Ya'll come back now (not)

I write this post for any of you who have relatives that are, shall we say, above your league.
Mayve they have more money, more talent, more education, or think they have more intelligence.
Possibly, some of you have relations who think that they are more spiritual than you.
In short, they are "better than you", (they think), though never would they admit it.
How does this change of priority happen in a soul?
How can one family of siblings start out with nothing, value the eternal, and end up selling it all for a pot of gold?
Why do some people grow up valuing relationships, while others value the almighty dollar?
Some people calcualte their "net worth" by the money in their bank, etc.
When people ask me what my net worth is, do you know what I tell them?  I say "my networth is the blood of Jesus".  it's true...you never know the value of something until someone puts a price on it.
And so, today, I leave you with this thought...what is your neighbor worth?
A hundred years from now, people may not remember what you wore, what car you drove, or the wit you possessed, but they will NEVER forget the way that you made them feel.

The Real Church

Why do we need to have our fannies pampered with cushy pews?
Why do we have to have fancy carpeting in our churches?
Why do preteens have to have expensive, Disney themed Vacation Bible School Curriculum?
Why do Christians who live two doors down from one another take separate fuel hogging vehicles to the place of worship?
Why do I keep letting food go bad after every meal?
Why do I feel deprived that I buy my clothes second hand?
Do I real deserve Buffet every friday? Why can't I be happy with McDonalds twice a year?
If Christmas is the birthday of our saviour, why should I complain if I get nothing?

You're no brain surgeon

It's like this...someone is laying in the road bleeding to death. There they are. I pull my car over. I dive out. First, I call for someone "qualified" . NO one comes, cause know one cares. Even though the dude is layed out on a highway by the hospital. Surgeon after surgeon drives by, and leaves him dying. (They've got a church service//er, i mean a job to get to). Finally, using superglue, staples, and duct tape, I wedge the vicitm's head back together, drive him to the hospital, and admit him. Does anyone thank me. Heck no. All i get is, "Maam, you really should have called for help" or "Do you have a degree?" or "you know, we can only hope that this raw approach doesn't lead to infection.It weirds me out how people who have never won anyone to Jesus like to critique other people's "witnessing" styles."Oh, that's just too bold....after all, you don't want to scare anyone away, do you?"or, "That technique might work with YOU, sue, but most of us like to cultivate a relationship first"That's cool. But you'd think after 20 years, they'd find that opening to share.When I lead people to Jesus, and other christians insist that my style is too "in your face", I feel like tearing my hair out.WHO CARES IF I'm confrontational. I'm saying something, and you're saying nothing. Look, if there's a buger in my nose, for crying out loud, someone tell me. I hope you say it nicely. I hope you are tactful. But still, if the only one real enough to tell me about my problem is 4 years old, then let me know, kid.


_

Those Rich Christians.

Today I had to really check myself and not join in with my friend Amber about "those rich Christians."
Obviously, my friend Amber feels snubbed and discluded from the clique-ee ness she's been sensing...
as in "we's not rich like they uns". I call it the Clampett syndrome. Those Clampetts were always being
worked on by the Drysdales to fit in. It wasn't that they were looked down upon...it's just that "those rich Christians" (er, i mean "Drysdales") were always trying to help them climb the social ladder.

I don't think that there should be any social ladders in Christianity.

What do you think?

Finally, a Christian organization that gives 100% of its donations to the mission field (unheard of). I get absolutely no monetary compensation from displaying this book offer. The book is fantastic, and shows what the gospel should be (as in FREE)

If you are lukewarm

In Revelations, Jesus writes to the Christians and tells them that they have forgotten their first love.

They weren't hot. They weren't cold. They were just coasting. Not sinning, but not on fire. They went to church, read alittle, prayed a little, did a few good works. But they weren't passionate. They were coasting. They were lukewarm.
Sound familiar?
In short, they just tacked Sunday morning Christianity onto their everyday, busy lives.

They had lost their zeal.

So Jesus tells them how to get it back. He says
1)Remember the height from whence you've fallen.

Remember that high you felt back in the good old days when Jesus was everything?
(are you really remmembering right now?)
Take a real moment.

There it is...that sensitivity toward sin...that desire to serve God with all of your heart...that joy in your salvation....that desire to share it.

This leads into number 2
2)Do again the first works.

In marriage counseling, they say to repeat the romantic overtures with your mate that you did as a newly wed, (flowers, candy, praises)
EVEN IF YOU DON'T FEEL IT.
Repeat often. The feelings will come.

Go ahead. Go tell someone about Jesus. Do it again. And again. Tell at least one person today.
Tell a little old lady. The mailman. A stranger. A relative. A teenager. A preteen. Tell a child. Watch what happens.
Just pick one person every day.
I hope to hear back from you.

But I'm not smart enough

Even if you became a Christian yesterday, you know everything that you need to know to lead someone to Jesus.
Just talk about what Jesus has done for you.
Ask the spirit of God to give you specific words to say to each person.
When you feel that nudge, just open your mouth.

You don't have to be elegant, or even super confident.
You could even say,
"I'm not sure how to ask you this, but could I ask you a question"
yes,
"Do you have a relationship with Jesus"

Or, you could start a conversation about anything, and redirect it to Christianity...He will show you how.

Alot of people think that I am never nervous about witnessing. Usually,I'm not. I was picked on everyday of my life in school, and it made me tough. But there are sometimes that I do feel kind of uncomfortable.
Because sometimes, I know exactly what to say, and I have never met the listner.
That's right. With me, there's lots of times that God has me go say a specific word to someone that I've never met.

(gulp.)

Here's how I do it.

"I know that I've never met you before, and I'm not sure how you will take this but there's something that I need to tell you"
Then, I just tell them.
After they pick there jaw up off the floor, and sputter about how the word was right on, they thank me.

One time, I was SUPER nervous, because the dude was in a business suit and i was (shall we say...)casual.
I felt like the Lord was telling me to just be open with him about my comfort level.
Here goes, Lord.
"I know that you don't know me, and you might think that I'm a religious fanatic, but there's something that God told me to tell you, and I am sure it's God."

Believe me, baby, he was all ears.
His eyes misted up, his look softened, and in a low, husky voice, he quietly thanked me.
I love it when God makes a hit.
Don't you feel ripped off?
Don't you want God to use you like that?
Just ask Him to, and be honest about your fears, your lukewarmness, your shyness, maybe your lack of real relationship.

After all, you can't tell others, with passion, how great God is when you hardly talk to him.
Do you know Jesus? If you don't, just ask him to forgive you, and come inside of you to live.
John 6:37 quotes Jesus as saying, "All who the Father gives me will come to me. And whoever comes to me, I will in no way turn away."

What we really believe.

Do we really believe that if people go into a Christless eternity, that they will miss heaven?

Do we really wonder about our coworkers', friends' and neighbors' eternal destiny?

Have we searched our hearts and asked ourselves, "Is there anyone I know with whom I have never shared the gospel?"

Are we scared to really believe that we are responsible?http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0079/0079_01.asp

Why you don't witness

You don't witness because

1. You are afraid. you fear man, not God.
2. you are ashamed of the gospel
3. You tell yourself that if you let your light shine, they will some how understand, through your silent witness, that they need to ask Jesus
Christ to forgive their sins, and be their Lord.

You don't witness because you are
1. Cowardly
2. Ashamed
3. Deceived.

But the main reason that people don't witness, is because they keep waiting for the right timing.
If you have known someone for six months, it is time to make an opening.
The devil's biggest lie is not "never" but "tomorrow"

THE BIG LIE OF THE ENEMY

"There's a right way and a wrong way to Witness"

Oh really? If someones house in on fire, is there a wrong way to warn them?

Is anyone out there smart enough to explain this one to me....

A brand new baby Christian runs out and tells the world all about Jesus. They pester everyone they meet. they are bold, brash, and overbearing. In short, they take the commandment seriously where Jesus tells us to "Go and preach the gospel to every living creature".
If there's a cockroach on the counter, they will lead it in the sinners prayer.

But somewhere, they run into a well meaning "seasoned" Christian who tells them stuff about "timing" "sensitivity" and tact.
They fail to mention that they, themselves, have never led anyone to Jesus.

Because they never knew the meaning of the word compel.

The new Christian, however, understands this word. His love compels him to share.
He is not ashamed of the gospel.

And he has won dozens of people to Jesus.
How many people have you won to Jesus?

WAKE UP!!!! YOUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE

i will never forget when my neighbors house was on fire.
I had never told him about Jesus.
One day, my next door neighbor was banging on my door. I had been lounging on my sofa, languidly watching the dreamy clouds that were drifting by. My, what unusual clouds, I thought. I really should get up and see why they look so unusual.
But I didn't. Instead, I just lay there dreamily.
Suddenly, May, who lived beside me, was beating the daylights out of my door.
What's her problem? I get up, and walk to the door, and as I'm walking I hear her yelling
"Suzy, get out, there's a fire".
Okay, now I'm out of dream land. I open the front door, and there she stands, terror all over her face.
I look across the way and there I see it. Al's house in on fire. Flames are ripping through the broken window, and the whole thing looks like it's ready to go.
I should have been relieved...after all, it wasn't OUR duplex...it was the house across from us.
Just one problem...I had never told Al about Jesus.
I had never had a chance, right?
Wrong. I have two lungs, two legs, and a mouth.
It didn't matter that I had had no real opportunity to tell him about Jesus...I should have at least written him an anonymous letter, or sent him a gospel tract.
I always got a creepy feeling from him...he was an older man, who walked bent over, and talked on a cb radio at dusk, out in his back yard.
If I really wanted to, I could have.
But it just never "felt right".
"I'm a single woman" I'd tell myself. "And besides, he looks at me...like in a weird, dirty old man way. Nope..." I reasoned. "That wouldn't be God.". So I said nothing.
"And now, he's dead" I thought.
"He's probably in hell, too."
Believe me, that did not make me feel good.
But as it turned out, Al was not dead...in the days to come, he returned to his burned out home to live.
Weeks later, I saw him lugging some personal things into his shell of a house.
Al had no one.
And, he was probably going to hell.
So, I raced over there one afternoon, while he was working on something in his backyard.
I asked how he was and then I told him how awful i had felt, thinking about how I had never told him about Jesus.
Then, I asked him if he'd ever asked Jesus in his heart.
As it turns out,Al was not a Christian, and how no desire to become one.
But I had peace in my heart knowing I had shared with him.
If you know someone and you don't know if they know the One that you know, why not ask them?
God will give you the way, the timing and the courage.
just ask