Not Technically Evangelism, but Good Stuff

So,  dove headlong into an amazing rabbit hole two days ago.  Yesterday morning I still had not come out of it... not exactly sure where it is going to end up.  It started with reading Numbers.  Sometimes you need to read big chunks of Scripture, to get familiar with it before you drill down.  That's what I was doing, but I noticed something that I had not noticed before.  Numbers 13, the spies that the Israelites send out into the promised land.  They send 12 men, one from each tribe.  They come back and 10 of them give a false, bad report saying they can not take the land.  Caleb and Joshua, however, say that with faith in God they can surely take it.

In verses 6 and 8, Numbers tells us that Caleb was from the tribe of Judah and Joshua from the tribe of Ephraim.  Lights went off.  That can't be an incidental piece of information--as if there were such a thing in Scripture.  Long story short (and not the point of this post), Judah is the tribe of David and Jesus.  Ephraim, the younger son of Joseph who receives the birthright that belonged to Reuben.  Ephraim "stands in" in Scripture for the ten northern tribes and Judah, well, Judah stands in for Judah and Benjamin. [Thanks to Theo Hagg and Wes Holland for diving down the rabbit hole with me]

ANYWAY. I thought, "I need to look up what Adam Clarke as to say about this..." Sadly, he passes it by, at least in Numbers.  Maybe he picks it up in comments on Hosea or Chronicles.  I'll see.  But when I got to the end of his Numbers commentary, he has this to say:
 "Canaan was a type of the kingdom of God; the wilderness through which the Israelites passed, of the difficulties and the trials to be met with in the present world. The promise of the Kingdom of God is given to every believer; but how many are discouraged by the difficulties in the way! A slothful heart sees dangers, lions and giants everywhere; and therefore refuses to proceed in the heavenly path.  Many spies contribute to this by the bad report they bring of the heavenly country,  Certain preachers allow that the land is good, that it flows with milk and honey," and go so far as to show some of its fruits; but they discourage people by stating the impossibility of overcoming their enemies.  'Sin,' they say, 'cannot be destroyed in this life--it will always dwell in you....'  Here and there, a Joshua and a Caleb , trusting alone in the power of God, armed with faith in the infinite efficacy of that blood which cleanses from all unrighteousness, boldly stand forth and say, 'Their defence is departed, and the Lord is with us. Let us go up and possess the land, for we are well able to overcome.' We can do all things through Christ strengthening us: he will purify us unto Himself, and give us that rest from sin here which his death has procured and His word has promised. Reader, canst thou not take God at His word? He has never yet failed thee. Surely, then, thou hast no reason to doubt. Thou hast never yet tried Him to the uttermost. Thou knowest not how far and how fully he can save."

Misty Mountain Hop

There is a thick shroud of mist over the hills this morning.  It's beautiful, enough to make you never leave Morehead, and if you did, it'd make you long to come back.  Like the Shire for Hobbits, I guess.

But there is also a cold drizzle.  It feels dense, but the raindrops are really small.  Thin,  Like razors.

It was kind of like that yesterday and I confess that I did not notice if there was a mist on the mountains.  It seemed that people were struggling.  That is, if you were already under some stress, the weather wasn't helping.  A loved one is sick.  A loved one has died.  Serious decisions about the future.  Stuff we all deal with had an edge to it because of the weather.

I got a chance to visit and pray with some people.. some I knew, some strangers on the street.

You my wonder, "how do you just walk up to somebody?"  Long and the short of it, practice a discipline that maybe can only be called looking for Zaccheus.  I never had a name for this before.  Neil Cole talks about it in his book Cultivating a Life For God.  And online I saw where someone posted that we see a faceless crowd, Jesus sees Zaccheus.

Be on the lookout.  Don't let people fade into the crowd.  And look, it's not like I am good at this.  I mean, I get frustrated in line at Kroger and won't reach out to people... maybe if we just start looking around.  Or maybe when you see a grandfather with a cute kid?  You know you can talk to him about his boy!

You may wonder, "what do you say if someone is going through a hard time?"  So let's say a conversation has started.  Maybe you didn't look for it, it came to you.  And you find some sadness, some confusion, some weariness.  How to bring the Gospel, the peace of Christ?

I like to go to Scripture, because then at least it doesn't depend on me.  Two that I go to all the time: Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

And Psalm 62:1, "My soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress I will never be shaken."

There are so many more!  And you know some that have brought you great peace.  And remember, God is putting people in your path that you are uniquely qualified to reach!  It just may be that the Scripture that brings you life and peace will do the same for them.

Oh my.  You are becoming evangelists!

Rejoice With Me! Again!

This morning in our devotions, we read in Billy Graham's Hope for Each Day.  And then we turned to our scripture reading, Matthew 20, the parable of the workers in the vineyard. As we talked about what it might mean that God seems unfair, it's really His grace.   As we were discussing grace and how Jesus died for us and our sins, Joseph said, "I think it's time for me to accept Jesus."  I asked him what he understood by that. He said, "I can't believe He did all that He has done with just 12 guys. And I am so thankful that God sent Jesus here to die for my sins so that I can be forgiven." Jesus is still working in lives the way He did with the 12!

 

I am not sure why Joseph is so fascinated with the disciples right now, but I'll take it.

 

He has been asking a lot of questions lately, thinking hard about the sermon, wondering why when we read scripture it always seems to speak to something in our lives.

 

I am very thankful to all the wonderful Christian witnesses who have helped Joseph in making this decision!