 comments