Becoming an “Everyday Evangelist”

            In marriage, Spiritual intimacy is  based on the core beliefs about God, faith, and marriage and are dependent upon the level or depth to which these core beliefs are shared and respected. The core beliefs start with the Word. And, it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes” (Deuteronomy 17:19 (NKJV). The sacred marriage institution between man and woman, created by God is the front line of defense to the things that are happening in our world. But, interestingly our prosperous generation search for the purpose, meaning and value, with many couples experiencing a deep sense of distress and emptiness and isolation. And why not, our society is filled with children with no father, abuse, violence, marital discord and emotional problems. Let’s look at some statics to help put things in perspective “23% of born-again Christians have been divorced more than twice, each night 40% of children fall asleep in fatherless homes, The data on sexual  abuse is daunting, by age 18, 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by someone they love or trust. The occurrence of 5,3 million actions of domestic violence each year among 28 years and older women result in 52,00 injuries and 1300 deaths. In 2014, a study revealed that over 3000 U.S. residents committed suicide with 130,000 failed attempts. Suicide is the 3^rd leading killer of 10-14-year-old children. How tragic,

            So what is the answer to these probing questions?  Christ growth and discipleship and evangelism for a post-modern world. Revivals, programs, and VBS or not the answer any more of the majorities. God  Word tell us,“And we proclaim Him. Admonishing every man and teaching man with all wisdom, that we may present every man (and woman) complete in Christ” (Colossians 2:28). Our pastors and churches much come together to fight this serious problem that has infected our society like cancer. We need education at every level. The

Baby boomer and older must get involved; As Christians, we must stop talking about “church” to the lost. It means nothing to the lost anymore; they have a preconceived idea in their mind that prevents them from feeling the church is relevant. I would recommend a simple action plan. Develop an “Everyday Witness”. Put the fear of offending aside, study and learn how to share your Christian faith. We must become an evangelist everywhere we go and speak to the lost about our wonderful  community’ The lost think of cold unfriendly, cliques members who fail to notice their even there. Our big screen and Praise Teams do not impress them. “They want to belong. Some think of “community” as small groups. Friend, it is bigger than that. The community is the core of who you are.” (Dever and Dunlop 2015)

            But our churches are filled with members who are not there because of the Holy Spirit filled pastor are the music. They attend First Baptist Church of You have the Same Interest, Hobbies or the kids go to the same dance class or similar social status. They attend on Sunday and go back to the world with no change. To break out of this cycle that has continued for decades we must come out of our shell and take our community into uncharted waters.There is a way to do this, I call it :”Shopping Evangelism”; the art of tearing down all the walls between you and a stranger, in a short time and allowing the Holy Spirit to plant a seed without you feeling the pressure,of sharing the gospel. Your job is to make a friend, build trust and then when God moves invite then to come to you “community” Then your community must lavish them with love.and plug them into your to Bible Study and assign them a mentor; “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places”(Ephesians 6:12).  God will provide us strength for our journey.

Unconditional Love – Share It, Experience It

As I have studied of Ephesians 5:1-7, I noticed a certain theme that each Christian should embrace within their relationship with Christ and others.  “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them” (Ephesians 1-7)  I want us to focus on the word “love” that is portrayed for God and man in this verse. “Love” in the Greek, has several meanings, but we shall only unpack two; “Eros and Agape”. First, Eros is a conditional type of love, it is where we get our English word, “Erotica” Now as soon a you heard that word, I am sure you, like I, thought of “sex” but, Eros was more than that to the Greeks, it was a conditional love. There are conditions that I personally place on this kind of love. Eros was a selfish kind of love. I love G. Harvey artwork it gives me great pleasure, I love classical music when I meditate and the list goes on. Eros is temporary, it does not last. I love  “What type of love that best represents their school, community, and even church, their answer 100% was “Eros” (Dr. Chap Clark, Teens and Sex 2012). 

In contrast, “Agape” love is a “giving” the kind of love for a person., it is unconditional, and it expects nothing it return. “Agape” love in a lasting love that endures all things. The Apostle Paul penned the words which have  become known as the “Love Chapter”. “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but does not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV). “Agape” love is a committed lasting love in a relationship that both people share without expecting love in return but if both man and wife have this love for each they are empowered sexually, emotionally and spirituality. They are one!

I suggest an exercise with your spouse. Ask them “Why do you say, I love you?” Do not interrupt and listen. Then you share why you say “I love you” and finally together read aloud, 1 Thessalonians (4:3-8 NIV) and discuss how your relationship compares. Communication is one of the key issues that causes issues within relationships. The time you spend this week with your spouse will never come again, don’t let it pass without making memories.

Eddie has a B.A. in Christian Counseling. He holds a Certification from the American Association of Christian Counseling in Pastoral Counseling and is currently pursuing his Masters Degree. For questions or comments  or prayers please contact him at eddieturner2502@gmail.com

God Word, the Almighty Stress Reliever?

Did you start your day dreading all the stress you know you are about to experience? If you are like me you started stressing about the stress. When I speak of stress I think of “hair pulling, stomping on the floor, worrying about everything kind of stress. Today we are going to talk about stress and how we take a few steps toward eliminating it in our lives. We all battle with stress but many make no attempt to seek out ways to decompress. We only have to look to the Word of God for “God’s Stress Pill”.

Stress is the common term for general adaptation syndrome (GAS), or fight or flight syndrome. It is the body’s natural response to threating situations, it arouses us and gives us the energy we need to resolve or remove ourselves from the situation. Stress can be positive or negative, alerting us to an issue that needs to be addressed. Stress without relief can lead to physical symptoms, headaches, blood pressure, chest pains and problems sleeping. If we do not learn to control stress it will control us. But as Christians, we have our Heavenly Father to help us through our stressful tomes. Philippians 4:7 says, “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” We see throughout the Bible, men of God, Prophets, and Kings who struggled with stress and depression. David is seen in Psalm 32:3-4 saying, “When I kept silent, my bones grew old, Through my groaning all the day long,  For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;”  and in Psalm 51, “David pleads to God to; “Create in me a clean heart, restore me to the joy of my salvation” (vs.10;12). Then, Elijah, (1 Kings 19:1-18) and of course, the running prophet Jonah (Jonah 4:1-11). What cause all this great biblical characters to display these attitudes and feelings, “Stress”.

But, there are a few practical things that we can do to relief stress in our lives. (1) Attempt to identify what is the cause of the stress, if there are several things, address each one of them. (2) What is God doing in your life? One great stress reliever is seeing God’s purpose through your difficulty. God uses difficulty to develop faith and character in his children. Paul, said, “I have learned to be “CONTENT”. That may be a word we have lost in our society. Go back to Bethel and renew your faith again. The Book of Hebrews is called the “Hall of Faith”. Perhaps that is because Hebrews 11:1 is the best place to find the Biblical definition of faith “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. You can’t have faith without getting out of the boat as Peter found out.”  Take that step of faith and reach out to your Lord. Step (3) get alone with God, no smartphone, computer, just you, your Bible, and God. Listen and pray. As you cultivate a heart hungry for prayer, you will feel His presence throughout your day and stress will be overcome. (4) Share your burdens. Whether you share literally or figuratively, ask other for help. Commune with your church fellowship. (5) Are you doing too much? Even Moses delegated out task when he got overwhelmed. (Exod. 18:13-21) Step (6) check your compass. Stress has a way of orienting us toward the things that are wrong in our lives. Satan uses it to cause us to forget our blessings and the godly things in our life and focus on all the bad stuff. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3)

Tomorrow, you and I will experience different levels of stress. It does not matter who we are or what we do for a living, our age or social status, we will experience stress. Stress and its partner worry will do their best to drag the believer down to the point that they begin to ponder on not what is happening but what MIGHT happen. I leave you with the words of Paul and invite you to take them with you this week as I will, on a 3x5 card or on your Smartphone, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Please email comments or questions to Eddie at eddieturner2502@gmail.com, on his blog http://eddieturner2502.blogspot.com “Wild For the Word” or on Facebook.