“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” – Romans 10:14 (ESV)
Over the past several months, thousands of individuals have risen up to accept the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS and other great causes. While I’ve done the challenge and, in fact, have been challenged to do it again, I struggle with a problem that churches battle and want to put out the 10-Second Challenge. It is based on the question, “Would you like to come to church with me?”
That’s a question that can be asked in less than 10 seconds but is very seldom asked by Christians. I believe every Christian would agree that the question needs to be asked of those in our community. We might even agree that inviting people to church is a key part of evangelism and central to the mission of any church body. Research has shown that most people actually want to be invited to church, with nine out of 10 unchurched people saying they would come to church if invited.
The problem is that we rarely ask the question. The reality is only about one in five churchgoers invite anybody to church over the course of a year. We might have someone who could be totally up for it right in front of us, practically begging us to invite them, and instead we hesitate and don’t even get the words out of our mouths.
People want to be invited to church, and they would come if we would just invite them. But we’re not doing it. There’s only one probable explanation: fear. Fear of what they’ll think of us for going, fear of what they’ll think of our church, fear of what they’ll think of us if they come and don’t like it. Truth be told, some of those fears might become reality, but that’s not a valid reason for us to deny an opportunity to share Jesus with someone.
Pastor Matt Rogers offers these eight tips for getting around the fear that has stood in your way:
- Pray you’d have God’s heart for the lost
- Pray for courage
- Pray for specific people
- Remember your own calling
- Remember the Gospel
- Trust in the power of the Gospel to save
- Know that sharing the hope of eternity is loving
- Know that it’s not about you
Sunday evening I went outside to fill up our pool and noticed a layer of algae covering the walls. I was a little shocked because it had only been a few days since I’d been out to check on the pool. So I took about 20 minutes and set out to brush down all the walls and put shock into the water to kill the algae. After those 20 minutes, the walls were clean and the pool looked normal. I went out Monday evening and was pleased to see that there was no sign of any algae and the water was crystal clear!
What happened to the pool got me thinking about my life. There are those days where everything appears to be moving along perfectly. Work is good, family is good, friendships are great, and all I have to do is maintain. I can get lazy and not think anything of it. The easiest place to get lazy is with Tami because we both work and at the end of the day just want to get dinner then rest. Even though everything appears to be normal and I don’t sense any changes, it doesn’t take long and Tami notices the difference. She will start asking questions that let me know I’m getting lazy and not working at our relationship. Just as our pool seemed to be fine and a few days of neglect led to algae starting to grow, our relationship can appear to be fine but a few days of neglect will begin to affect us.
When those times happen in life, it’s important that I quickly go into action to correct the problem. Had I neglected the pool, not only would it not have gotten better, but the problem would have quickly deteriorated and grown much worse. In my relationship with Tami, my job, and with friends, the same principal applies. When there is a problem and I choose to ignore or neglect it, the problem will not just get better. The longer I ignore the situation, the worse it will get. It may take more than 20 minutes to correct, but it will be corrected much quicker by dealing with it today over ignoring it and creating a bigger mess. If you are like me, it’s not easy taking that first step to correct problems in life, but you will be happy you did when the problem is resolved.
The same thing can be said about your relationship with Christ. The Holy Spirit will convict us when we are letting things creep into our lives that shouldn’t be there. Don’t ignore where God is working in your life, but respond and experience the joy that comes from being in God’s perfect will. All of us will have times where algae can creep in, but that’s just a reminder that we can’t live on cruise control.
Yesterday was a big day in the Bullard home because we were able to hear the wonderful news about the new baby that will be entering our lives next March. The “reveal” has become a big part of the pregnancy and is a very special memory for the family. It allows the entire family to voice their opinions on what they think the gender of the new baby is going to be. I have to admit, I got it wrong because I thought for sure that we would be welcoming a baby boy into the family. Truth be told, the thing that matters most is that our precious new granddaughter is born strong and healthy.
I really like the idea of families being able to celebrate the joyous times of life. When you think about all the pressure and stresses that we face each day, it’s fun to just put them aside for a few moments and celebrate the good things that happen. The “reveal” is one of those moments when we get to see how wonderful life is for us. Tami and I are blessed to have a family where there is a lot of love and support. But it doesn’t stop there for us because we get to experience that same love and support every week with the amazing church family that we have in our lives.
While experiencing such great joy I’m totally aware of those families going through difficult times. It may be a physical need, financial need, relationship need, or some other need causing a very challenging time in life. As important as it is to celebrate the good things that are happening in life, we also need to be there for those who are going through the difficult times. There have been so many occasions in life when my church family stood in the gap for me during my time of need. They prayed with me, listened to me, and just loved me. Life is not always fair, but I serve a God who is always there and who has brought an amazing family into my life. Don’t try to make it on your own but instead find encouragement in your family, at home, and at church. Reach out to those in need and show them the love of Jesus by letting them see Jesus in you.
Every Tuesday is trash day for our neighborhood, so on Tuesday mornings I go through the house, empty the trash cans, and take the trash outside. Most of the time this chore is easily done and I’m off to work, but every so often I have a problem that comes along like it did this week.
I was in the process of loading up a lot of stuff in my car and only had a few items left. I knew I could carry them along with the trash from the kitchen and be off to the office. I pulled the bag out of the trash can, walked to our kitchen counter where I had a couple of things to pick up, then went to our family room to get my computer bag. When I turned around I saw a trail of milk that had been dripping from the bag. It was not a slow drip, and I knew I had to get the trash out of the house, so I ran out the back door. After I separated the trash I went back into the house to assess the damage.
I could see that our floors needed to be cleaned up, so I got paper towels and wiped up all the milk. After that was finished I proceeded to mop the floors so they wouldn’t be sticky. Even though it was only a small amount of milk, it left a nice big mess that I had to deal with.
That is kind of what it is like in my life when I’m aware of things that need to be removed or fixed but just keep on ignoring them. Even though many of them may seem small, if they remain in place they can create a lot of messes for me. I know that I’m not perfect, but I am doing my best to become more like Jesus Christ each day. He is the example that I want to follow, but ignoring even the smallest of things that are not right in my life can quickly leave me being an example of what a disciple of Christ is not supposed to be. Just as I stopped and cleaned up the spilled milk in my house, I need to stop and clean up the issues in my life that can harm my journey with Christ.
Have you ever found yourself working on a computer and it just freezes up? Or maybe you’ve been away from it for a while, and you go back to start using your computer and it just doesn’t respond? In our family, it’s quite entertaining because that seems to be happening to Tami a lot over the past few weeks. I think she just has that magic touch that doesn’t get along with anything electronic.
The first time it happened, Tami called me very concerned that her computer had crashed and she had lost a lot of valuable documents and pictures. (Tami, back up your work…:)) So I go in and start looking at the computer and notice that it’s getting power but just won’t turn on. I don’t know a lot about computers, but through the years I’ve learned enough to try a few things. One of the first lessons I learned when working with computers is that when nothing is responding, you should restart the computer. Tami works off a laptop, so simply unplugging and plugging it back in would not be enough because it would continue to receive power from the battery inside the computer. I unplugged the computer and proceeded to take out the battery for a few seconds. When I put it back together, the computer started right up and the problem was solved.
Monday, Tami called me at the office and the same problem was happening again. I told her that to correct the problem she needed to do what I did last time. The problem was that she didn’t pay attention to what I was doing. I explained the steps she had to take and it took her a few minutes to figure out how to get the battery out, but once she did the computer worked fine.
That got me thinking about life. So many people are going through life feeling like they are stuck and nothing is happening. Anything they try doesn’t seem to work and they just don’t know what to do. That is why Jesus came to earth. He gave His very life so that we could, in computer language, reboot. Christ gives us the opportunity to start all over again with a clean slate. I may not be very technological, but I understand what it means to be able to start all over again, and I’m rejoicing that my past is forgiven and forgotten. And just as I was able to teach Tami how to reset her computer, I’m excited that I’ve been given the privilege of sharing the message of Jesus Christ with others.
There are those special moments in life that we all get to experience that are truly, as the commercial says, priceless. As a parent or grandparent those moments come while watching your child or grandchild grow up. Last week we were able to have one of those special days that I will never forget.
Several months ago, Tami (Mimi) found out the circus was coming to town and was able to secure tickets for all of us to go. The day before, we began asking Brynley if she wanted to go to the circus, and the fun part of asking questions of a 20-month-old little girl is you never know what the answer is going to be. If she is in a good mood and it sounds exciting, the answer is yes. If she is a little tired or it doesn’t sound exciting, the answer is no. Well, it must have sounded exciting because she answered us with a yes. We began talking about seeing the elephants, tigers, and clowns. It all sounded good to her. Saturday afternoon we headed out to the circus and made our way to our seats.
Once inside the arena we had some of the best seats available to watch a circus. Brynley was excited even though I don’t think she really knew what was about to happen. She had her face planted on the glass in front of us watching events below unfold. Then it happened—towards the end of the opening the elephants made their way into the arena, and it took a few moments for Brynley to see them, but when she did she let out a scream of excitement. Her full attention was drawn to them as she pressed her nose to the glass. At that moment the heart of a grandfather melted because he understood that the most precious moments in life involve bringing joy to those God brings into your life. During the next two hours we heard five of those screams and every time it brought a big smile to all of our faces.
I hope that I never forget the lesson that Brynley reminded me of that afternoon. Every day I live, surrounded by an amazing family and a great church that I’m allowed to lead, I need to do whatever I can to help bring that “scream of joy” into their lives. A simple act of kindness, like going to a circus for Brynley, can bring great joy to somebody else. You don’t have to have a lot to show kindness but can simply find something that will fill a need in someone else’s life and fill that need. I’ve been blessed throughout my life to have so many people who have given me those “screams of joy” moments, and I want to honor God by doing the same.
So many people go through life unhappy. Every day the news runs stories of those who give up on life because they are depressed and feel like there is no hope. Or I hear the stories of those who can’t find joy because of events that have occurred in their lives, and even though they couldn’t change what happened, they live with guilt and depression, thinking “if only….”
I’m reminded of Romans 15:13 where it says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” This verse teaches us that we need to learn to trust God. I can’t control everything that happens in my life, but I can control whether or not I trust God. Last Sunday we looked at one of the biggest effects on us if we don’t trust God—stress. I do not believe you are meant to live a life bogged down by stress, but instead we are meant to enjoy the joy and peace that comes from God. So, how do I experience God’s joy and peace?
Here are five things we can do in life to experience God’s peace, and if you will put these truths into practice you will be on the path to experiencing God’s promises for you. Each of these points is taken out of Philippians 4:7-13. Here are the keys to experiencing joy and peace:
- Stop worrying – nowhere in the Bible does it tell us that we as believers should worry. In fact, it says the opposite: “Be anxious about nothing!”
- Pray about everything – our problem is that we only pray when it gets really bad. We need to learn that prayer is a way for building our faith and letting our worries go. God hears your prayers and is ready to answer you.
- Thank God in everything – don’t be confused by this. Paul told the church in Philippi to thank God in everything, but that doesn’t mean for everything. I’m not thankful for getting sick or for losing a job or for any other hardship that comes my way. However, no matter what happens to me I am thankful to God. I’m thankful that he is with me and will give me the strength to get through those times.
- Think about good things – I am thankful for Philippians 4:8 because it teaches me what I should be thinking about. We get stressed out thinking about things that don’t matter in eternal perspective. Think on the things taught to us in this verse.
- Be content – the biggest stresses most Americans face are from the pressures of trying to keep up with everyone else. Learn to be content with what you have been blessed with and don’t covet what others may have.
