Are we reaching the right ones?

When you look around inside the walls of your church, what do you see? Do you see a group of people who are stand-offish to new attenders and visitors? Are they open to allowing these people join the congregation, or are they closed in their attitude?

In 1 Corinthians 9:19, Paul wrote "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself slave to everyone, to win as many as possible." Paul was following the Great Commission to the letter. He was out there spreading the word to all people regardless of their background, language, religion, status, etc.

As pointed out in The Local Church in Evangelism, Third Edition (pg. 31), "We are called to reach people who are different from us. Christian witness should not only be only to 'our kind of people.' The Holy Spirit will enable us to effectively communicate with many kinds of people."

A church that understands the Great Commission and ministers in the Spirit will focus on reaching all lost people in their area. That means not just  the people who look and talk like you. The key word in that sentence is ALL.

The next time you come across a person who is down on their luck or spiritually lost, remember that Jesus said that that we were to go into the world and touch them. His church is not to be a social club for those like us, it should be inclusive and welcome all.

A church is a family, God's family. God did not design the church to keep certain kinds of people out, but to bring all kinds of people in!

Remember that as you travel the roads in your community. There are many untouched and lost souls out there waiting for you!.

Know God?

How do you know God and accept the gift of salvation? In the The Local Church in Evangelism by Randy Hurst, There are several salvation plans outlined. I have chosen one of the straight-forward and simple plans. It originated with the late Richard Champion. He served as editor of the Pentecostal Evangel.

To know God and be ready for heaven, follow these steps.

A. Admit you are a sinner.
          "There is no one righteous, not even one....for all have sinned and fall short
                 of the glory of God"  (Romans3:10, 23)

    Ask God's forgiveness.
          "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13)

B. Believe in Jesus.
          "For God so loved the world that gave his one and only Son, that whoever
                  believes in him shall hot perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16)

    Become a child of God by receiving Christ.
          "To all who receive him, to those who believed in his  name, he gave the
                  right to become children of  God" (John 1:12)

C. Confess that Jesus in your Lord.

          "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart
                 that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10: 9).

There you have it. Three simple steps to take and you are assured a place in Heaven for all eternity. It doesn't get any better than that!!

For more complete information, visit www.pentecostalevangel.ag.org/Salvation.cfm

Everybody does it...

Last week on the way to a doctor's appointment, I happened to be a little over the speed limit. I was immediately advised of that by Officer Friendly... While he did stop me and check out my documents prior to having mercy and letting me go with a friendly reminder, it sparked a short conversation with God.

As I tried to convince God that it was OK to do "five over" the limit (everyone does it), He kept saying "NO!." He tried to be nice but kept going back to the question "What does the sign say?" Of course I had to say "40," after all, you can't lie to God...

God followed up with “Driving over the speed limit is breaking the law, and breaking the law is a sin."

“But God, cops won’t pull anyone over for going just 5 mph over the limit. So if they don’t pull me over for it, it’s OK, right? Everybody does it." 

“But what does the speed limit sign say? It doesn’t say 45 mph. You are breaking the law! You are sinning without remorse. Sin is wrong!"

As I continued to think about this revelation over the next week, God revealed something else to me. By speeding every time I got behind the wheel, I had been living a lifestyle of sin. Lifestyle of sin!? Isn’t that term just used for serial murderers, alcoholics, rapists, the sexually immoral and all those other people? Yes! But I was acting no better than any of them! This  revelation opened my eyes to all people who are living a lifestyle of sin and the fact that it’s not my job to judge them. My sin is not better than theirs, nor does it receive a lesser degree of punishment. 

So now as I drive along with my cruise control set at the posted speed.  It feels liberating to know that I am not breaking the law. My heart no longer skips a beat when I see a police car. 

How about you?