Overcoming Obstacles to Sharing Our Faith: FRIENDS, FAMILY and FELLOWSHIPS

In the first two posts we looked at FEAR and FINANCE. 

Today, we are looking at barriers that exist due to the people in our lives.  

It's great when our friends and family members are on the same page spiritually but even then there may be division. Most of us have friends that attend church denominations with views that are different to our own. Church fellowships and leaders can have very different opinions on methods of evangelism. There's plenty of potential for problems and that's just within Christian circles.

What happens if you're mainly mixing with non-believers. You might even be married to a non-Christian. You might have children who are starting to make demands on your time and who may end up resenting time given to something they don't think should be a priority. What do you do then?

Here are some ideas for dealing with these relationships with the people we care about:

1. Pray: We know that prayer works, especially if we ask according to God's will. We know that He wants us to share our faith so we can pray for circumstances to change and for people's hearts to be softened to allow us to do this. I know of missionaries who wanted their non-believing parents' seemingly impossible blessing. They prayed for years and were eventually allowed to go without fearing they were dishonouring their family members. Sometimes, the objections raised by family and friends are the consequences of our sin e.g. if as a Christian we married a non-believer. However, if we have repented of that choice, we can pray for God to make a way.

2. Communicate: Many of the problems that occur in relationships between friends and family members are because of a failure to talk to each other. Try explaining to your loved ones why you want to be involved in evangelism and what you are going to do. Creating a sense of urgency and excitement around the work can also make people curious, even jealous, because there is such a lack of purpose in the world that a sense of community with a common goal can be attractive. They might even catch the vision and want to join you. Don't bring it up all the time though or become obsessive and don't treat people as if they are stupid by manipulating situations or constantly bashing them with Bible verses about evangelism. 

3. Tell stories from the work (enthusiastically): When you have been out, relay stories of conversations or questions that people asked and how you answered them. Include those that you didn't know how to answer and ask your friends and family for their thoughts and ideas. If you are genuinely sharing about the work with them, you may get some great opportunities to share the Gospel in a natural way. It's normal to discuss workplace events and the unique nature of evangelism does make people curious, even those with no real spiritual interest. You may find yourself answering unspoken questions that your friends and family have had for years.

4. Show photos/videos: Linked to the last point, younger people especially are more visual these days and may watch something rather than reading or engaging in conversation. If you have photos or videos that you are in, they may well be interested and you can explain what is going on as you share it with them. Again, this is a normal part of life and we don't need to feel that we can't share our experiences just because it's "religious". It also helps reassure them that we aren't part of a cult or doing excessively weird things. It's amazing how people's imaginations can run riot when they hear the word "evangelism".

5. Preserve family/friends time: Don't allow your evangelistic zeal to take over time that you should be spending with your family and friends. This is a conscience issue ultimately, but you don't want them to end up resenting God for taking you away from them. This has been an issue with some of the great missionaries who seemed to forget they were married or left their partners as secretaries at home whilst they were away for lengthy periods. This is most relevant to non-believing loved ones as they are an important mission field and mustn't be side-lined in favour of the work. But, it can also apply to believing friends and family, if you are a workaholic and they never see you or if you don't enjoy any of  the activities they want to do because you are only interested in evangelism.

6. Encourage them: Your friends and family may have very different ideas about how to share their faith. You may prefer a more direct approach, they may want to build friendships. Both are valuable so encourage whatever they are doing if the goal is evangelistic even if you don't agree with their methods. There's room for discussions here, but don't condemn things that are being done in God's name unless they are unbiblical and don't act as if your way is the only way to do things. You might find that if you support them in what they are doing, they will reciprocate.

7. Request a platform: If it's your church fellowship that is resistant to what you are doing, ask any organisations you are involved with if they would be willing to come and speak at your church. Then approach your church leaders about receiving them. Sometimes, hearing about the work from an authority/someone with more experience, opens doors. Organisations like OAM, GNfE, UBM and BCM make speaking at churches part of their regular work and would be more than happy to come and share about the work at your church. Even just having someone else explaining the same things you have said in a different way can make all the difference.

8. Make new friends: You can't just ditch your family and friends if they are hostile towards your efforts, but you can develop new friendships with people who encourage you in the work. Those who are married should be careful that they aren't treading danger lines but singles can and should find like minded people to spend time with. If all of our friends are believers we can end up living in a spiritual bubble detached from reality. Conversely, if we only mix with non believers, we might be in danger of being unequally yoked. Balance is important.

9. Set the example: Don't expect you will be able to convince everyone to join you on the streets or whererever you choose to go. It might be small steps as we all progress spiritually at different speeds. Try not to be disappointed and discouraged when people don't show up or don't have the same enthusiasm or when they make excuses. Find at least one other person who shares your vision, work together and encourage each other. On the streets we are often approached by Christians who didn't realise street evangelism was even legal. Sadly, most who say they will join don't end up doing so as they get distracted by life and the devil. Don't let this put you off. Keep going!

10. Just do it: Don't wait for the perfect circumstances, resources or numbers. There comes a time where we have to obey God rather than men, or in this case our family and friends. Every Christian should be involved in some form of evangelism even if they don't have a lot of time and even if it feels like the whole world is against them.  If you do it anyway, others will join. If you don't go at all, there's nothing to join!

I hope some of these things will help you as you navigate the various obstacles that arise when we start seeking to share our faith. Remember that if we honour God, He will honour us. 

Next time we will look at the obstacles of FAME and FASHION...

Image by Gerd Altmann at Pixabay

Overcoming Obstacles to Sharing Our Faith: FEAR

I've been trying to think of ways to motivate people to get involved in evangelism having just come back from an awesome Christian Answer team in London at the weekend. 

I realised that the first step for some people might be removing hurdles or perhaps having a change of perspective about any obstacles in the way. So, I'm going to do a short series of posts dealing with these issues that we all face to one degree or another.

Today's subject and probably the biggest mountain for many of us to scale is fear. 

It might be fear of failure, fear of saying the wrong thing, fear of being seen, fear of what others might think, fear of people getting angry or shunning us, or even fear of the unknown. Let's face it, we all struggle with fear and for some it can be paralysing. 

Can it be overcome? With God's help all things are possible. Here are some pointers:

• Pray! It will come as no surprise that prayer is top of the list for overcoming any and all obstacles to sharing our faith. If we don't pray then we can't expect to see results or have any expectation of moving forward. God knows our fears and He wants to help us move past them so that we can get on with the task. He promises to use us if we ask Him.

• Training. It helps to be prepared and can give us confidence which can negate any fears we might have. There is plenty of online training and organisations like the Open-Air Mission can provide training for you and your church. Living Waters offers a week long training course in evangelism and apologetics. However, training is not always required as it can result in Christians falling into the trap of thinking that they can't evangelise because they haven't been trained or even that they need to learn everything before they can share their faith. Choose your training wisely and intentionally and if possible get involved with those who offer practical training during the course.

• Know what you believe and why you believe it. This one can be especially relevant for those who've grown up in the church and have never really looked at the details of their own story. Read the Bible passages that speak about evangelism (Acts and the Gospels for starters). This will help you catch the vision and should negate fears about saying the wrong thing. You can't really say the wrong thing unless you say something totally heretical as people are already lost!

• Start small. This one is really about managing your own and others expectations. Most of us are not going to be Billy Graham or Amy Carmichael. Much of the evangelism in the Bible is one individual to another. Nowadays, we have tracts (Christian leaflets) and the internet so it's even possible to be anonymous or to have very little contact with the person we are witnessing to. Start by leaving tracts where-ever you go. Then, try to give them directly to people with a short comment. Then, when you are ready, ask the person if they have thought about the question. Take your time with each stage and your fears should lessen.

• Read stories. Read and watch stories of conversions in books and online. You'll be amazed by how many people mention a street preacher, a Christian friend, a book, a tract etc. If you can see that it really works, it can help to overcome your fears as the benefit outweighs the cost. Real Lives is a good series on Saturday nights which may encourage you.

• Go with others. Lone evangelism can be scary and it shouldn't be the norm. We need our Christian friends to encourage, motivate, inspire, rebuke etc. Most of our efforts should start with our local church. Find out what is being done by your church and join in or suggest a joint activity. Alternatively, if your church isn't doing anything, find an individual or several within the church who are keen and approach the leadership together. If the leaders aren't receptive to any forms of evangelism, it might be time to think about joining a different church as evangelism should be one of the main activities and purposes of the church.

• Join local evangelism teams. This shouldn't replace evangelism from your church, but can supplement it and provide people to work with. It's always easier to overcome our fears when we are part of a team. There are several city missions that still do direct evangelism (Birmingham and London) and others that bring you into contact with non believers through projects. The Open-Air Mission may have an evangelist in your area that you could join. Good News for Everyone (formerly Gideons) go into schools, prisons, hotels etc and try to leave Bibles as well as more formal Scripture distributions. You can get involved and learn from others. Start by observing and then take more responsibility as you feel able. 

• Join mission teams/camps. There are several organisations that run mission teams around the country including United Beach Missions and the Open-Air Mission. There are specific missions for student outreach, street evangelism and children's work. Other organisations like Yorkshire Camps and Foundation Matters offer residential camps and allow volunteers to join and serve for a week or longer term. Then, there are the annual youth camps. There are always plenty of opportunities and full training is usually given. Serving together allows you to learn on the job and watch others share their faith/give their testimony until you are ready to participate.

• Talk to someone. It's a well known saying that "a problem shared is a problem halved". If you cannot overcome your fears, share them with a church friend or church leader. Be specific and maybe they will be able to help you get new perspective or suggest some other ideas. Likewise, if you have had a negative experience with evangelism, don't let it put you off, speak to someone straight away so that it doesn't become an insurmountable problem as it festers. 

• Don't overthink it. With some things, the longer we leave it before we actually do it, the harder it is as the possibilities and the "what if's" can become overwhelming. I used to remember the Dr Pepper advert with the slogan "what's the worst that could happen?" before I went out to share my faith. It can help to write down any fears as they may seem less likely and less threatening on paper. Sometimes, we just have to face our fear and get on with it. 

I hope this list will help some of you to take steps to overcome your fears and to get involved in the work of the Great Commission. As you can see, many of the ideas involve working with others, it's amazing how much easier it is to get out there when we go in a group. I always come back encouraged and have never regretted going out when I've taken the plunge.

As an old-timer said recently, "a little bit of courage and a little bit of obedience are all that is needed." We are in a spiritual battle. Don't let the enemy win!

Next time I will deal with overcoming the obstacle of funding/finance.

(Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)

The Cruelty and Horror of Assisted Suicide

I saw this image on the J C Ryle Facebook page a few days ago. I felt shocked, then sad as I realised the reality for many millions of people. I couldn’t forget what I had seen. 

Death has always been one of those difficult subjects. We try to avoid thinking about it but it’s all around us; war, terrorism, crime, famine, earthquakes, abortion, murder, freak weather events, genocide, cancer, accidents, allergic reactions, suicide and now assisted suicide in some countries and the list goes on and on… If we dwelt on the reality of our own frailty and helplessness we’d never get anything done.

The Christian Institute provided a sobering list of what the Bible has to say about death at the Birmingham City Mission Convention this weekend:

-the punishment for sin (Genesis 3 vs 17)

-universal precursor to judgement (Hebrews 9 vs 27)

-a curse (Deuteronomy 30 vs 19)

-the wages of sin (Romans 6 vs 23)

-the last enemy (1 Corinthians 15 vs 26)

-feared by unbelievers (Hebrews 2 vs 15)

-the source of immense human grief (John 11 vs 33-35)

-the end of the opportunity for salvation (Luke 16 vs 26)

The last one on this list is the most frightening of all. What it means is that the minute a soul breathes their last breath here on Earth, they are consigned to their eternal destination without recourse or escape. 

I was on an Open-Air Mission team in Yorkshire last week and one of the guys had a talk entitled “Where are they now?” Then, he had large pictures of famous (or infamous) people including Queen Elizabeth, Margaret Thatcher, Hitler, Jimmy Savile and Amy Winehouse. 

You might imagine that this generated a lot of comments from passer’s by. A few bright sparks pointed out the obvious that they are all dead. Some people were angry about Savile being in the same list as the Queen or even that their pictures were next to each other. Others shouted things about individuals and where they felt they should be. Most believed good people like the late Queen and Margaret Thatcher would be in Heaven and bad people like Hitler and Savile would be in Hell. Amy Winehouse was more of a puzzle but most seemed to want to give her the benefit of the doubt.

The truth (and point of the talk) is that none of us know for sure where these people are now because we aren’t God and we don’t know their hearts, but we do know that their souls have lived on and that they are either in Heaven or Hell forever. They are not just dead in the ground as some would have us believe. 

The Bible also makes it clear that their perceived goodness/badness has nothing to do with where they ended up and although we may think we are better than some of those people, we are not as good as we think we are. The reality is that none of us live up to God’s perfect standard so instead of using society’s yardstick which sets the bar ridiculously low, we should be looking to God who sets the rules.

The debate about whether we should legalise assisted suicide in the UK is a product of secular (and atheistic) values permeating society. Would anyone really dare to suggest it was kinder to “help someone on their way” if they knew their loved one would face an angry, just God at the end of the process? Most sane people would surely agree that no matter how much pain someone was in, an eternity in Hell has to be far far worse. 

The Bible tells us that we are given one life and that the dates of our birth and death are determined by God. Every breath we take is a gift from God who sustains the Universe second by second and minute by minute. When we die we will face God and give an account of our lives; the God who created us, Who knows all things and Who is angry with our rebellion against Him. 

This would be a terrifying prospect for every person if it wasn’t for one historical event that changed everything…

God loved the world so much that He provided a mediator in His Son Jesus. He  sent Him to live a perfect life and then to die on a cross for the sins of the world. God the Father punished God the Son on the cross. This perfect sacrifice opened the way for anyone who believes that Jesus died for them to repent and be forgiven of their sins. We know the sacrifice of Jesus worked because He defeated the curse of death given to humanity at the beginning by coming back to life. Anyone who repents and believes in Jesus will be at peace with God and enter Heaven one day. 

This is amazing news for a broken, dying world.

However, most people who are advocating things like assisted suicide and encouraging others to consider ending their lives prematurely, don’t even acknowledge God let alone the Good News of the Gospel.

They are not, therefore, forgiven of their sin and will face God’s fury and be consigned to Hell for all eternity. Hell is a place of fire, punishment and torment where people will want to die but won’t be able to. Their pain will endure relentlessly. It's why the Bible warns us to "flee from the wrath to come...."

The horrible cruelty is that people who support this legislation are leading others astray by believing they are compassionate and caring and wanting to end people’s suffering.

Instead, they need to realise that God is the author of life and meddling in this way will have tragic and never ending consequences for those who die prematurely and are unprepared to meet their Maker.

Christians, please think about this and stop being neutral and/or silent during these discussions. There is no place for supporting assisted suicide in the church and we must stand against these evil laws that may soon be on our statute books unless we resist them with everything we have at our disposal. 

God is on our side and prayer is powerful when we take our part in the spiritual battle seriously.

Let's support the Christian Institute and other organisations as they seek to defeat this horrible bill once and for all. Let's also make evangelism a most urgent priority as we seek to share the Good News of Jesus with every soul before it's too late for them...

What is Your Greatest Need in a Chaotic World?

Recently, I was present when an evangelist asked a young believer who wanted to join our team, what she believed was the greatest need of the people passing by. She hesitated, thought about it and then said, "love?" The evangelist gently suggested there might be something more important and she quickly answered, "peace?" 

It seems like a big question, more so because if you ask 100 people you're likely to get many, if not 100, different answers. 

Similar questions that could be asked include: is our greatest need determined by our opinion or is it decided by external factors? Are we able to ascertain what our greatest need is? How do we know whether something will meet our greatest need unless we actually have it? Is anything capable of meeting our greatest need? Does our greatest need change over time or is it consistent?

I'm sure many of you are watching current headlines with a growing sense of alarm, our world is increasingly divided in every area of life. It seems inevitable that we are heading for a catastrophe of one sort or another. It's not surprising, therefore, and seems perfectly reasonable, to suggest that love and peace are the solutions and would meet our greatest need but is that really the case?

Is it possible for each one of us to love and be at peace with every other person perfectly all of the time? It's really a rhetorical question as we all know the answer!

Perhaps it would be okay if the leaders of our various countries loved each other and put their neighbours above their own interests or if every country sought peace even if it cost them to do so. History has demonstrated that this isn't possible either. The natural tendency of world leaders is to act in the interests of their own country (and ultimately for themselves) and not for the good of humanity as a whole. Whatever else you may think about him, at least Trump is honest about his intentions.

Maybe our greatest needs are love and peace but we are doomed to a life of hopelessness and helplessness as they will never be met. Should we spend all of our time striving for these things that are seemingly impossible to achieve? Should we, like Greta Thunberg, pour our energies into activism and seek to force people to comply with our sense of what's needed to make things right? Or should we throw our hands up in despair and give in to depression about the state of our world?

Is there another way?

When we think about the question of our greatest need it seems big because we immediately start thinking of all the problems in the world: war, famine, poverty, disease, homelessness, joblessness, family breakdown, crime etc. 

Then, overwhelmed, we move to the problems in our own circles but find a similar list of insurmountable difficulties. 

Defeated, we focus on ourselves. After all, we can't do anything for anyone else until we've got our own house in order, right? But once again we find that we don't know the answers. We may fix one thing but our repair may fall apart and if it holds then along comes another problem and we are back to square one.

There has to be another way...

What if there is only one problem? What if the problem is the same for every individual? What if the problem is responsible for all of the chaos in our world? What if the solution to this problem meets each person's greatest need? What if the solution to this problem has already been provided?

Would you want to know what it is?

My evangelist friend replied to the girl, "It's good to have peace, but what about forgiveness?"

The problem is sin (breaking God's law). We are all guilty because we have all sinned. Sin is against God who sets the rules and it separates us from Him because He is perfect. We are heading for Judgement and in the end Hell. Our greatest need is forgiveness of our sin. The solution was and is provided by Jesus paying the price for our sin at the cross. Jesus died in the place of sinners so that we could be forgiven and restored to a right relationship with God. We need to accept the gift of God, repent (turn away from our sin) and turn towards Jesus believing that He died for us personally. God promises to forgive anyone who turns to Him through Jesus. He guarantees an eternal place in Heaven for us.

If this sounds too simple to deal with the chaos in the world. If it sounds too simple to deal with world leaders wielding power, to deal with corruption at the highest levels, to deal with famine, war and poverty....consider a change of perspective.

God is the Creator of the Universe. He is outside time and space. He isn't just a bigger version of us. He controls and sustains everything in the world and nothing happens without His permission. World events and seeming chaos don't take Him by surprise and aren't an unexpected difficulty. He is working to fulfill His plans and purposes and is working for the good of those who love Him.

Every knee will one day bow before Him and give an account of their lives, from the smallest to the greatest and every one in between.  

Being forgiven of sin leads to peace with God which is our greatest need in a chaotic world. 

In the midst of life's uncertainties, will you turn to Him today?

Can Anyone Be Saved?

Seeing this title, you might think that I’m going to attempt to deal with the complexities of election/ predestination. Sorry to disappoint, but that’s well above my pay grade!

If people are elected to salvation, we don’t know who has been chosen and who hasn’t, so the fact doesn’t change our responsibility to share the Gospel with anybody and everybody.

We’ve probably all had that conversation with someone who is wondering if they, or someone they love, hasn’t been saved because they aren’t elect. Is that really helpful? All that happens if we think like this is that we give up, succumb to the belief that they cannot be saved, and stop witnessing to and praying for the person.

For the purpose of this post, I’m thinking more about how we view people when we are involved in evangelism, and whether we really believe they can, and will be saved.

Here are a few examples:

 -The aggressive atheist. You know the type. We may know that the person is suppressing the truth and that deep down they know that God exists, but do we really believe that they can be converted?

One of my friends was like this, arguing aggressively with me to the extent that sometimes I got so annoyed that I left the conversation rather than responding in kind. Although, I sensed that this person’s struggle was genuine, I’m not sure that I had the faith to believe they would actually be saved. However, in 2018, Billy Graham died. My friend told me he had seen the death on the news and asked me if I knew of him, realising the connection to the Christian faith. My friend then said he had watched a YouTube video of Billy Graham’s. I asked what the title was, and he replied, “Who is Jesus?” Next thing I know, my friend is attending my church, every service in fact. Then, he became a Christian, and a while later got baptised. At his baptism, he chose the hymn, “O How the Grace of God Amazes Me.”

Originally, I had met this person in a large group. Out of the group, I would have said that he was the least likely to a) be interested in Christianity b) actually be converted. For me, it was a lesson not to judge the outward appearance, and not to try and second guess God. God used the sermon of a dead preacher to draw my friend to Himself.

-The family member or close friend. We’ve likely been praying for this person (s), perhaps for years, but do we really believe they will be converted? In our hearts, have we given up on them, or on God?

Two of my relatives were recently converted in mid-later life. One of them had started working with a young man who is a Christian. The young man had witnessed to him which led to a Bible study, then conversion, baptism and joining the church. Apart from years of prayer, which is clearly crucial, my family didn’t have a lot to do with the practicalities, as God used someone else. Our initial incredulity, and fear of believing that it would actually happen, turned to joy, as we realised it was genuine.

A newly converted church friend, just this week, received a call from a relative she had been praying for, telling her that they wanted to get right with God. I advised her to ask them if something had happened to cause this. Their answer was that nothing had happened, they had just realised they were living a sinful life and wanted to get right with God. 

Sometimes, when God is at work like this, we are almost paralysed by shock. It takes us a while to accept that God has actually answered our prayers and then to move forward in helping the person take the step of faith. This can demonstrate that we aren’t really trusting God that the people we are praying for will be saved. It is good that God is gracious, and accepts our meagre efforts, and weak expectations, but it must be disappointing to Him, especially when it’s not the first time He has saved someone we are praying for. Answers to prayer should encourage us to greater faith.

-The person who is ready. Some of my favourite stories in the Bible are those where people have been prepared in advance by God and are literally waiting for someone to point them to Jesus. The Philippian jailer who asked, “What must I do to be saved?” The Ethiopian eunuch who asked who the Scriptures were referring to, and then asked for baptism. The crowd who was told they had crucified their Messiah, were cut to the heart, and asked with some urgency, “What shall we do?”

When involved in evangelism, we are sometimes so astonished when we get these questions that we are rendered speechless, or tongue tied. Yet, they occur far more often than we expect.

In the last few weeks, I had a group of lads who had been asked if they knew how to get to Heaven turn the question around and say pointedly, “No, but can you tell us how to get to Heaven?!” Also, a man recently released from prison, on hearing the Gospel, said urgently, “I don’t want to go to Hell, I really don’t want to go to Hell, can you help me?” Another young guy approached the book table, asked us to tell him what we believed, and then asked if he could film our response. There was a pause as all three of us stared at him before realising that we were there for that purpose!

Many times, I’ve been asked what a person should do if they want to become a Christian and even a few times, “What must I do to be saved?”

-The unlikely convert. No matter how much we try to avoid it, we all judge a book by its cover, similarly with people. We look at someone and think that person would never be interested in Christianity. This can be based on all manner of external factors, but we forget that God deals with the heart, and that He saved people like Saul of Tarsus, and King Nebuchadnezzar.

I’m reading a book at the moment entitled, Out of the Black Shadows. Gang member Stephen Lungu, attended a Christian tent meeting in Zimbabwe, carrying a bag of petrol bombs with the intention of committing mass murder by firebomb. However, God stepped in, “The preacher was now saying that anyone who wanted could have this Jesus. I could exchange my poverty and sin for Jesus’ love and riches. The transaction that Jesus was offering me suddenly became clear. Tears for all the pain, loneliness, self-hatred and fear I had known coursed down my cheeks. If this great burden could not be removed by this Jesus, I no longer wanted to live. So, clutching my bag of petrol bombs I stumbled towards the preacher…….” Can your Jesus save even someone like me?” 

There are plenty of other testimonies of people that we might think outwardly wouldn’t be interested. I often find during street evangelism that it’s these people with whom I have the best conversations, perhaps to remind me that it’s God’s work and He can save anyone.

-The child. Society tells us that we shouldn’t brainwash children and that they can’t understand the things of God. Yet, the Bible tells us we have to become like little children to be saved, in terms of them having a simple trust in Jesus.

Many Christians that I know date their conversion to their childhood, one person was even as young as 4 years old. On a mission team this year, we had a question board with the question, “Does God exist?” The parent confidently placed his mark next to “No” but was then silently rebuked by his 8-year-old daughter who just as confidently selected “Yes.” I asked her how she knew that God existed, and she said that she just knew, she then spoke in simple terms about Creation.

Sometimes, children have a better understanding than adults as they haven’t been exposed to the corruptions of thinking that occur as we get older and mingle with supposedly more intelligent people.

-The cult member. I recently attended a conference dealing with cults and other religions. It was pointed out that we shy away from dealing with these people as a matter of course. We might even think they are unreachable because we tend to end up in lengthy conversations that never really seem to make progress.

Yet, there are Christians even in my limited circles who were formerly Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslims, Mormons, Catholics etc. Some of them are now Pastors and Evangelists.

-The prodigal. We know that God saves prodigals because of Luke 15 and the Parable of the Prodigal Son. I know that God saves prodigals because I was one!

Sometimes, we forget the love of God shown in the parable as He runs to meet the repentant son, or daughter, that has turned their back on Him, embraces them and restores them to their former place.

Are we still praying for prodigals that we know and love, or have we given up in despair secretly believing that they are beyond redemption?

So, can anyone be saved?

In the Bible, we are encouraged to believe and persist in prayer for people. A visiting speaker at my church recently told us this story about George Muller, a 19^th century Evangelist.

​” In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without a single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land, on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God and prayed on for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I thanked God for the second and prayed on for the other three. Day by day, I continued to pray for them, and six years passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three and went on praying for the other two. These two remained unconverted.

​
Thirty-six years later he wrote that the other two, sons of one of Mueller’s friends, were still not converted. He wrote, “But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be.” In 1897, fifty-two years after he began to pray daily, without interruption, for these two men, they were finally converted—but after he died! Mueller understood what Luke meant when he introduced a parable Jesus told about prayer, saying, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1).” (www.georgemuller.org)

Surely, based on the evidence we have considered, including the Bible stories, the answer is that yes, God can save anyone. This is what we should be communicating to anyone that asks us if they can be saved.

We have some great verses like Romans 10 vs 13, “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved,” and 2 Peter 3 vs 9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.”

We can be confident that God can save anyone, and that He wants to save everyone. Sadly, not everyone will be saved because many will reject the free gift of God through Jesus.

However, until the day a person dies, we must keep praying for them and witnessing to them, believing that God will answer.

Is There a Solution to Our Biggest Problem?

“Let yourself have fun and let yourself fail. Who cares? We’re all going to die. Just have a go.”               A heavily edited excerpt from an interview my cousin, Connor Swindells, recently gave to a national newspaper. At 26 and on the edge of stardom, you might think that death would be the last thing on his mind, but it isn’t.

In fact, no human being has ever had an answer to the problem of death. It hovers over us like a dark cloud throughout our lives rearing its ugly head from time to time when we lose someone close to us.

So, we do one of several things; ignore it, refuse to think about it and bury our heads in the sand choosing instead to live for the moment, or we become obsessed with health and safety to ensure we live as long as possible, or even, in extreme cases, we arrange for some kind of preservation of the body, just in case the scientists find a way to restore life in the future. If you are hoping for the latter, by the way, it will never happen!

We can’t beat or cheat death and, at the risk of stating the obvious, it gets us all in the end.

I often meet people who are upset about a particularly serious accident or tragedy where lots of people have died. The terrible incident at Aberfan, where a rubbish tip on hills above the village merged with springs of water causing a catastrophic collapse of slurry that killed many children at the village school and some adults, have been mentioned a few times this year even though it was decades ago.

People ask how God can be loving yet not have intervened as these, and other tragedies, unfolded. One man told me that if he had been God, he would have moved the trajectory slightly as the slurry descended the hill, so it avoided the school at Aberfan. I had no answer to this particular observation, and I’m not sure the man was expecting one, it was more like he was thinking out loud.

Reflecting, I wondered whether the man would still have been upset if he had been able to change the course and a group of different people had been killed instead of all the children. What if one of the new victims had been a relative of his, or the parents of one of the children that had survived and was now an orphan?

We can easily fall into the trap of thinking like this man. Perhaps we think the saddest aspect is because most were children that had barely started life. But is there ever an age that makes it easier to lose a loved one?

Some of the angriest people I meet in the street are still holding a grudge against God for allowing one of their grandparents to die decades earlier. Often, they had lived to their 70’s or 80’s but the person still believes God was unfair in allowing it to happen.

They are asking, “Why Me?”

Leaving aside the issue of us being unable to assess the fairness of God due to our comparatively minuscule minds and the fact that we cannot see the bigger picture.

The reality is that if God intervened to prevent your relative or friend dying in an accident or from an illness, others with people who love them are dying in similar circumstances all around the world every second of every hour, of every day. These people might well ask why your loved one was saved and theirs was not. 

If fairness is what we are concerned about, would that be fair?

Taking this to its logical conclusion, the result would be that God would be forced, or expected, to intervene in every situation where someone’s life was at risk, otherwise He would be showing partiality, or favouritism, to one person over another.

Then, we would all live forever!

Maybe at this point you are thinking that this sounds like a good idea and wondering why God didn’t set things up in this way in the first place.

Actually, He did…. but we messed it up. 

Our first parents rebelled against God and rejected His rule over them. So, God gave them over to their own ideas and, because of their sin, He cursed the Earth with suffering, sickness and…. wait for it…. death.

The Bible makes it clear that we ultimately die because of our sin, “the wages of sin is death…” and that we all are guilty of sin, “for all have sinned”.

God can’t just overlook sin, or He wouldn’t be just and fair. He can’t just intervene every time someone is in danger or there would be no penalty, or consequence, for sin which also wouldn’t be just and fair.

This would be a pretty diabolical position for us all to be in, and this post would be seriously depressing, if it weren’t for one important fact.

God loved us so much that He had a rescue plan. A plan to defeat the curse of sin, suffering, sickness and death that He had placed on the Earth due to our rebellion. A plan to send His Son Jesus to live a perfect life on our behalf. A plan for Jesus to die on a cross, taking the punishment you and I deserve, and to be buried in a tomb. A plan for Jesus to defeat the curse of death by coming back to life.

I said earlier that no human being has an answer to the problem of death. This is true, but thankfully God does.

Jesus was able to stand in our place, pay for our sin and reverse the curse of death because He was sinless. If we repent (turn away from our sinful lives), ask for forgiveness, and trust that Jesus died for us on the cross, we are promised eternal life in Heaven as a free gift.

Effectively, we can receive the benefit of Jesus defeating death and live forever with Him.

The alternative, which I don't recommend, is to stand before God on Judgment Day carrying all of our unforgiven sin. God has to punish us at this point, or He is not just. The punishment is eternal in a place called Hell.

Either way, death doesn’t have the last word, God does. 

Will you face Him joyfully having been forgiven through Jesus or will you suffer His righteous anger for all eternity?

 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(1 Corinthians 15 vs 55-57)

What a Christian is not.....

It is assumed, almost universally, that everyone knows what a Christian is. Sadly, as societies drift further and further from God, ignorance reigns.

In recent weeks, when I’ve explained what I believe to individuals, I’ve been asked what faith I belong to, what denomination I’m in, and even whether I’m a Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, Catholic or with the Latter Day Saints, (the same as Mormons.)

When I respond that I’m a Christian, a Christian that believes the Bible, I usually receive a bewildered look. Of course, no one says anything at this point because in Britain we are too polite, but I know exactly what they are thinking. They’re wondering why I take it all so seriously and insist on telling others about it. And, perhaps they are confused because they also believe they are a Christian but recognise that there is something very different about my life in comparison with theirs.

So, I thought it would be helpful to dispel the myths by explaining what a Christian is not…..

1. Someone who was born in England, America, or any other countries that are, or have been, culturally Christian. There may well be Christians in these countries, but being born into the country doesn’t make someone a Christian. When I speak to someone and ask them when they became a Christian, as soon as they reply “from birth,” or “I was born one,” or “I’ve always been one,” I know there is something amiss. A Christian can usually date their conversion, if not by exact date, to an age, or period of a few years, even if they were very young.

2. Someone who goes to church. Again, most Christians attend church regularly: the Bible says we shouldn’t give up meeting together and gives instructions for how church should be organised. But, there are plenty of people attending church that aren’t Christians. There is now even a church for atheists! Many people go through religious rituals of all kinds, and a lot of these are very sincere, but these things don’t make someone a true Christian. Likewise, many attend church at Christmas and Easter, weddings and funerals, but this won’t save them.

3. Someone who has been christened, baptised or confirmed. In response to the question, “are you a Christian?” people often tell me they have been christened or baptised, usually as a baby. Others point out that they’ve gone through a religious ceremony at a certain age. However, a lot of these people don’t even believe in God, and the fact of their christening has made no difference in their life. They just keep it as a “get out of jail free” card, as if it will possibly make everything okay in the end.

4. Someone who lives a good life or is a good person. Most people, on some level, associate Christianity with being a good person; doing charitable works, helping people, giving to the poor etc. I often get told I’m a good person by non-Christians who think I’m involved in some kind-of social work. Those that question further and find out that I’m basically sharing my faith with people are less enamoured. If I get the chance to explain, I will tell them why helping people practically with immediate needs won’t help them with their eternal destination on Judgement Day. The fact is that we cannot live good lives, or be good people. We are born with sinful natures which mean that even our good acts are tainted by mixed motives. One small thing that we do wrong is enough to keep us out of Heaven forever. It’s bad news for all those that are relying on their good works outweighing their bad when they stand before God, no one will make it.

5. Someone who knows the Bible. There are people out there who are relying on their academic knowledge, or being widely read. They are often the same people who dismiss parts of the Bible when it suits them. They know what the Bible says but it hasn’t changed their lives. I’ve met older people like this: when asked if they are Christians, they respond sharply, “of course,” but follow up questions reveal that they don’t understand the Gospel message. They know verses from the Bible, and hymns, and can quote these at length. When I gently try to explain what I believe in the hope they will realise it’s different to what they’ve said, they become offended and then belittle me. They remind me that these are things they’ve known their whole lives and have been brought up on. They can’t understand why I’m even speaking to them, and tell me to go and talk to others who need to hear what I’m saying. It is tragic that these sincere people are not saved.

6. Someone who is in full-time Christian work. On a recent camp, a young girl was astonished when I suggested that some Church of England vicars may not be Christians. I’m sure there are many that are, but some will just be doing a job. Certainly, in previous generations, men chose “the church” as their profession whether or not they believed the truths they were teaching. There were some serving alongside me on the mission field who later renounced the faith. We’ve seen recently, the well known pastor and author, Joshua Harris, abandon the faith, and his marriage. We can’t assume that church leaders, youth workers, missionaries, or others in Christian work, are Christians.

7. Someone who has a relative that is a Christian. This is an interesting one. I’ve met people who say, “my wife does the religious bit,” or “my niece is the one who’s into all that.” Sometimes, these people seem to be relying on their connection to this person whether through marriage or biology. They think that they don’t need to do anything about it themselves because their family is somehow covered by the devotion of the one person with faith. This is not a common view, but needs to be mentioned. The Bible makes it clear that faith is an individual matter, and that on Judgement Day we will stand alone before God to account for our lives.

8. Someone who separates themselves from the world. There are many examples of people believing that God desires us to cut ourselves off completely from society and live nomadic lives. The idea is that we are tainted by the sin of the world and therefore need to be separate in order to be holy and acceptable to God. There are monks, and some nuns, that have done this, and even harmed themselves physically, in an attempt to prove their devotion. The Bible says that we are to be in the world but not of it and that we are to be witnesses to non-believers. How can we do this if we are living completely separate lives? God does not require this of us and it is actually a form of self-righteousness or pride, thinking that we can reach God by our sincerity or acts of devotion over and above other people.

9. Someone whose life doesn’t change when they are converted. A Christian is a new creation with the Holy Spirit living inside them changing their desires, thoughts, attitudes and behaviour. If there is no visible difference, over time, between a person’s life before and after they say they became a Christian. There is a problem with their story. This is often what happens when someone makes an on the spot decision at a crusade, rally or meeting. They are swayed by the emotional atmosphere and really believe they should respond to an altar call but, afterwards, they change their mind, or forget the decision, or choose to continue as before. It is God who is at work, changing a person, and He doesn’t fail. We all mature at different rates but there is no such thing as a carnal Christian. Christians will fall into sin from time to time as we are all tempted, but they will respond in repentance and faith not in defiance and continuation of the sin.

10. Someone who doesn’t believe the Bible. There are people around who say they are Christians but either reject the whole of the Bible, or parts of it. These people haven’t understood the Gospel message of salvation. The Christian faith rests entirely on the Bible. It is God’s Word and therefore our source of authority. It provides instructions for life and conduct. More importantly, it tells us how we can be saved judgement for our sin, and go to Heaven forever. A person who thinks the Bible is unimportant, old-fashioned, out of date, or who doesn’t read it, or who rejects large parts of it, is not a Christian. This includes cults like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons (Church of the Latter Day Saints.) Both cults have their own religious books that contradict parts of the Bible. They don’t believe that Jesus is God.

11. Someone who is religious. When talking to people in the street, they often say, “I’m not religious” as if that is an answer to the Christian message. Somehow, people have convinced themselves that they don’t have to think about God unless they are religious. That God is only for religious people and as they aren’t religious they can live without reference to Him. This is an illogical philosophy. If God exists and created everything and everyone, we are all accountable to Him whether we are religious or not. It’s the same for those who believe they can somehow magic God out of existence by what they believe; “I don’t believe in God therefore He can’t judge me.” A more logical approach would be to say, “I’ve considered the Christian message and decided I don’t believe it is TRUE. I understand the consequence if I’m wrong but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.” Ultimately, Christians can’t force someone to believe, they can only present the Gospel message and ask people to consider whether it is true. If it’s true then it applies to everyone so look carefully at the overwhelming evidence!

12. Someone who focuses on signs, wonders and miracles. The Bible makes it clear that there will be people who have been involved in these things that are not saved. They may even convince themselves that they are doing these things in Jesus’ name but He will reject them on Judgement Day. This includes those who steal money from people for so-called faith healings and then live in luxury and self-indulgence. We cannot buy miracles, health, wealth or happiness from God and no human can provide these things on God’s behalf. We are told to pray to God and wait for His answer. A true Christian knows that they cannot expect a life of ease and prosperity because we are told to count the cost of following Jesus and that we should take up our cross and follow Him daily.

Having explained what a Christian is not, it would be remiss of me not to, briefly, explain what a true Christian is. The Bible says:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life.” (John 3 vs 16)

“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10 vs 13)

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10 vs 9)

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1 vs 9)

A true Christian is someone who acknowledges that they have sinned against God. They have confessed their sin and turned away from it (repentance). They have placed their whole faith and trust in Jesus, who lived a perfect life, and then died in their place on the cross. Jesus was punished by God instead of the sinner. They are following Jesus as Saviour and Lord, seeking to live a life that pleases Him. They have a certain hope of Heaven through Jesus’ death and resurrection, not through the good things they now do.

As you can see, being a Christian is about what you believe, not about any number of other things. A true Christian will change and become more like their Saviour, Jesus Christ.

The first step is to believe that He died for you on the cross and to ask for forgiveness of your sin. He promises to forgive all those who come to Him and ask.

Have you trusted Jesus yet?