- Although this blog is for outreach experiances, I wanted to share thoughts on the recent tragedy in Connecticut:
Christmas --a time of celebration and joy; but for now, especially for those in Connecticut, a time of grief and sadness. How to reconcile these contrary feelings?
As I re-read the biblical account of the first Christmas, the thought struck me-----> In the first century, Jesus was born in the midst of turmoil. Joseph and Mary had fled from King Herod, who sent a death squad after them to k...
ill Jesus. Herod's men had instructions to kill all the baby boys 2 years & under in the town of Bethlehem. Most scholars have estimated (based on expected population of Bethlehem at that time) that the actual number was probably around 20 infants that would be under two, brutally slain in Herod's "slaughter of the innocents".
This is also the same number of children murdered in Connecticut. The grief, despair, & sadness being felt in response to the tragedy is the same as that felt in Bethlehem in the first century:
Jeremiah 31:15 &
Matthew 2:16-18: “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “Thus says the Lord: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.’”
But because Jesus fullfilled His mission, eternal life awaits after this life for all those children slain will live again.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
The Joy of Christmas vs. the Grief of Connecticut Massacre
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Back Again to Camas...
Today, (Saturday) I went back to Camas with Irma. It was interesting because we first worked a well-to-do area of town, & then went to a poorer side of town. It was perfect weather, with a blue sky, and 75 degrees.
Prune Hill is absolutely beautiful. Expensive homes overlooking breathtaking backyard viewpoints. We first did a cul-de-sac of about ten homes on NW 25th Circle. Most weren't home, but we did talk with an elderly lady & her adult son. He apparently was an agnostic, and wasn't interested at all in talking. But the lady seemed happy to see us. She said she was Catholic & seemed to be a believer, & accepted the tract. She said her son's name was Dan. We told her we would keep him in prayer for salvation.
Another home was answered by a young lady about college age, who accepted the tract, but then went on to explain she was Jewish & that they attended a synagogue in Beaverton. Irma started talking with her about the Jewish scriptures (old testament). Then after a few minutes, her father came to the door and politely ended the conversation. We didn't get the young lady's name, but were happy she accepted the tract, because practicing Jews are not inclined to accept Christian literature.
Next we went to Adams street off of 14th Ave. We didn't have any extended conversations, but handed out another 15 or so tracts. One man was painting his fence with his two young sons. He was definately Christian and had three crosses in the window. He was happy we were doing the area, as he said the JW's and Mormans are the only ones he sees doing door to door.
Right on cue, we spotted 2 Mormons up the street walking. (After we got back to the car we tried to find them to give a tract, but lost sight of them.) Across the street, we talked with several occupants of a four-plex. One family was new to the area, and had tried several churches, but hadn't felt welcomed. We encouraged them to keep trying. They took a tract. All the tracts we passed out had Crossroads church contact info on the back. So it would be exciting to see if there is any fruit from our efforts (in new families from Camas coming to Crossroads)
Prune Hill is absolutely beautiful. Expensive homes overlooking breathtaking backyard viewpoints. We first did a cul-de-sac of about ten homes on NW 25th Circle. Most weren't home, but we did talk with an elderly lady & her adult son. He apparently was an agnostic, and wasn't interested at all in talking. But the lady seemed happy to see us. She said she was Catholic & seemed to be a believer, & accepted the tract. She said her son's name was Dan. We told her we would keep him in prayer for salvation.
Another home was answered by a young lady about college age, who accepted the tract, but then went on to explain she was Jewish & that they attended a synagogue in Beaverton. Irma started talking with her about the Jewish scriptures (old testament). Then after a few minutes, her father came to the door and politely ended the conversation. We didn't get the young lady's name, but were happy she accepted the tract, because practicing Jews are not inclined to accept Christian literature.
Next we went to Adams street off of 14th Ave. We didn't have any extended conversations, but handed out another 15 or so tracts. One man was painting his fence with his two young sons. He was definately Christian and had three crosses in the window. He was happy we were doing the area, as he said the JW's and Mormans are the only ones he sees doing door to door.
Right on cue, we spotted 2 Mormons up the street walking. (After we got back to the car we tried to find them to give a tract, but lost sight of them.) Across the street, we talked with several occupants of a four-plex. One family was new to the area, and had tried several churches, but hadn't felt welcomed. We encouraged them to keep trying. They took a tract. All the tracts we passed out had Crossroads church contact info on the back. So it would be exciting to see if there is any fruit from our efforts (in new families from Camas coming to Crossroads)
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Door to Door in Camas...
Sunday after church, I went with Paula door to door in Camas. Although most people are fairly friendly at the door, and sometimes open to conversing about God, the very first door we knocked on gave us a rude awakening. A lady came to the door, looked directly at the tracts I had in my hand, & pointed a finger at me and sternly & loudly said "NO!" That level of animosity is new to me.
But we soldiered on to the next house, where we were greeted by a lady who happened to be on the city council. She was friendlier & we conversed. As it turned out, she, like many we run into, seemed to have new age-ish beliefs. She accepted a tract, so we hope the seed was at least planted. As we continued on, we found many people home, & most were friendly, and about 50% were church-going. And a few people mentioned they were happy we were doing this outreach, as usually it's only the cults that they see door to door.
One of the last doors we knocked on was an attractive rustic log cabin. No one answered the door, but they had this posted on their fence: "SATAN Place". Bizarre! to say the least. They even had a full size guillotine on their front lawn. We left a tract on the door, so, once again, the seed was planted.
But we soldiered on to the next house, where we were greeted by a lady who happened to be on the city council. She was friendlier & we conversed. As it turned out, she, like many we run into, seemed to have new age-ish beliefs. She accepted a tract, so we hope the seed was at least planted. As we continued on, we found many people home, & most were friendly, and about 50% were church-going. And a few people mentioned they were happy we were doing this outreach, as usually it's only the cults that they see door to door.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Dog Park & Door to Door...
Dog Park:
The closest thing to heaven, if you are a dog, is a trip to the dog park! Total endorphin & adrenalin overload. The happiness & total ecstacy some dogs show at the park reminds me a little of what we might feel the first time we enter through the heavenly gates. I think that's one reason I go there so often.
So, yesterday, I made a decision beforehand that I would go to the dog park specifically asking God to lead me to ONE person to witness to. As my dogs played, I walked the grounds, looking for an opportunity. After an hour, I had managed to strike up short conversations, but nothing leading to an evangelizing opportunity. I decided finally to just leave a tract on the bench overlooking the hillside of the park.
But as I neared the bench, I noticed a cell phone someone left. After asking others at the park if they had lost a phone, I posted a "Found" notice with my number on the bulletin board there, & went home.
Later that evening, a lady finally called about the lost phone, & we agreed to meet at the park the next day. The next morning, when I gave her the phone, she was very thankful so it was easy to also hand her a bible tract. It was a short conversation, but at least she got the tract to read, and I also had my church's contact info (Crossroads Community Church) on the back of the tract and suggested she might try visiting if she had nowhere else to attend for Easter. To me, it really felt as though God had answered my prayer in guiding me to that bench which led to the witnessing opportunity.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Door to Door:
Today (Saturday), I also went downtown, going door to door for about 45 minutes. The most memorable conversation, was with a middle-aged lady at the third house I knocked on. She said "yes" she was raised Catholic, and was a believer. But as we continued chatting, it became clear she had more of a "New Age" belief system than Christian.
For example, she believed everyone would ultimately get to heaven, regardless of what they believed, or how badly they lived their life. When I tried to mention bible quotations, such as "No one comes to the Father except through Me", she said that she didn't really believe that part. She then went on to explain that she believed mainly what was in her heart.
That is a nice sentiment, & she is certainly entitled to her personal beliefs, but, whereas I seem to need a faith grounded on facts, many other people nowadays seem to be able to separate their spiritual walk from any grounding in any objective, factual foundation.
My reading of the bible, however, makes it clear to me that just as there are physical laws that run the physical universe, there are *also* spiritual laws that God uses to run the spiritual realm. For example, if I jump off a building believing in my heart I can fly, I will still fall flat on my face & break some bones. The law of gravity still operates no matter how much I try to think to the contrary. The same with the spiritual laws. If I disregard God's commandments & laws, I will suffer the consequences. Likewise, if I obey the spiritual law of sincerely accepting Jesus as my Savior (the ONLY one Who can pay the price for my sins & shortcomings), I get to enjoy the rewards of Heaven.++++++++++++++++
The closest thing to heaven, if you are a dog, is a trip to the dog park! Total endorphin & adrenalin overload. The happiness & total ecstacy some dogs show at the park reminds me a little of what we might feel the first time we enter through the heavenly gates. I think that's one reason I go there so often.
So, yesterday, I made a decision beforehand that I would go to the dog park specifically asking God to lead me to ONE person to witness to. As my dogs played, I walked the grounds, looking for an opportunity. After an hour, I had managed to strike up short conversations, but nothing leading to an evangelizing opportunity. I decided finally to just leave a tract on the bench overlooking the hillside of the park.
But as I neared the bench, I noticed a cell phone someone left. After asking others at the park if they had lost a phone, I posted a "Found" notice with my number on the bulletin board there, & went home.
Later that evening, a lady finally called about the lost phone, & we agreed to meet at the park the next day. The next morning, when I gave her the phone, she was very thankful so it was easy to also hand her a bible tract. It was a short conversation, but at least she got the tract to read, and I also had my church's contact info (Crossroads Community Church) on the back of the tract and suggested she might try visiting if she had nowhere else to attend for Easter. To me, it really felt as though God had answered my prayer in guiding me to that bench which led to the witnessing opportunity.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Door to Door:
Today (Saturday), I also went downtown, going door to door for about 45 minutes. The most memorable conversation, was with a middle-aged lady at the third house I knocked on. She said "yes" she was raised Catholic, and was a believer. But as we continued chatting, it became clear she had more of a "New Age" belief system than Christian.
For example, she believed everyone would ultimately get to heaven, regardless of what they believed, or how badly they lived their life. When I tried to mention bible quotations, such as "No one comes to the Father except through Me", she said that she didn't really believe that part. She then went on to explain that she believed mainly what was in her heart.
That is a nice sentiment, & she is certainly entitled to her personal beliefs, but, whereas I seem to need a faith grounded on facts, many other people nowadays seem to be able to separate their spiritual walk from any grounding in any objective, factual foundation.
My reading of the bible, however, makes it clear to me that just as there are physical laws that run the physical universe, there are *also* spiritual laws that God uses to run the spiritual realm. For example, if I jump off a building believing in my heart I can fly, I will still fall flat on my face & break some bones. The law of gravity still operates no matter how much I try to think to the contrary. The same with the spiritual laws. If I disregard God's commandments & laws, I will suffer the consequences. Likewise, if I obey the spiritual law of sincerely accepting Jesus as my Savior (the ONLY one Who can pay the price for my sins & shortcomings), I get to enjoy the rewards of Heaven.++++++++++++++++
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