Ridgell's Originals

 Donna came back to Jesus several months ago.  She had stage 4 cancer and so most of the time I have known her, she had been dying.  I have told her coming home story in other places, and it is a powerful story about lost sheep found.  

Donna passed this last week and here are three some I was reminded oj from Donna about Jesus and dying.

Die well.  This is a Christian characteristic.  Knowing what is next.  Believing in eternal life.  Hope of heaven.  Trusting Jesus. Resurrection.  Faith changes everything.  Donna talked about dying.  Made her plans for dying.  Focused on the life to come.

Do ministry.  I saw Donna share her faith and cancer story with others.  Watched her interact with Christian sisters diagnosed with cancer.  Watched her in her Jesus Journey class greet others with hugs and smiles.  Right up to the end.

Be bold in prayer. Donna lasted several months past what the Doctors first thought.  There was a reason.  Her first grandchild was due in August, a few months past her expected life span.  So she asked for specific prayers that God would grant her life to hold that child.  Our elders prayed for that.  Our Journey class prayed for that.  Lots of us prayed for that.  And God granted our prayer.  She held her grandson.  She died two weeks later.

Healing is real.  Make no mistake, we all prayed for the miracle of healing in this life.  But we also talked about the healing of a new body after this life.  Donna is healed.  Cancer does not exist in her life.  Nor does pain or sorrow.  God always heals.  Here or there.  But He does heal.

It was a hard journey.  But you could see in Donna's eyes and hear in her voice the hope of heaven.  It was -- and is -- real -- to Donna.  And thanks to her life and example, that hope is more real to a lot of us.

Well Donna.  Well done,  

See you soon.

  

 I talk to a lot of church leaders about how to help their church communities be more evangelistic.  And I often start with what my Dad did.  He raised my sister and me to be believers.  He led several family members to believe.  He served as an elder for many years.

Here are four things I learned from him about evangelistic leadership.

Encouragement.  He was a great cheerleader for anyone wanting to share Jesus.  Supported mission efforts.

Expectations.  He expected church leaders and ministers to talk to lost people about Jesus.  He expected all Christians to talk to friends and neighbors about Jesus.  It was assumed.  

Experience.  Been there, done that.  He understood the feelings.  He had answers and suggestions for the questions.  

Example.  He did it too.  Never thought evangelism was something you told people to do.  It was something you showed people.  Leading from the front.

And I find myself doing these same four things at HIllcrest and I share them at the churches I work with for Herald of Truth.

Maybe they will help you lead your people too.

 Election season is picking up steam so here are a few reminders for those of us who follow Jesus.

Our Kingdom is not of this world.  Whatever happens in the United States is secondary to our main allegiance.  Always.

God is in control.  Nothing happens unless God causes it or allows it.  Governments can function as ministers of God.  So can Presidents, tho maybe not the way you think.

Vote your Jesus conscience.  And some of us will not vote because of our Jesus conscience.  But however you vote or don't vote, remember that politics is a terrible evil if allowed to come between brothers and sisters.

If your candidate wins, perhaps there will be a wonderful environment for the church to flourish.  Perhaps people on the fringe will be helped.  Maybe the economy will be so good that you will have many more resources to share for real Kingdom business.

If your candidate loses, maybe things will go in a direction for from Jesus values.  Maybe some people will start to wonder if there is not something better.  Real truth.  Strong values.  Purposeful lives.  And we will be there to show them a better way.

This is why how we act and speak during this season matters.  

Be careful that you are not spending more time and energy on this country than on the Kingdom that lasts.  I want people around us to know where our real allegiance is.  And that is not to any political party.  Or any country.

Finally.  God has got this.  He was in control before this country existed and He will be in control long after this country ceases to exist.

He knows what is best.  

Let's just stay ready to be about our Father's business.

I am hearing a lot lately about Christians and fighting.  Culture wars.  Politics.  Anger and despair.

I do think Christians are an army engaged in war.  We just need to be sure we are fighting the right battles and the true enemy. 

 Christians are warriors for the Kingdom of God.  

There are four battles every Christian needs to engage in every day.

First, fight Satan in your own life.  Get in the Word.  Pray often.  Fight temptation.  Stay focused.

Second, fight with others in their battle against the evil one.  Speak a word of encouragement.  Send a card.  Have someone in your home for coffee or dinner.  Show up during the hard times.  Give of your time, money, and energy to encourage/help others.  Do not gossip.

Third.  Fight for the souls of  those outside the Kingdom.  Speak up for Jesus.  Invite people to church.  Share you story.  Invite people to hear more about Jesus.  Ask people to join you on the Jesus journey.

Four.  Fight the influence of Satan in this world.  Speak words of peace.  Treat people the way Jesus did.  Be a kingdom outpost.  Show a better life and a better way.

Every day.

This is your real mission and task in this world.

Do this on the job, at school, at the ballfield, in your neighborhood, in your church, and in your family.

Be strong.  Be courageous.  Do not get discouraged.  Do not be afraid.

God is with you.

You have much to offer.  So do it.

You are part of a might army.

And we will win.  

So get in the fight.  Every day till you are called home. 

 I often get asked how to start conversations with friends about Jesus. There are any number of "conversation prompts" out there. You know, if they say that, then you say this. Then depending on what they say next, you say this or that. You can even find leading questions that will let you use the old "but you said..." approach.

I don't have any of those. I just don't think memorizing scripts is the best way to share Jesus. And Jesus didn't teach his disciples a script, so...

But here are some natural ways to be a friend.

Pray lots. Pray for needs they have. But also pray for open hearts and pray for opportunities to say something. Pray for the courage to speak.

Invite. Children's programs are a great attraction. Holiday invites (Christmas and Easter) are good. Special programs (caring for aging parents, parenting, marriage seminars, financial issues) are really effective.

Talk about Jesus. Give God glory for healing, finances, crisis solutions, etc. Always. I usually follow this up with some kind of invite to talk more. My conversion, what Jesus means, what God has done, etc.

Ask about their Jesus journey. Just things like I would ask about anything. If I am talking about baseball, I ask did you ever play? What position? Why'd you stop? With Jesus, I might ask if they ever went to church, or what they think about Jesus.

Don't be afraid to apologize. Sometimes it is personal if you have not always lived up to your faith. Sometimes it is an apology for what they perceive the church or some Christian did. If I don't know the situation I do generic apologies. I don't know what happened, but if you were hurt I am sorry. I hope they did not mean to but we are not perfect. Forgiven.

Have your neighbors over for meals. Get to know them. And let them know you.

Finally, a word about the cost. I am often told by Christians that they are afraid they will lose friendships if they talk about Jesus. If your Jesus talk costs a friendship it wasn't going to be much of a friendship. I mean, Jesus is the most important thing to you. How can you be friends with someone that will not even acknowledge what is most important to you.

But you don't have to be pushy, arrogant, a religious bully, or display a spiritual superiority complex.

But you also don't have to try and convince them you are just alike. Jesus does make a difference. We may all be sinners but we Christians are forgiven. We may all have issues, but ours get fixed by God.

These may, or may not, work for you. But I think they are helpful.

God bless you as you share His Son in your friend/co-worker/teammate/classmate, neighbor sphere of influence.

 A follow-up to my last post on the real reason why it is so difficult for Christians and non-Christians to talk about things.  We hold different views about God.  He determines everything we do.  They do not believe in God the way we do.

There is a similar difficulty when Christians argue among themselves over the "issues'"  Same sex.  Gender identity.  Women's role.  Church organization.  Worship,  

When I get asked about any of these issues, my first response is to ask if we can first discuss what we believe about the Bible.

Is it the word of God.  The entire Bible.  Does it have meaning today or just when it was written.  Are some parts more important than others. Can it's meaning change with time.  Or in different cultures. 

"What do you think about so-and so...

"The Bible says...

"But that's not what it means...

"Seems very plain...

Or...

"What do you think about so and so...

"The Bible does not speak to that issue...

  "But it still means...

"Not if it doesn't say it...

You get the point.  It is hard to talk about issues if one of us is absolutely convinced that the Bible is true but the other believes it may mean different things in different times or cultures.

So I don't discuss the issues much.  

But I am happy to talk about what the Bible says.

 I spend quite a bit of time talking with non-believers about Jesus.  They have a lot of questions.  Mostly they are genuinely seeking answers and I try to be gentle and respectful in my answers. But occasionally someone will get antagonistic and want to argue about beliefs I hold.  I rarely engage in these debates and here is why.

We are coming at the issue from different convictions about what determines our world view.  I absolutely approach things from the core conviction that there is a God that is real and active in our world.  

Non-believers obviously do not accept that conviction.  Their beliefs are formed based a different conviction.  This makes it really hard to discuss anything.  I cannot accept anything I believe is against God's will and they cannot accept anything that is based a myth or unknowable god.

So most of my discussion is not on the "issues" they want to talk about, but on the existence of God and why I believe.  And answering their questions about why I believe.

As an example, I recently spent time talking with an agnostic.  He had questions about certain moral issues relating to life issues.  I explained my beliefs based on the existence of a God that values life.  He was somewhat taken aback when I acknowledged that he would not accept my belief since he did not believe in God.  I asked him to explain the reasoning for his beliefs since if there is no God, morality is a little bit of "every man decides for himself."

So I try not to get caught in morality debates.  We Christians make our decisions based on our belief in God.  Not culture.  Or ourselves.  

So make the discussion about the real difference:  is there a God? 

And be prepared to defend our belief that there is.

 

In talking about helping the poor, I remembered this blog post from a while back.

A few weeks ago I led our congregational communion thoughts on the God of the poor.  As a church, we have been studying James and that morning the emphasis was on the God who cares for the poor.

We talked about how we were all one body, the poor and the rich.  In this life together with God.

We pointed out the three kinds of poor people in the assembly that morning.

Those in financial poverty.  The ones who do not exactly know how they are going to make ends meet the next month.  Or even the next week.  In all honesty, we do not have very many who literally worry about what they will eat from day to day.  But we do have several that we give extra too from our church meals together.  And it is needed and appreciated.  And we have some on the other extreme.  Sharing one loaf together in communion.

We have those that are emotionally poor and broken.  Every week in our assembly.  The marriages that are not rich in love and togetherness.  Those struggling with family dynamics.  The ones trapped in grief from the loss of a parent, mate, child, or close friend.  Those who cannot feel the joy of the Lord.  Battling anger and depression.  And we have some on the other end.  Life is good and they are living rejoicing in the day that the Lord has made.  All together sharing the blood of Jesus.

There are those that are spiritually bankrupt.  Living in a far country but showed up anyway.  Battling their addictions, overwhelmed by the guilt of secret sins, and knowing they are one of the lost sheep.  And those on the other extreme.  Not just walking the Jesus journey, but running toward Jesus.  Making a real difference in the Kingdom.  All together at our communion meal.

Proclaiming the death of Jesus together.  Looking for his return.

And knowing that God is the God that sees the poor.  And answers their cry.

Every one of them.