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Let's Fish - August 14, 2008
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How to Give Away Your Faith on Your Short-Term Mission Trip -
Part Two
by Jack Lasater*
Examples of 'Salting' your Conversation
How about an example? Suppose you are having lunch with one of your
unbelieving co-workers and the subject of your pending trip comes up.
How can you "salt" the conversation? You will be asked about where you
are going and what you will be doing. Consider the following two
responses and see if you can determine how they have been "seasoned ...
with salt":
Response 1. "We are going to help
some missionaries in northern India who are trying to reach a tribe of
nomadic people who have not yet heard the good news of how God has
provided a way for them to have eternal life." You never know, if the
Holy Spirit is working in the life of your friend, he may be thinking to
himself, "I am an American who has not learned how God has provided a
way that I can be sure of eternal life. Maybe I should go hide out in
northern India and some missionary will come tell me!"
Response 2. "We are going to
Ghana and will travel from village to village showing a film about the
life of Christ and the Bible message about how God loves them, wants to
have a personal relationship with them and, most important, how they can
be sure of having eternal life and know they will go to heaven when they
die."
Time and space does not permit further elaboration but you probably have
the idea. In the two responses we have salted the conversation by
indicating that it is possible to have a personal relationship with God
and that you can be sure of eternal life. Neither of these responses was
offensive. They did not share the gospel. They did not contain a
testimony. They merely served to toss out the bait. They left your
friend with the impression that you know God personally and are sure of
your eternal relationship with him. If he is seeking that information,
he may surprise you with "What church do you go to?", "That is
interesting, when you get back, I would like to know how things went." ,
"What do you mean by a personal relationship with God?" or "I did not
know you could be sure of eternal life." These are the kinds of
responses that indicate openness and that, perhaps, the person is
seeking. On the other hand, if the person shows no response, disinterest
or changes the subject, you can assume that either this person is not at
the point on his time line toward becoming a believer where he is ready
for more information or, possibly, he may have rejected Christianity
altogether. In either case, the believer who has made this effort should
feel that he has pleased God just as much as the person who has
discovered the convicted heart ready to trust Christ.
*Jack Lasater served as a personal evangelism teacher in
several Bible churches in Houston. He now lives in Siloam Springs,
Arkansas.
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Nelson's Nugget - It Doesn't Take Much
 Early
in my career with Dun & Bradstreet I flew regularly, on an airplane that
is! When I was a field auditor I flew somewhere each week, for the week
and then home. It got kinda tiring after a while. SO, I got quite
experienced in scheduling flights and purchasing tickets. The one thing
that I noticed early on was that flights between two cities by several
different airlines were usually the same price, and I say usually. For
me one airline seemed to set themselves apart from the rest and that
airline was Piedmont. (US Airways bought them eventually and ruined
their distinctiveness.) What I liked about Piedmont was that in economy
they served honey roasted almonds instead of salted peanuts (remember
this was in the eighties) and they offered their own concoction called
Piedmont Punch. It was a really good juice, like Hawaiian Punch but
better. So when scheduling tickets, if all the fares were the same and
Piedmont was in the mix, guess which one I chose. You got it, almonds
and punch for ole Nelson. I was often so brazen as to ask the
stewardess if I could have a few for the road, they always seemed to
oblige. So, as Christians how does this apply to us? Well, it doesn't
take much for others to notice that we are different, that extra smile,
that helping hand, that true look of concern when someone is not well or
that offer to pray for them. Think about it, I made flight arrangements
based on a stupid bag of almonds and a tiny can of fruit punch. What
will it take for someone to notice that you indeed have Christ in your
heart and that you are living for HIM!! Until next time. |
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Final Thought
BACK TO SCHOOL!
Many of the regular readership of Let's Fish are now sharpening
their pencils for another year of study. High school, college or
post college, make every effort to be keenly aware of God's calling
for your life. Choose courses that will enhance that calling. I
can give you no advice better than that which Paul gave to Timothy:
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved a workman
who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word
of truth."
A reminder to all of you who have finished formal education: do not
allow the pursuit of education to ever end. Always keep learning.
Keep reading. Stay in God's Word. Be mentored by others. Know
God's calling for you and single-mindedly pursue it!
There is a sense that we are all beginning a new school year. Let's
hit the books!
Most of all, Keep Fishing!
Blessings,
Dana
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