Divine Opportunities

I’m back. It has been an embarrassingly long absence to be sure. Having started the FriendFluence Blog with many good intentions, I found my laziness to be stronger than my creativity. I’ll try to do better…

Recently, my wife and I went out to eat after church and God provided us with a divine opportunity to lead our server to Christ. It was an amazing, God-orchestrated encounter.

The whole thing started when we asked the question, “can we pray for you today.” It is a practice that the Lord has led us to follow on many occasions in restaurants and many doors to witness have opened as a result of asking this simple question.

Our server, a young girl named Heather, nearly started crying when she thought about her answer. It was clear that she was overwhelmed at the thought of a stranger caring enough to ask a question like that. She wanted prayer for her mother but did not tell us any specifics as to why.

So we prayed for her.

When she returned with our drinks, I asked her if she was 50%, 75% or 100% sure she would go to heaven when she died. She responded by saying that she had no idea how to answer that question. She knew that there was some kind of divine standard, but did not know what that was.

Before the meal was finished – between her serving duties – she prayed to receive Christ. God was working in her heart to bring her to faith in Jesus.

Sharing the good news must first begin with caring. If people know that you care, they will listens to what you have to say. If we show genuine concern for those around us, God will give us divine opportunities to influence – even lead them – to faith in His Son.

So, take time to care if you dare!

Compassion or Aggression?

A friend of mine named Marty has often said that people today view evangelism as an act of aggression, when it is really an act of compassion. That statement is so true. (I wish I would have thought of that.)

Even among Christians, the idea of sharing the gospel with someone and inviting them to trust Christ as their Lord and Savior smacks of shoving the gospel down their throat. We are so fearful, in our post-modern context, of being offensive that we soft pedal the message of Christ – we tone it down for fear of losing our friendship with the people we are witnessing to.

Certainly, there is a danger of being offensive with the gospel. The smacking someone over the head with the big black Bible technique comes to mind when I write that. I must admit that there have been times in my life when I have presented the gospel in an offensive manner. (A couple of encounters with Jehovah’s Witnesses come to mind.)

Posture makes the difference.

We can choose to be aggressive or compassionate in sharing the gospel. Aggressive means we are only looking for another notch on our gospel belt. Compassionate means we will sow in tears as we tell our friends and loved ones about Jesus and His love. An aggressive posture means I am out to prove you wrong no matter what and your opinion doesn’t matter. A compassionate posture means I have set myself aside and that you are a person of great value to me and God.

The Bible says that Jesus looked upon the crowds and “He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36 HCSB)

Where is our compassion for the lost?