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Witness

 

by Tim Bechervaise

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As Christians, the kindest, most honest thing we could do for our friends who don't know Jesus is simple: telling them what he's done for you. Do you know someone who's been on the edge of faith for a while now, and you've been putting off sharing your testimony with them? It can feel slightly vulnerable, or weirdly intense, but that shouldn't put us off. Introduce them to Jesus – and deepen that friendship.

 

"And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ..."
(Colossians 4:3 NIV)

 

The morning spring air was fresh and the streets a gentle hum of activity: students making their way to lectures, shops and stalls opening, commuters striding to work, tourists warming up their cameras.

Another day in Cambridge had begun.

I am not from the area so I had arrived early to explore the city before meeting with friends later. Walking around looking for somewhere to have breakfast, I prayed. 'Lord, use me as you wish today,' I offered (with more than a hint of trepidation), 'and may there be opportunities to share your love with others.'

That afternoon I was in a pub reading over a beer when a man, perhaps in his 60s, entered. I looked up and offered a smile. To him it must have been an invitation to talk as he walked towards me explaining that he was waiting for a bus. He then went on to tell me more about himself, and along the way we got talking about church and some of the reservations he had over Christianity.

I tried to answer his questions, nervously wondering if it made any sense. And then it dawned on me that the best thing I could do was share my testimony. The power of the gospel is revealed by the depths it goes to redeem and I didn't want to make light of my propensity to mess up. So I opened up a little. I then looked into his eyes and told him that God loves him too. Everything began to feel very weird and, being honest, I was consciously trying to keep my voice down so as to not draw attention.

I expected the man to brush off my words, pour cold water (or beer) over them, or change the subject. But he didn't. He seemed moved, like a chord was struck. A few minutes later he went to catch his bus. Watching him leave I was overcome with gratitude – for God answering prayer, bringing us together, and giving me a few moments' bumbling courage to share my faith. The results I can only leave to God. But I am hopeful our encounter did something good.

Paul's prayer in Colossians 4:3 is one we should repeat regularly with expectancy and excitement, for God is so eager to answer, often in the most surprising of ways. As for us, we just need to be ready for those opportunities, receptive when they arise, and responsive by making the very most of them.

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Today's blog was written by Tim Bechervaise. Find out more about him here.

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Statement  by The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby

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Evangelism won't look the same for everyone, but it should look like something. Spend some time with God: praying, reading a chunk of the book of Acts – something to open up hope in you before you introduce it to others.

 

"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…"
(1 Peter 3:15 NIV)

The best thing that anyone can do with their life is to be a witness of Jesus. This means encountering Him – witnessing Him – first-hand for themselves. Then giving witness to Him to others.

The problem is most people haven't witnessed Jesus. Not really. They might think they don't need to because they already know all there is to know. But often this Jesus is the one of story books, a nice man in a white dress; or a cosmic Santa figure you can petition when you really need something; or the human face of an angry God, ready to strike when you don't follow the rules.

The real Jesus is much bigger, much more exciting, and, maybe, much more scary. And He does not want people to know facts about Him, but to witness first-hand His grace, His forgiveness and His love. But how do we help others meet someone who is invisible and does not always talk back? Well, this is where we come in – you and I. We are living witnesses to the God we love. Along with every other Christian – because we are all witnesses. God chooses to show Himself to others through his relationship with each and every one of us. Through what we do, through our choices, actions and priorities, and through our words. Words matter.

Often when we experience something amazing we want others to witness it. We want others to see and enjoy what we have. A Christian is someone who has witnessed God's love in the face of Christ. It has changed our lives, and so we long for it to change every life. Each of us has a different story to tell, a different way in which God's love has brought revolution to our lives. All we do as witnesses is wait for the opportunity and give testimony to that – simply say what we know. No two people witness in the same way, because each of us has witnessed first-hand something unique. Truly the most generous thing we can do in any of our days is simply take the God-given opportunities to witness to the truth of what we have experienced. And let Jesus take it from there.

 

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Today’s blog was written by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. Find out more about him here

 

 

 

Persist

 

by Emma Scrivener

 

You've been praying. Hard. But you're tempted to give up. Instead, push in. Rally yourself to pray gutsy prayers. What if today's the day when your sixth lap of Jericho turns into a seventh, and the walls come down?

 

"Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops."
(James 5:17–18 NIV)

 

Ever feel like you're shouting into the darkness?

Give me victory over this struggle. Take me out of this situation.

Please, Lord, help. Please, Lord, hear.

You pray and you pray and you pray. But the situation doesn't change. And the sadness remains.

I've been a Christian since I was a child; and that's when I started praying for my loved ones to know Jesus. Today I'm a mother myself – and I've yet to see them come to faith. So why bother? Why keep going?

Here's why: the Lord loves my family more than I do. He hears me and He cares. He will help me – but in His time, not in mine. 

Think back to the Israelites, enslaved in Egypt. They cried out to God, and He rescued them. But it didn't happen overnight.

Some prayed to be led out of Egypt; and saw their tyranny increased.

Some prayed for a promised land, but saw only desert.

Yet still, they prayed. They trusted that God would hear them, and He did.

'The Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them..."' (Exodus 3:7–8 NIV)

God helped the Israelites, but not in their time and not as they had expected. Instead of lifting them out of the desert, He came down and joined them in it. When they were watching and waiting, He was doing the deepest work of changing their hearts (Deuteronomy 8:3).

This God is the same God today. He hears our prayers, just as He heard the prayers of the Israelites. And He answers in the same way. Not by beaming us up out of trouble. But by joining us in the furnace.

So, whatever we are facing, however long we've been praying, let's keep going. God hears us. God is concerned for us. God came down to join us, and He will lead us out.

 

 

 

Today's blog was written by Emma Scrivener.  Find out more about her here.

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Speaking first v Thinking first

 

by Mark Greenwood

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A self-controlled heart: Having self-control over our words and being generous with them instead.

 

James 3:1–12

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

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It's been estimated that the average person speaks around 16,000 words per day. Working on the basis that we sleep for approximately 8 hours, that means the average person will speak 1000 words per hour which equates to about 16.5 words every minute.

I wonder how many of the 16,000 words I utter today I will be pleased with and how many I will wish I hadn't said? I wonder how many of those 16,000 words I would say again and how many I would delete from the script?

The average size of the human tongue is 10cm. The passage we are considering today seeks to show us how much potential there is in something so small. It has an ability beyond its size to both tear down and build up.

I listen to North Korea and America both firing words at each other and I'm reminded how those words are able to bring about global unrest. Then I remember the words of Martin Luther King in his famous speech, 'I have a dream,' which brought about incredible change for the betterment of humanity, and how those words are still in the minds of many today. I consider the serpent's words in the garden of Eden, 'Did God really say…?' which initiated our separation from God. And then I read those incredible words of Jesus on the cross, 'It is finished,' announcing the greatest moment in history: Jesus taking the punishment for the whole world. Our tongue really does have incredible potential. 

I remember a wise older man once saying to me, 'Mark, it's better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you a fool than open it and remove all shadow of doubt.' That makes me smile and also challenges me. I want my words to match what people think about me – but in a good way!

So many of the thousands of words we use are in the moment and unplanned, but wouldn't it be amazing if we could think more before we speak? It would be good today, and through this week, to make a proactive decision to only speak what builds up and encourages. What if we could believe that with God's help we would speak only words that value people and honour God?

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Today's blog was written by Mark Greenwood

 

Mark Greenwood is married and has two children. He has been in full-time evangelism for 30 years and is the National Evangelist for the Elim Church, heading up evangelism for the denomination under this role. He loves curry, brogues and gadgets as well as rugby. Mark also serves as a national leadership team member for HOPE.

 

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Questions to ask yourself...

 

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1.  What can I do to speak proactively positive and not reactively negative?

2.  Are there any words that I have spoken that after thinking about them I shouldn't have said  – can I go and use words to put things right?

 

 

Prayer

 

Dear Father, forgive me when my words bring harm to others and dishonour you. Help me to control my tongue and not be controlled by it. Help me build others up and praise you, showing my love for you and my neighbour in my words matched by my actions. Amen.

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Justin Welby: How to pray ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ and mean it

Taken from: www.premierchristianity.com

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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby introduces a new prayer movement

Lately I have found myself constantly talking and thinking about prayer. This is not because I am an expert on it, or even particularly good at it. Nor is it because it’s the kind of thing I am paid to do. It’s because I see ever more evidence of the need for it. These words of Jesus in Luke 11 offer us a good foundation for why we pray: “So I say to you: ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Prayer begins by acknowledging that we don’t have what we need, we aren’t who we want to be and we don’t see what we long to see.

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Last year the Archbishop of York and I invited people up and down the country to pray for the ten days between Ascension Day and Pentecost. The prayers had just one focus – a request to God for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit so that those who don’t know the love of Jesus might turn, hear his call and themselves becomes his followers.

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We called the movement ‘Thy Kingdom Come’, and we were utterly astonished at how it took off. Many tens of thousands of people across denominations – Methodists, Catholics, Anglicans, Orthodox – came together and prayed, “Come, Holy Spirit.” I can hardly remember anything that I’ve been involved in which I have sensed so clearly the work of the Spirit.

While I remain adamant that the Church doesn’t need more initiatives, projects or resources, it was obvious that we should do this again. But the only reason is the sense that God is leading it and, when the wind of the Spirit is blowing, you just have to hoist the sails and go where you are taken.

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Come Holy Spirit

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Pentecost is, of course, the time when we remember the sending of the Holy Spirit. It is, perhaps, to our shame that the prayer “Come, Holy Spirit” has been judged to be a bit self-indulgent – gathering together to pray for a fresh infilling for our own sake.

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Scripture teaches us something different. The gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s empowering presence with us, isn’t given to us for our own sake. The reason we pray “Come, Holy Spirit” is not so that we can feel good. It is so that we may be empowered to be his witnesses. Every Christian is a witness. Whether we like it or not. Read these words of Jesus in Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

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We cannot witness on our own. So for these ten days we ask, knock and seek for a fresh empowering of the breath of God for this calling.

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Of course, we all know what it is to pray for things and not to know how our prayers will be answered. We all know that sense of disappointment and bewilderment when things we had desired haven’t come to be. So how can we know praying “Come, Holy Spirit” will make any difference?

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If we put it like that, isn’t the question really: Will the Holy Spirit be given to us if we ask?

I can make a few guarantees because of some unchanging truths about the unchanging God we worship. God always, always listens to our prayers. He doesn’t always give us everything we want. But if we sit in a room, or in a church, or in a cathedral, or in the middle of a field and pray “Come, Holy Spirit”, we can do so with total confidence that the Spirit will come.

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“Which of your fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-13)

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There are no preconditions laid out on that promise. If we ask, the Spirit will be given.

The question then is this: Are we prepared to pray such a prayer? Are we prepared to have our lives turned upside down, rearranged and reshaped? Are we up for all God might call us to as his witnesses? Are we ready to see God at work in ways that we can’t predict and can’t control?

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Evangelism

As well as praying, there is a second thing to do. We step out and do something. We put ourselves in God’s hands to be used in answer to our prayer. It could be in your church, your home, or as an informal group of friends, but plan something which invites people to explore the good news of Jesus Christ and God’s love for them. Do it with the intention of inviting those people to make a decision to follow Jesus.

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Last year I met with a group of people who wouldn’t call themselves Christians. We met a few times and read Bible stories together. We saw incredible movement in their lives and in their understanding of God, and it was beautiful. We weren’t doing anything special – just opening up space for people to ask questions and encounter God.

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So that is my encouragement and my urging. Get together and pray, and then make space for people who don’t know Jesus to find out more.

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This isn’t just something else to add to the ‘to-do’ list. Many of us aren’t in need of more things to do. Lots of us live life fairly overwhelmed, we’re aware of our frailties and inadequacies, of our sinfulness and our failures; believe me, I truly know all those.

 

But just think back to a time you’ve seen God’s love and goodness bring transformation to someone’s life. It is one of the greatest privileges to see the love of God in action, and it is worth stepping out for.

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In Luke 11:5-8 Jesus says, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.”

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Our cupboards might be bare when it comes to how we live and how we tell the gospel. In prayer we come before God and ask him to give us what we need to put before others.

If you get together with friends and pray “Come, Holy Spirit”, and then invite people to come and explore who Jesus is, then for certain, by the end of your time together, some things will have taken place that will be what God is doing in those people’s lives.

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Seeing God move is the biggest encouragement you could ask for, and in my experience, when we get a taste for it, we want more. When we hear stories of people becoming Christians we think, ‘Brilliant, this is what it’s about. This is what we want.’ And so we are encouraged to pray more, to expect more, to act more.

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We are the Church of Jesus Christ, called together by him, made for his glory and empowered by his Spirit. We exist for God’s sake and for the sake of others. And in Jesus’ name and in his power we witness to the one who was dead and is alive again. Come, Holy Spirit, and renew the lives of your faithful people!

 

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5 Reasons People Have Stopped Attending Church – by Carey Nieuwhof

 

Recently, the Barna Group in the USA released a new survey citing (among others) five compelling reasons church attending continues to decline, particularly among Millennials (those 30 and under). In the study, Barna cites 5 specific reasons Millennials have stopped attending church that drew my attention:

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1. The church is irrelevant, the leaders are hypocritical and leaders have experienced too much moral failure

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To some extent, I can’t blame people for this perception. I wince every time I see another headline announcing a new moral failure. And far too many of us have been burned by the judgmentalism of the perpetually self-righteous.

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So what’s the antidote?

 

It’s more than possible to create a counterculture of integrity and grace.  It’s actually a bit strange to call things like integrity and grace countercultural (even within the context of church culture), but they are.

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Jesus said that it would be by our fruit that people would recognize us.  Live a life of integrity with each other and outsiders, and your church will become a magnet, not a repellent.

Too many people have been burned by the judgmentalism of perpetually self-righteous Christians.

 

2. God is missing in the church

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People go to church looking for God but are having difficulty finding him. This one hurts, but in an age where perception is reality, you can’t ignore this criticism.

 

The paucity of personal experience with God is disturbing. It would be easy to point at rock show churches and blame them but the truth is that people in all kinds of experiences from liturgical to charismatic have left the church in search of God.

 

So how do we address this? Seeking a new definition of spiritual maturity is a great place to start. A clearer understanding of Christian maturity and experience could go a long way in better helping people connect with God.

 

3. Legitimate doubt is prohibited

 

Honestly, I simply agree with this criticism. It is very difficult to have an honest conversation in many churches today.

In many  conservative churches, legitimate questions get dismissed with pat—and often trite—answers.  In many liberal churches, there is often so much ambiguity that questions that actually can be answered are left unresolved—as if leaders were taking people nowhere.

Church leaders today simply have to get better with handling the tension that comes with questions.

 

 

4. They’re not learning about God

It’s amazing to me that people come to church seeking God only to not understand anything they’ve heard. The truth is you and I can relate.

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Every one of us has listened to a sermon for 45 minutes only to walk out the door tremendously unclear about what was just said. And—preachers—come on, we’ll all given more than one of those message.

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The solution to this is simple: clarity. Speak in everyday language, not in church speak or in a meandering way. It takes far more work to be clear than it does to be confusing. Have a clear point to your message. Be clear about what you want to have happen when people leave.

 

5.  They’re not finding community

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The Barna study points out that despite a growing epidemic of loneliness, only 10% report going to church to find community. Sometimes I wonder if it’s because people expect the church is the last place they’ll find community. And that’s tragic.

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Of the many criticisms that can be levied at the church, lack of community shouldn’t be one. Nobody should be able to out-community the local church.

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You can make a legitimate argument that one of the reasons behind the explosive growth of the first century church was because of the way they loved each other and the world. Love should be a defining characteristic of the local church.

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If we loved the way Jesus loved, people would line up out the door.

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Personally, I’m so grateful for research like this latest Barna data. It can only help us get better at being the church as Christ called us to be.

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If you have to add more reasons, what would you add? Any other ideas on what could help all of us in the local church better realize our mission?

 

 

 

 

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