Tag Archives: evangelism

Step Out and Stand Up

“Then he [the jailer] brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’

And they [Paul and Silas] said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’

And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.”

Acts 16:30-32 (ESV)

Remember Kendra’s story from last week? About the family in Peru who heard  the Gospel message and accepted Christ’s free offer of salvation all because a few mission team members were willing to do a crazy dance in the middle of the street to grab the attention of those who needed to hear? And then were prepared to speak the word of the Lord to receptive hearts?

Side note: if you have not seen the video of Kendra, her dad (who happens to be the pastor), and their worship pastor dancing, you MUST click over and watch…and read the awesome story while you’re there!

As you may recall, Kendra ended her story with this challenge: “Step out and do something crazy or fun (in other words: take a risk) in order to share the love of Christ with someone else!!”

Hold that thought while we set the stage for Paul and Silas with a little context.

Go read Acts 16:16-34. 

If you’re feeling super adventurous, read all of Acts 16 for even greater context. 

Seriously. I’ll wait.

So, Paul and Silas are in Philippi, and after becoming annoyed by her, Paul delivers a slave girl from her “spirit of divination”. This is a problem for her owners as they can no longer use her for profit, so they bring charges against Paul and Silas.

After being publicly and severely beaten with rods, Paul and Silas are thrown into prison where, in the middle of the night, they pray and sing hymns while the other prisoners listen. Then an earthquake shakes the prison, and all of the prisoners are freed. But no one leaves.

Realizing that everyone is still there (when they should have escaped), the jailer refrains from taking his own life and instead asks Paul and Silas how to be saved. They answer. And the jailer’s entire household is baptized that night.

Were Paul and Silas crazy for staying in the prison? You could say that.

Were Paul and Silas having fun? I’m guessing not.

Were Paul and Silas taking risks? It certainly seems that way.

Were Paul and Silas prepared to share Christ regardless? Absolutely.

Paul and Silas were willing to step out into the crazy and the risk because they were willing to stand up for the message of Christ’s love and salvation.

And they never let their focus stray from that message.

Although they were beaten, they prayed.

Although they were thrown in prison, they worshipped.

Although they could have escaped out of the open prison door, they trusted.

And you want to talk about really crazy?

It’s not until later in the chapter (verse 37 to be exact) that we discover Paul and Silas are Roman citizens, which (as Paul clearly understood) from a legal standpoint means they never should have been beaten and thrown in prison to begin with.

Remaining silent with that knowledge? That is crazy!

And yet, as followers of Christ, we are presented with the same mission that Paul and Silas were presented with in that prison cell:

To step out,

from wherever we are,

even when it seems crazy,

even when it means taking a risk, 

even when it’s fun (like dancing in the middle of the street), 

even when it’s not (like remaining in a prison cell),

and stand up to share the love of Christ with others.

Missed Opportunity: A DMV Retrospective

“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it

to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

Matthew 25:40 (English Standard Version)

 

 

If I could characterize my Thursday by one word, it would be this: STRESSFUL.

Included in the stressful events of my day was a trip to the DMV in order to renew my driver’s license.

Ugghh.

At the DMV, it seems one is guaranteed to see ALL types of people.  People who…

don’t practice proper hygiene (umm…deodorant or toothpaste anyone?),

don’t dress appropriately,

smoke WAY too much,

don’t follow the rules that are posted on every wall (most notably, NO cell phone use past the lobby…),

and people who don’t interact with a complete stranger with the common courtesy that is due to another simply because he/she is a human being.

So, in true awkward-situation-fashion (in which we are all severely lacking in personal space), we mostly sat in silence staring…

at the windows with hideous blue blinds that weren’t even open,

at the uneven industrial white brick walls,

at the exposed wires that looked like they could spark a massive electrical fire if only given the chance,

at the empty desks that made you wonder why there weren’t more officials working,

and at the glaring red numbers counting down to the one on your ticket.

But although no one may have noticed, in my silent staring, I missed an opportunity.  An opportunity to be obedient to my calling.  An opportunity to get past the smell, to look beyond the inappropriate clothing, and to ignore the rudeness.  An opportunity to show interest in, compassion for, and love toward a person.  To “one of the least of these.”  To someone in need.  Of understanding, of healing, of a Savior.

And you know what the worst part of it was?  I knew that I was missing an opportunity…and I let it pass anyways.  I was already stressed, was feeling anxious about and uncomfortable in my surroundings, was attempting to cherish a few moments of reading a book that wasn’t even that great, and I did NOT feel like interacting. with. a. sole. 

If I had opened myself to a conversation with one of the men or women waiting beside me in that room, would it have led to a discussion of the Gospel message of Christ?  Not necessarily.  But would it have allowed someone else to experience the love of Christ through a simple exchange of thoughtful words?  Very likely, yes…even if they were unable to acknowledge it as such.  

About an hour and a half after I first entered the line at the DMV, I was out of the building with a temporary license.  But I was also out with a missed opportunity to – in the very least – display the character of Christ.

Have you ever been made keenly aware of a missed opportunity to share the love and truth of Jesus Christ with someone else?

If so, I leave you with the same challenge I now face: 

Will it make a difference the next time an opportunity is presented?