A telemarketer called the office today. He had a rather strong Indian accent and sounded like an older gentleman. He was offering us the same services that our company provides. I talked with him for a few minutes and even pulled up his company's web site: it looked like a quality web site.
I shared that we didn't have a need for any of their services at this time, but that I would put his web site address into my file in case we ever did need to outsource some work: we could then consider them.
He appreciated that and was about to go when I asked him if I could ask him a question that didn't relate to his company. He said, "Sure."
I asked if he had a minute or two and he said that he did.
When speaking with someone that has a strong accent which indicates that English may not be their primary language, I work at speaking slow and I try to use plain words.
I asked if he had ever taken the Good Person test before, and at first he said "Ok", but when I said, "Have you, William, ever taken the test before?" He then understood and said, "No."
I started into it and didn't get very far at all. He said that he considered himself a good person. He was familiar with the ten commandments (God's measure of our goodness).
At that point he interrupted me and said, "Isn't this taking too long?"
I suspected that he meant to ask something slightly different, but I responded with a, "Is this taking too long? Not at all, I have plenty of time!" and kept going with the test. He laughed when he realized the question that he had asked, interrupted me, and said that HE didn't have time.
So, I encouraged him to visit a web site and finish the test (he said that he would) and we said goodbye.
I was disappointed that he wasn't able to go through the whole test, but, who knows, perhaps he would have gotten in trouble with his boss.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
A “Christian” Scam Artist?
I received a telemarketer phone call from a company selling toner cartridges last week. Fast-talking sales guy that then passed me to another rep who, it turns out, had been listening to the first part of the call. They offer to send a free toner cartridge to test the product out – you don’t have to pay for a month. They’re prices are higher than OEM because they last longer. They don’t have a web site because of a lawsuit from Epson (“Epson has had ink cartridges blowing up on their customers and doesn’t want the truth out, so we had to take down our site and update it but it’ll be back up soon.”)
As I was talking with them they were setting off all sorts of alarms in my mind!
After awhile I asked the gentleman if I could ask him a question that wasn’t related to printers. He said I could.
I began going through the good person test with him. His responses were fascinating as he worked to evade and dodge each question. Has he ever told a lie – sure, everybody does. What would that make him – definitely not a liar! Has he ever stolen something, or taken something without permission – nope. It’s only stealing if you have a habit of it (I challenged him to try that in a court of law, “But judge, I only took one thing and it’s not a habit!!”). Has he ever taken God’s name in vain – never! Has he ever been angry with someone or hated someone – sure, he’s been upset with people before but he has NEVER hated on someone.
I sought to share the gospel with him and he professed that he didn’t need the gospel as he was already going to heaven when he died – because he walked with God.
He owns two Bibles: one he keeps at his house and the other in his car. He regularly reads them.
He skillfully brought he conversation back to the printer cartridges, but, even as we talked about that he then abruptly asked, “Hey, on that Good Person Test, how did I do?”
I shared that he was very typical in his responses, but that some of what he shared had indicated something to me that I would share with him, but felt he probably wouldn’t be open to what I would share. He insisted that I tell him, and I shared with him that I had two concerns: that his salvation may not be genuinely based upon what the Lord Jesus Christ did for him and that, in much the same way that pride is a struggle in my life, it is likely a significant issue in his life.
I gave him the example of him not being willing to admit that he had stolen in the past. He shared that, because it was forgiven by God, it was as if it had never happened. That’s why he wouldn’t admit to any sin.
I took a few moments and tried to gently share with him the difference between a proud heart that will not admit having done any wrong, and a humble heart that realizes it is flesh and is full of sin before God, but is overwhelmed with gratitude for the mercy and forgiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even Paul remembered his past and shared that he had persecuted God’s church and considered himself the chiefest of sinners – even though he was forgiven and pardoned.
It wasn’t too much longer before he realized that I wasn’t going to accept his offer of a trial toner cartridge, and we said “goodbye” to each other.
As I was reaching to disconnect my headset (but still had it in my ear) I could hear him beginning to laugh as he hung up his phone. My guess is that he thought our conversation was rather funny and was going to enjoy replaying it to his buddies.
I did some quick research about the company online and found much negative feedback about the quality of their products. Was the company operating a scam? Perhaps not. Where they selling quality products at a fair price? From my research, it appeared to not be the case.
As I was talking with them they were setting off all sorts of alarms in my mind!
After awhile I asked the gentleman if I could ask him a question that wasn’t related to printers. He said I could.
I began going through the good person test with him. His responses were fascinating as he worked to evade and dodge each question. Has he ever told a lie – sure, everybody does. What would that make him – definitely not a liar! Has he ever stolen something, or taken something without permission – nope. It’s only stealing if you have a habit of it (I challenged him to try that in a court of law, “But judge, I only took one thing and it’s not a habit!!”). Has he ever taken God’s name in vain – never! Has he ever been angry with someone or hated someone – sure, he’s been upset with people before but he has NEVER hated on someone.
I sought to share the gospel with him and he professed that he didn’t need the gospel as he was already going to heaven when he died – because he walked with God.
He owns two Bibles: one he keeps at his house and the other in his car. He regularly reads them.
He skillfully brought he conversation back to the printer cartridges, but, even as we talked about that he then abruptly asked, “Hey, on that Good Person Test, how did I do?”
I shared that he was very typical in his responses, but that some of what he shared had indicated something to me that I would share with him, but felt he probably wouldn’t be open to what I would share. He insisted that I tell him, and I shared with him that I had two concerns: that his salvation may not be genuinely based upon what the Lord Jesus Christ did for him and that, in much the same way that pride is a struggle in my life, it is likely a significant issue in his life.
I gave him the example of him not being willing to admit that he had stolen in the past. He shared that, because it was forgiven by God, it was as if it had never happened. That’s why he wouldn’t admit to any sin.
I took a few moments and tried to gently share with him the difference between a proud heart that will not admit having done any wrong, and a humble heart that realizes it is flesh and is full of sin before God, but is overwhelmed with gratitude for the mercy and forgiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even Paul remembered his past and shared that he had persecuted God’s church and considered himself the chiefest of sinners – even though he was forgiven and pardoned.
It wasn’t too much longer before he realized that I wasn’t going to accept his offer of a trial toner cartridge, and we said “goodbye” to each other.
As I was reaching to disconnect my headset (but still had it in my ear) I could hear him beginning to laugh as he hung up his phone. My guess is that he thought our conversation was rather funny and was going to enjoy replaying it to his buddies.
I did some quick research about the company online and found much negative feedback about the quality of their products. Was the company operating a scam? Perhaps not. Where they selling quality products at a fair price? From my research, it appeared to not be the case.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Oh, Canada
It’s been quite some time since I posted. As of late I’ve been sharing more on a different blog… Unfortunately, the other blog is not anonymous, and I cannot link to it or link from it back to this one. And, since this is basically my personal witnessing journal I’ll keep adding to it when I have time and an interesting encounter to document.
In addition, we recently added another level of protection to our internet access, and for quite some time it was partially blocking access to Blogger.
I recently spent more than a month traveling, and a portion of that time was spent in Canada. Several things struck me as we were up North:
- How sparsely populated so much of Canada seems
- How many old, small, church buildings I saw
- How little interest in the Lord Jesus Christ there seemed to be
I met some fascinating Canadians...
One was a young lady who was working as a hotel clerk. The hotel had a fancy bus with an expensive political “wrap” parked in the parking lot. We figured the politician was a national politician because the local politicians wouldn’t have the resources for such a nice campaign bus or fancy artwork.
We didn’t recognize the politicians name or the abbreviation for the political party – but I did see a newspaper inside the hotel lobby with the man’s photo in a debate for Prime Minister (so we were right that it was a national figure). After I had finished sending/receiving e-mail (have to keep up with work on the road) I asked the hotel clerk if she knew which political party the candidate was a member of. She had no idea.
I asked her what the political party initials “NDP” stood for (we knew it didn’t stand for the Liberal Party, or the Conservative Party, or the Green Party – my guess is that the N stood for New and the P for Party – but we weren’t sure of the D). She had no idea! She said she knew nothing about politics.
I asked her how old she was (you can’t do this with older women, but young people are generally OK with it) and said I assumed she was old enough to vote? She said she was 20, and she was planning on voting.
I asked her if she knew the various candidates for Prime Minister and what they believed about various issues. She had no idea.
I asked her how she would know who to vote for. She shrugged her shoulders.
I eventually shared some tracts with her and encouraged her to read them. I told her she can get through life OK without knowing anything about politics but that issues of heaven and hell had to be dealt with before death, or the consequences would be tragic.
In addition, we recently added another level of protection to our internet access, and for quite some time it was partially blocking access to Blogger.
I recently spent more than a month traveling, and a portion of that time was spent in Canada. Several things struck me as we were up North:
- How sparsely populated so much of Canada seems
- How many old, small, church buildings I saw
- How little interest in the Lord Jesus Christ there seemed to be
I met some fascinating Canadians...
One was a young lady who was working as a hotel clerk. The hotel had a fancy bus with an expensive political “wrap” parked in the parking lot. We figured the politician was a national politician because the local politicians wouldn’t have the resources for such a nice campaign bus or fancy artwork.
We didn’t recognize the politicians name or the abbreviation for the political party – but I did see a newspaper inside the hotel lobby with the man’s photo in a debate for Prime Minister (so we were right that it was a national figure). After I had finished sending/receiving e-mail (have to keep up with work on the road) I asked the hotel clerk if she knew which political party the candidate was a member of. She had no idea.
I asked her what the political party initials “NDP” stood for (we knew it didn’t stand for the Liberal Party, or the Conservative Party, or the Green Party – my guess is that the N stood for New and the P for Party – but we weren’t sure of the D). She had no idea! She said she knew nothing about politics.
I asked her how old she was (you can’t do this with older women, but young people are generally OK with it) and said I assumed she was old enough to vote? She said she was 20, and she was planning on voting.
I asked her if she knew the various candidates for Prime Minister and what they believed about various issues. She had no idea.
I asked her how she would know who to vote for. She shrugged her shoulders.
I eventually shared some tracts with her and encouraged her to read them. I told her she can get through life OK without knowing anything about politics but that issues of heaven and hell had to be dealt with before death, or the consequences would be tragic.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Missed Opportunity
I HAVE to be disciplined about carrying tracts in my pocket. If I don’t have them with me I can’t hand them out. Having them in the car is a good start, but not good enough.
I take one of my younger siblings out for lunch each week. Today they picked a restaurant that is often chosen. The lady who was taking the orders was very, very, slow. I could tell that she was new (likely her first day on the job). The kitchen staff was unhappy with her (she was inputting orders incorrectly) and the people in line were upset with the long wait to place their order.
She apologized to us for the delay and I said it was no problem. If I would have had tracts with me it would have been a perfect opportunity to share the gospel with her.
A good reminder to me.
I take one of my younger siblings out for lunch each week. Today they picked a restaurant that is often chosen. The lady who was taking the orders was very, very, slow. I could tell that she was new (likely her first day on the job). The kitchen staff was unhappy with her (she was inputting orders incorrectly) and the people in line were upset with the long wait to place their order.
She apologized to us for the delay and I said it was no problem. If I would have had tracts with me it would have been a perfect opportunity to share the gospel with her.
A good reminder to me.
Missionary to India?
Computer technical support can be a big hassle. While the technician generally seems sincere in wanting to help, they often aren’t very helpful. Then you toss in an overseas call center…
Living in India and working in a US-outsourced computer technical support call center would be a VERY difficult job. They have to work overnight (US Central Time zone) and talk with customers that are generally very disappointed to be talking with someone located in India (who is probably hard to understand). How would we feel if we were trying to help people all day that were very upset to have to talk with us?
Over the past few weeks I have had several opportunities to call a computer manufacturer’s technical support. Turns out, for one of the computers, I could have called their “Gold” support number for support from a US-based call center, but I chose to instead keep talking with the general “overseas” support.
Even though the person wasn’t very knowledgeable, and even though it took longer for them to send me the part than I would have preferred (about 30 minutes start-to-finish before they agreed to send me the warranty-covered part that I needed) I work very hard at being polite, understanding, and gracious.
I know that these technicians face upset and impatient callers all day long. When I call them I want to be different, and I am cognizant of the fact that my attitude and interaction with them during the business portion of the call will impact whether they listen to me share the gospel with them at the end of the call.
The last few times, the person has been open.
While I have found it to be slower, more of a hassle, and less helpful, to get technical support from India than from a US-call center, I have found that the Indian technicians seem to be more open to the gospel.
Traveling to India to share the gospel would be exciting (and expensive); my experience has been that sharing with an Asian-India over the phone simply takes time, patience, and a gentle spirit.
Am I willing to be inconvenienced (speaking to foreign tech support) in order to be able to share the gospel?
Living in India and working in a US-outsourced computer technical support call center would be a VERY difficult job. They have to work overnight (US Central Time zone) and talk with customers that are generally very disappointed to be talking with someone located in India (who is probably hard to understand). How would we feel if we were trying to help people all day that were very upset to have to talk with us?
Over the past few weeks I have had several opportunities to call a computer manufacturer’s technical support. Turns out, for one of the computers, I could have called their “Gold” support number for support from a US-based call center, but I chose to instead keep talking with the general “overseas” support.
Even though the person wasn’t very knowledgeable, and even though it took longer for them to send me the part than I would have preferred (about 30 minutes start-to-finish before they agreed to send me the warranty-covered part that I needed) I work very hard at being polite, understanding, and gracious.
I know that these technicians face upset and impatient callers all day long. When I call them I want to be different, and I am cognizant of the fact that my attitude and interaction with them during the business portion of the call will impact whether they listen to me share the gospel with them at the end of the call.
The last few times, the person has been open.
While I have found it to be slower, more of a hassle, and less helpful, to get technical support from India than from a US-call center, I have found that the Indian technicians seem to be more open to the gospel.
Traveling to India to share the gospel would be exciting (and expensive); my experience has been that sharing with an Asian-India over the phone simply takes time, patience, and a gentle spirit.
Am I willing to be inconvenienced (speaking to foreign tech support) in order to be able to share the gospel?
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Car Pushin'
Last week I was out with one of my younger brothers for lunch. As we finished lunch I noticed that a car had become stuck on the curb in the parking lot (the young driver had turned too sharp and had put a tire up over the curb into the grass/dirt and couldn’t roll forward over the curb forward, or get enough traction to back up over the curb). It looked like the car could easily be pushed back the way it came (the pushing providing the needed traction), so I suggested we go out and see if we could help.
By the time we were there two of her friends had showed up. Four of them and two of us. Six people (although, only three of us were men). One car. One curb. Should be easy.
The car was in neutral, so we tried (once) pushing. It didn’t budge. I couldn’t figure out why the engine wasn’t running and they weren’t backing it up so I asked her about it. Turns out they were all a bit flustered because of the incident, and the "flustration" appeared to be exasperated by the fact that the car that belonged to a parent. To them, it was as if they had been involved in a significant car wreck and were going to need a tow truck.
Once I got her to start the car I made sure it was put into reverse. I told her to try and back up as we pushed. The car immediately backed right off of and over the curb – back to the pavement where it belonged – requiring practically no pushing effort at all.
They were all extremely grateful for the help (not that my brother and I really did anything), and I took the opportunity to leave them with a few gospel tracts.
It was a reminder to me in several ways:
1. Make sure to carry a number of tracts at all times. I only had two tracts in my pocket. There were four of them. I could have easily given them all one tract each.
2. Seek ways to help those that have a need. The Lord can use those opportunities to open doors to share the gospel. Granted, I didn’t end up spending time sharing directly, but because we took a moment to help with the car they were very receptive to the tract.
I’m definitely guilty of not seeking opportunities to help those in need. May I instead have a heart that is more focused on others than myself! May I remember that one of the reasons why God created me was so that I would be doing good for others: my purpose here on earth is not to serve myself.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
By the time we were there two of her friends had showed up. Four of them and two of us. Six people (although, only three of us were men). One car. One curb. Should be easy.
The car was in neutral, so we tried (once) pushing. It didn’t budge. I couldn’t figure out why the engine wasn’t running and they weren’t backing it up so I asked her about it. Turns out they were all a bit flustered because of the incident, and the "flustration" appeared to be exasperated by the fact that the car that belonged to a parent. To them, it was as if they had been involved in a significant car wreck and were going to need a tow truck.
Once I got her to start the car I made sure it was put into reverse. I told her to try and back up as we pushed. The car immediately backed right off of and over the curb – back to the pavement where it belonged – requiring practically no pushing effort at all.
They were all extremely grateful for the help (not that my brother and I really did anything), and I took the opportunity to leave them with a few gospel tracts.
It was a reminder to me in several ways:
1. Make sure to carry a number of tracts at all times. I only had two tracts in my pocket. There were four of them. I could have easily given them all one tract each.
2. Seek ways to help those that have a need. The Lord can use those opportunities to open doors to share the gospel. Granted, I didn’t end up spending time sharing directly, but because we took a moment to help with the car they were very receptive to the tract.
I’m definitely guilty of not seeking opportunities to help those in need. May I instead have a heart that is more focused on others than myself! May I remember that one of the reasons why God created me was so that I would be doing good for others: my purpose here on earth is not to serve myself.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Unexpected Sharing at Funeral
Last week one of my neighbors died. A man who professed faith in Jesus and who has struggled with emphysema for the past 12 years. His health was terrible the last year of his life. I’ve known him and his wife for the past 17 years. I mowed their lawn back when I was young and had a lawn mowing business.
In the morning (last week) the EMS/fire/police had been at the house and he was transported to the hospital. On the police scanner his condition was reported as “code yellow” (which is urgent, but not as critical as a “code red”). Later in the day we were surprised to see that he returned home from the hospital in a taxi cab.
That evening I was walking across the street and saw his wife returning from an errand. I went over to talk with her and let her know that we were praying for them. We spoke for a minute or two and then she went inside. I was working on a work project that was across the street from their house.
Shortly thereafter I heard sirens. The sirens became very loud and I looked over and noticed her standing at her front door. A moment later the trucks began arriving. The firemen hurried inside (which I thought was a good thing: I’ve seen a number of times when emergency personnel arrive at a location and seem to take their time gathering gear before walking into the house/apartment). The ambulance arrived and the stretcher was taken up to the door, but never inside. A few minutes later the stretcher was returned to the ambulance. By that time three police cars had arrived.
The stretcher and the three police cars indicated (to me) that he had passed away – and soon after that neighbors confirmed that he had died.
Up and down the street neighbors were outside on their front porch or were gathered in little clumps talking. The sidewalk across the street became busy as a number of people suddenly decided to take walks.
I wondered if that is how it would be when I die: the neighbors out talking and watching the “excitement.” How short our time on earth is.
The visitation was last night. Only a few people were there because the newspaper had a computer malfunction and didn’t print the obituary in time.
We talked with his widow. Through the pain you could see the Lord was strengthening and supporting her. She said he had been ready to go and knew exactly where he was headed. He had chosen to go home from the hospital because he didn’t want to die in the hospital. Her errand had actually been to a nearby church to play the piano for a time of worship.
Today was the funeral. It was actually held at a theater as this gentleman was very involved with the technical aspects of theater (lights/sound/staging).
About a 150 people attended. Mostly older people, and I believe most of them were affiliated with the theater.
I don’t know if it was a Methodist or Presbyterian funeral, but my heart was very, very, heavy as I witnessed the service. The pastor read the opening prayer and the opening comments from a little book. As the service progressed I couldn’t help but wonder if it was all just “words” as they talked so much about God – but only one or two references to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Asking all-loving God to welcome this man into His eternal rest? In the same way that we ask God to accept ourselves?
I don’t recall hearing anything about the blood of Jesus – OR, more importantly, how one can have His blood applied to their own life. Nothing about the cross or repentance. Nothing about believing in Jesus. Nothing about being born again.
An open time of tributes was next. One gentleman shared some heartfelt and humorous anecdotes. No one else got up to share so the pastor moved on to the next special music.
I noticed in the bulletin that there would be another time for “open sharing” after the special music.
I began to wonder if I should get up and share what I remember of our neighbor, and at the same time share the gospel.
But I didn’t want to get up and share. During the special music I prayed and it was very obvious the Lord had spoken to my heart and wanted me to share. I didn’t want that service to pass without someone giving honor to the Lord Jesus Christ – it’s just that I wasn’t excited about being the one to get up and do it… It was out of my comfort zone.
After the song the officiant asked if anyone else had something to share. I got up and went forward.
I don’t recall exactly what I shared. I couldn’t see past the stage lights so I really don’t know how my words were received. Considering more humorous theater testimonies were shared after me I figure my time of sharing probably stuck out like a sore thumb.
It was difficult to know how to share because I truly wanted to respect this man and his dear wife. I was 100% confident that my sharing would not in any way offend her, and I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary offense to those attending, but I did want to uplift the Lord Jesus Christ and directly share the gospel.
After sharing some of the memories I had of this man from the past 17 years of living near him, I shared that the one thing I knew from talking with him and his wife: he was ready to go and knew without a doubt where he was headed. He had placed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said that we MUST be born again if we are to enter heaven. While this man had dealt with his sin at the foot of the cross, I said what was important was that WE know where we are headed when we die. If so, this time of separation and heartache is temporary. If we don’t repent and follow Jesus now, this time of separation and loss will be forever.
If this man were alive today I shared that I was confident he would encourage each one to surrender their life to the Lord Jesus Christ, for, in the end, that is all that really matters.
One day it’ll be us that will have passed on. What kind of a life are we living right now? Will people gather and share about the good works that we have done – in the same way that we are gathering and sharing about this man’s good works? Will we know as we face death where we are headed – in the same way that this man knew where he was headed?
After sharing I didn’t have a wonderful sense of elation or euphoria. But I felt I had done the right thing and I knew that I had sought to stand up for the Lord Jesus Christ – the One Whom this man was trusting in for his salvation.
My prayer is that the Lord will somehow use my faltering words for His glory.
In the morning (last week) the EMS/fire/police had been at the house and he was transported to the hospital. On the police scanner his condition was reported as “code yellow” (which is urgent, but not as critical as a “code red”). Later in the day we were surprised to see that he returned home from the hospital in a taxi cab.
That evening I was walking across the street and saw his wife returning from an errand. I went over to talk with her and let her know that we were praying for them. We spoke for a minute or two and then she went inside. I was working on a work project that was across the street from their house.
Shortly thereafter I heard sirens. The sirens became very loud and I looked over and noticed her standing at her front door. A moment later the trucks began arriving. The firemen hurried inside (which I thought was a good thing: I’ve seen a number of times when emergency personnel arrive at a location and seem to take their time gathering gear before walking into the house/apartment). The ambulance arrived and the stretcher was taken up to the door, but never inside. A few minutes later the stretcher was returned to the ambulance. By that time three police cars had arrived.
The stretcher and the three police cars indicated (to me) that he had passed away – and soon after that neighbors confirmed that he had died.
Up and down the street neighbors were outside on their front porch or were gathered in little clumps talking. The sidewalk across the street became busy as a number of people suddenly decided to take walks.
I wondered if that is how it would be when I die: the neighbors out talking and watching the “excitement.” How short our time on earth is.
The visitation was last night. Only a few people were there because the newspaper had a computer malfunction and didn’t print the obituary in time.
We talked with his widow. Through the pain you could see the Lord was strengthening and supporting her. She said he had been ready to go and knew exactly where he was headed. He had chosen to go home from the hospital because he didn’t want to die in the hospital. Her errand had actually been to a nearby church to play the piano for a time of worship.
Today was the funeral. It was actually held at a theater as this gentleman was very involved with the technical aspects of theater (lights/sound/staging).
About a 150 people attended. Mostly older people, and I believe most of them were affiliated with the theater.
I don’t know if it was a Methodist or Presbyterian funeral, but my heart was very, very, heavy as I witnessed the service. The pastor read the opening prayer and the opening comments from a little book. As the service progressed I couldn’t help but wonder if it was all just “words” as they talked so much about God – but only one or two references to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.
Asking all-loving God to welcome this man into His eternal rest? In the same way that we ask God to accept ourselves?
I don’t recall hearing anything about the blood of Jesus – OR, more importantly, how one can have His blood applied to their own life. Nothing about the cross or repentance. Nothing about believing in Jesus. Nothing about being born again.
An open time of tributes was next. One gentleman shared some heartfelt and humorous anecdotes. No one else got up to share so the pastor moved on to the next special music.
I noticed in the bulletin that there would be another time for “open sharing” after the special music.
I began to wonder if I should get up and share what I remember of our neighbor, and at the same time share the gospel.
But I didn’t want to get up and share. During the special music I prayed and it was very obvious the Lord had spoken to my heart and wanted me to share. I didn’t want that service to pass without someone giving honor to the Lord Jesus Christ – it’s just that I wasn’t excited about being the one to get up and do it… It was out of my comfort zone.
After the song the officiant asked if anyone else had something to share. I got up and went forward.
I don’t recall exactly what I shared. I couldn’t see past the stage lights so I really don’t know how my words were received. Considering more humorous theater testimonies were shared after me I figure my time of sharing probably stuck out like a sore thumb.
It was difficult to know how to share because I truly wanted to respect this man and his dear wife. I was 100% confident that my sharing would not in any way offend her, and I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary offense to those attending, but I did want to uplift the Lord Jesus Christ and directly share the gospel.
After sharing some of the memories I had of this man from the past 17 years of living near him, I shared that the one thing I knew from talking with him and his wife: he was ready to go and knew without a doubt where he was headed. He had placed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said that we MUST be born again if we are to enter heaven. While this man had dealt with his sin at the foot of the cross, I said what was important was that WE know where we are headed when we die. If so, this time of separation and heartache is temporary. If we don’t repent and follow Jesus now, this time of separation and loss will be forever.
If this man were alive today I shared that I was confident he would encourage each one to surrender their life to the Lord Jesus Christ, for, in the end, that is all that really matters.
One day it’ll be us that will have passed on. What kind of a life are we living right now? Will people gather and share about the good works that we have done – in the same way that we are gathering and sharing about this man’s good works? Will we know as we face death where we are headed – in the same way that this man knew where he was headed?
After sharing I didn’t have a wonderful sense of elation or euphoria. But I felt I had done the right thing and I knew that I had sought to stand up for the Lord Jesus Christ – the One Whom this man was trusting in for his salvation.
My prayer is that the Lord will somehow use my faltering words for His glory.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
You Should Join our Evangelism Team!
I received a bank statement in the mail today – from a bank which was supposed to have closed my account. The account has $0 in it!
I called the 800# and pressed the option to “close an account”. Almost immediately a very helpful lady came on the line and asked what she could do to assist me. I made a comment about this being the queue for closing accounts and that she probably had an idea what I was wanting to do; she laughed and agreed.
I answered what seemed like 21 questions to confirm my identity and then we talked about closing the account. That process only took a few minutes.
Afterwards she asked me the typical question, “Is there anything else I can do to help you?”
My answer was this, “Actually, you’ve taken care of all the banking issues. But, if you have a minute before the next call comes in I’d like to ask you another, different, question.”
She said, “Absolutely, go ahead.”
She had never heard of or taken the Good Person test – so we started into it. She said she was a good person. She readily admitted to having lied in the past but wouldn’t admit to having ever stolen anything (perhaps because she’s working at a bank and the call may have been recorded??).
At one point she interjected that we aren’t supposed to judge – I said Matthew 7 says we are not to judge lest we be judged, but that Jesus clearly said, “Judge righteous judgment.” I also said that was a bit off topic and we needed to get back to the test…
She admitted to blasphemy. I briefly touched on murder and adultery of the heart – and moved on to summarize everything because I wasn’t sure how open she was to the gospel (especially after the "judge" comment).
When I asked her if she were to die and God judged her based on His 10 commandments if she would be innocent or guilty, she said she would be guilty – but that he is a loving and forgiving God.
I asked if she would spend an eternity in heaven or hell and she said that she asks God to forgive her every day and she’ll spend an eternity with Him.
I started sharing the gospel with her and sought to clarify that asking forgiveness is not what the Bible says results in a person “being born again”. I drew some analogies with our legal system.
I asked if she had a Bible and she said she had one right by her on her desk, and that she reads it all the time.
She then said, “You should be on our evangelism team!”
That caught me off guard and said, “Oh, really, so what do you do on your evangelism team?”
Her response was that they go around and share the gospel with people.
My prayer is that she is clearly presenting the true gospel and that she has been Biblically born again!
I called the 800# and pressed the option to “close an account”. Almost immediately a very helpful lady came on the line and asked what she could do to assist me. I made a comment about this being the queue for closing accounts and that she probably had an idea what I was wanting to do; she laughed and agreed.
I answered what seemed like 21 questions to confirm my identity and then we talked about closing the account. That process only took a few minutes.
Afterwards she asked me the typical question, “Is there anything else I can do to help you?”
My answer was this, “Actually, you’ve taken care of all the banking issues. But, if you have a minute before the next call comes in I’d like to ask you another, different, question.”
She said, “Absolutely, go ahead.”
She had never heard of or taken the Good Person test – so we started into it. She said she was a good person. She readily admitted to having lied in the past but wouldn’t admit to having ever stolen anything (perhaps because she’s working at a bank and the call may have been recorded??).
At one point she interjected that we aren’t supposed to judge – I said Matthew 7 says we are not to judge lest we be judged, but that Jesus clearly said, “Judge righteous judgment.” I also said that was a bit off topic and we needed to get back to the test…
She admitted to blasphemy. I briefly touched on murder and adultery of the heart – and moved on to summarize everything because I wasn’t sure how open she was to the gospel (especially after the "judge" comment).
When I asked her if she were to die and God judged her based on His 10 commandments if she would be innocent or guilty, she said she would be guilty – but that he is a loving and forgiving God.
I asked if she would spend an eternity in heaven or hell and she said that she asks God to forgive her every day and she’ll spend an eternity with Him.
I started sharing the gospel with her and sought to clarify that asking forgiveness is not what the Bible says results in a person “being born again”. I drew some analogies with our legal system.
I asked if she had a Bible and she said she had one right by her on her desk, and that she reads it all the time.
She then said, “You should be on our evangelism team!”
That caught me off guard and said, “Oh, really, so what do you do on your evangelism team?”
Her response was that they go around and share the gospel with people.
My prayer is that she is clearly presenting the true gospel and that she has been Biblically born again!
"Discover" Credit Cards
It’s been awhile since I’ve taken time to post… Lately I’ve been able to share the gospel on the phone with a number of people.
At 8:30 p.m. on Friday night my business phone line rang. Caller ID showed an unidentified toll-free number. I suspected it was a telemarketer and was surprised they were calling a business so late in the day. I went ahead and answered the phone.
It was a lady with Discover Credit Card calling to see if they could get us signed up for a credit card. I asked some questions about the credit cards (a few of which she didn’t really know the answer to).
We only talked about credit cards for about two minutes and I said I would save the information in a file and, if we ever were interested in a Discover card, I would call back.
I then said I had asked a lot of questions about the credit cards but I now had a slightly different question for her – if she had a minute before she needed to make her next call. She was available and wondered what I wanted to know.
I asked if she had ever heard of or taken the Good Person test before. She hadn’t heard of it and hadn’t ever taken it.
I said that it only took a few minutes, that everyone should take it at some point in their life, and that there is a “moral” at the end…
She felt she was a good person, despite the fact that I found out she was a lying, thieving, blasphemer. When I said we could look at one more commandment and let her choose between murder and adultery, she chose adultery (most people choose “murder”). While she hadn’t outright broken the commandment, when I shared what Jesus said in Matthew 5:
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
She said “I figured that was where you were headed” – and she readily acknowledged having broken the commandment in spirit.
When I asked her if God were to judge her (once she dies) based on His 10 commandments whether she would be innocent or guilty, she said “guilty”. When I asked where she thought she would spend an eternity, she said “Hell”.
I then had some time to share the gospel with her.
She had interacted with great interest up until a few minutes of sharing the gospel when she seemed to suddenly become very cold.
The entire time I had been sharing with her (and even before that when we were talking about credit cards!) I had been praying the Holy Spirit would be working in her heart/life – and it seemed she was very open. I wonder if perhaps her manager had walked by or was listening in on the call?
Either way I encouraged her to be reading her Bible in the book of John, where we learn more of what Jesus did for her so that she doesn’t have to spend an eternity suffering in hell for her sin.
I’m continuing to pray for her -- that she will come to place her faith in Jesus as her Savior.
At 8:30 p.m. on Friday night my business phone line rang. Caller ID showed an unidentified toll-free number. I suspected it was a telemarketer and was surprised they were calling a business so late in the day. I went ahead and answered the phone.
It was a lady with Discover Credit Card calling to see if they could get us signed up for a credit card. I asked some questions about the credit cards (a few of which she didn’t really know the answer to).
We only talked about credit cards for about two minutes and I said I would save the information in a file and, if we ever were interested in a Discover card, I would call back.
I then said I had asked a lot of questions about the credit cards but I now had a slightly different question for her – if she had a minute before she needed to make her next call. She was available and wondered what I wanted to know.
I asked if she had ever heard of or taken the Good Person test before. She hadn’t heard of it and hadn’t ever taken it.
I said that it only took a few minutes, that everyone should take it at some point in their life, and that there is a “moral” at the end…
She felt she was a good person, despite the fact that I found out she was a lying, thieving, blasphemer. When I said we could look at one more commandment and let her choose between murder and adultery, she chose adultery (most people choose “murder”). While she hadn’t outright broken the commandment, when I shared what Jesus said in Matthew 5:
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
She said “I figured that was where you were headed” – and she readily acknowledged having broken the commandment in spirit.
When I asked her if God were to judge her (once she dies) based on His 10 commandments whether she would be innocent or guilty, she said “guilty”. When I asked where she thought she would spend an eternity, she said “Hell”.
I then had some time to share the gospel with her.
She had interacted with great interest up until a few minutes of sharing the gospel when she seemed to suddenly become very cold.
The entire time I had been sharing with her (and even before that when we were talking about credit cards!) I had been praying the Holy Spirit would be working in her heart/life – and it seemed she was very open. I wonder if perhaps her manager had walked by or was listening in on the call?
Either way I encouraged her to be reading her Bible in the book of John, where we learn more of what Jesus did for her so that she doesn’t have to spend an eternity suffering in hell for her sin.
I’m continuing to pray for her -- that she will come to place her faith in Jesus as her Savior.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Stepping Into Eternity…
I have not come very close to death in my life. About eight years ago my great-grandmother, who was living with my grandparents (who live next door to me), passed away. I spent time with her during her last days, but I don’t remember spending a lot of time with her.
I’ve been to various funerals and have stood in front of caskets, looking at the “person who isn’t there.” It is hard not to think of eternity when you are standing in front of the casket of someone you knew who has since passed away.
About a year ago my brother and his wife – who had been praying for a child for the five years they had been married – had a little girl. She was born “code blue” and spent several days in the NICU before Jesus called her home. I supported them as best as possible: they didn’t need a lot of support because of other family members, but I was able to take care of some work projects for my brother so he wouldn’t have to worry about work during those days, I did some behind-the-scenes arranging for prayer support, and I also did a photo shoot for them. Going through the loss of my niece was probably the hardest thing I had faced in my life, and was the closest experience I had had with death – until just recently week.
While my friend at the nursing home (see the previous post) was very sick on February 8th, his health stabilized and he was doing better for another week. But he took another turn for the worse the next Friday evening.
I had stopped by that Friday around lunch time and found his Hospice nurse with him – she was writing reports. When I came into the room he opened his eyes, smiled at me, and tried to reach to shake my hand (my friend has very little control of his muscles, likely caused by a lifetime of alcohol abuse). I reached for his hand and shook it; it was the last time we would shake hands (even though I would hold his hand quite a bit over the next few days).
He had stabilized (somewhat) by Saturday.
When I visited him on Saturday I could tell the end was near. Even though he was becoming unresponsive, he was still stir anytime I leaned over his bed, gripped his hand, and prayed for him.
I didn’t want him to die alone.
He had estranged his two children, although one of them did try to have a relationship with him, and visited him a number of times as he was nearing death. His other child never came to say goodbye.
And that left only me. I spent a number of hours with him Saturday night (until late), occasionally reading scripture to him, praying for him, and holding his hand. His breathing was stable by midnight on Saturday, so I went home to get some rest.
Early Sunday morning I went back to the nursing home, and stayed there until Monday morning at 2:00 a.m. Occasionally I would read Scripture to him and pray for him. As time passed his breathing became more shallow, but it stabilized and it appeared he was doing rather well by the time I left at 2:00 a.m. on Monday morning to go home for some rest.
The nursing home called me at 3:30 a.m. to say that he had passed away.
Was he waiting until I left so that he could die alone? I don’t know.
Was he receiving strength from my being with him? I don’t know.
I wanted him to know that I loved him as a friend, whether he chose to accept the Lord Jesus as his Savior, or whether he chose to reject Jesus.
I have absolute peace knowing that I shared with him the plan of salvation, and I believe he clearly understood what Jesus did for him.
The last time I had visited with him while he was still fully able to have a conversation was about a month ago – in the hospital. I shared with him the story of the thief on the cross, and wanted to make sure he knew that it is never too late to repent of his sins and trust in Jesus. A simple thing to do, but I knew it would require him acknowledging a life of sin and rebellion against God – something that would be hard and would require the involvement of the Holy Spirit in his heart. I had left him with this verse: John 6:37 “… and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” I wanted him to know that when he was willing to lay everything done and come to Jesus, Jesus would accept him.
It was somewhat hard for me – knowing that he passed away alone. And yet I know that God could have arranged things differently…
While I won’t know until I step into eternity whether or not my friend ever was born again, I do know that the Lord did a work in that man’s heart over the year that I knew him. And I am grateful to the Lord for the opportunity he gave me to interact with this man – and I have missed him more than I thought I would.
I hope and pray that this experience renews my zeal to be sharing with others at the nursing home – and everywhere. Time is short. People are dying.
I’ve been to various funerals and have stood in front of caskets, looking at the “person who isn’t there.” It is hard not to think of eternity when you are standing in front of the casket of someone you knew who has since passed away.
About a year ago my brother and his wife – who had been praying for a child for the five years they had been married – had a little girl. She was born “code blue” and spent several days in the NICU before Jesus called her home. I supported them as best as possible: they didn’t need a lot of support because of other family members, but I was able to take care of some work projects for my brother so he wouldn’t have to worry about work during those days, I did some behind-the-scenes arranging for prayer support, and I also did a photo shoot for them. Going through the loss of my niece was probably the hardest thing I had faced in my life, and was the closest experience I had had with death – until just recently week.
While my friend at the nursing home (see the previous post) was very sick on February 8th, his health stabilized and he was doing better for another week. But he took another turn for the worse the next Friday evening.
I had stopped by that Friday around lunch time and found his Hospice nurse with him – she was writing reports. When I came into the room he opened his eyes, smiled at me, and tried to reach to shake my hand (my friend has very little control of his muscles, likely caused by a lifetime of alcohol abuse). I reached for his hand and shook it; it was the last time we would shake hands (even though I would hold his hand quite a bit over the next few days).
He had stabilized (somewhat) by Saturday.
When I visited him on Saturday I could tell the end was near. Even though he was becoming unresponsive, he was still stir anytime I leaned over his bed, gripped his hand, and prayed for him.
I didn’t want him to die alone.
He had estranged his two children, although one of them did try to have a relationship with him, and visited him a number of times as he was nearing death. His other child never came to say goodbye.
And that left only me. I spent a number of hours with him Saturday night (until late), occasionally reading scripture to him, praying for him, and holding his hand. His breathing was stable by midnight on Saturday, so I went home to get some rest.
Early Sunday morning I went back to the nursing home, and stayed there until Monday morning at 2:00 a.m. Occasionally I would read Scripture to him and pray for him. As time passed his breathing became more shallow, but it stabilized and it appeared he was doing rather well by the time I left at 2:00 a.m. on Monday morning to go home for some rest.
The nursing home called me at 3:30 a.m. to say that he had passed away.
Was he waiting until I left so that he could die alone? I don’t know.
Was he receiving strength from my being with him? I don’t know.
I wanted him to know that I loved him as a friend, whether he chose to accept the Lord Jesus as his Savior, or whether he chose to reject Jesus.
I have absolute peace knowing that I shared with him the plan of salvation, and I believe he clearly understood what Jesus did for him.
The last time I had visited with him while he was still fully able to have a conversation was about a month ago – in the hospital. I shared with him the story of the thief on the cross, and wanted to make sure he knew that it is never too late to repent of his sins and trust in Jesus. A simple thing to do, but I knew it would require him acknowledging a life of sin and rebellion against God – something that would be hard and would require the involvement of the Holy Spirit in his heart. I had left him with this verse: John 6:37 “… and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” I wanted him to know that when he was willing to lay everything done and come to Jesus, Jesus would accept him.
It was somewhat hard for me – knowing that he passed away alone. And yet I know that God could have arranged things differently…
While I won’t know until I step into eternity whether or not my friend ever was born again, I do know that the Lord did a work in that man’s heart over the year that I knew him. And I am grateful to the Lord for the opportunity he gave me to interact with this man – and I have missed him more than I thought I would.
I hope and pray that this experience renews my zeal to be sharing with others at the nursing home – and everywhere. Time is short. People are dying.
Friday, February 08, 2008
My Friend Is Dying...
An elderly gentleman that I have been friends with for about a year is dying. A man who chose a sinful life but knows much about God. He is somewhat a philosopher, and we have discussed many of his questions about God and the Bible over this past year. His health has been failing for quite some time.
During one visit he shared with me that he is an angry old man, and when I added “and bitter” – he agreed (with a smile). And, when he smiles his face lights up and his eyes twinkle.
While this blog is primarily a journal of sorts for myself, if anyone does happen to see this note, please pray for him. I don’t know how much time he has left.
Every time I have visited him I have tried to make sure I share the gospel (even if it a summary version of it in prayer). He has almost always welcomed my prayers for him (only once or twice, when I have asked if I could pray for him, has he said no).
I don’t know if there is anything more pitiful in life than seeing a person about to enter eternity who has rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, a person who has shared that they have no hope beyond the grave.
During one visit he shared with me that he is an angry old man, and when I added “and bitter” – he agreed (with a smile). And, when he smiles his face lights up and his eyes twinkle.
While this blog is primarily a journal of sorts for myself, if anyone does happen to see this note, please pray for him. I don’t know how much time he has left.
Every time I have visited him I have tried to make sure I share the gospel (even if it a summary version of it in prayer). He has almost always welcomed my prayers for him (only once or twice, when I have asked if I could pray for him, has he said no).
I don’t know if there is anything more pitiful in life than seeing a person about to enter eternity who has rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, a person who has shared that they have no hope beyond the grave.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Do Infants and Unborn Children go to Heaven When They Die?
I believe the answer to this is “yes”, and is based on at least three Scripture references.
The first reference comes from 2 Samuel, where David is mourning the death of the child born to he and Bathsheba. David knows that the child is with the Lord in heaven.
2 Samuel 12:22-23 (KJV)
Jeremiah 31:15-17
The third reference comes from Matthew as Jesus is interacting with little children. The Greek word used for “little children” refers to infants or very young children.
Matthew 19:13-14 (KJV)
I believe that “Of such is the kingdom of heaven” means exactly that: a significant portion of heaven will be comprised of infants and little children. An infant is too young to place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and as such, when an unborn child or an infant dies, they are safe in the Lord Jesus.
As to when they reach an age that they are accountable for their sins before God: I do not know exactly when that age is. But I believe God, in His justice does know exactly what that age is for each person.
The first reference comes from 2 Samuel, where David is mourning the death of the child born to he and Bathsheba. David knows that the child is with the Lord in heaven.
2 Samuel 12:22-23 (KJV)
22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? 23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.The second reference comes from the Old Testament and is a prophecy that refers to a New Testament event: the murder of all the children two years of age and younger by Herod in his attempt to kill Jesus.
Jeremiah 31:15-17
15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. 16 Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.
The third reference comes from Matthew as Jesus is interacting with little children. The Greek word used for “little children” refers to infants or very young children.
Matthew 19:13-14 (KJV)
13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. 16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.The same Greek word is used to refer to the infant Jesus when Herod encouraged the Wise Men to find Him.
I believe that “Of such is the kingdom of heaven” means exactly that: a significant portion of heaven will be comprised of infants and little children. An infant is too young to place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and as such, when an unborn child or an infant dies, they are safe in the Lord Jesus.
As to when they reach an age that they are accountable for their sins before God: I do not know exactly when that age is. But I believe God, in His justice does know exactly what that age is for each person.
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