Yesterday was our first evangelism trip. We went to Madison and split up into pairs to share the good news. In about a two hour time span my partner Torrie and I talked with four ladies. We were surprised to discover that all four of them had some sort of background with Christianity and that two out of the four had turned away from it. Another one, Jessica, was searching for clarity and meaning in life; she wanted to know if she was doing was what God wanted her to do, but didn't think that the community of a church was very helpful, so she has stopped going. The last one, Nikki, was a college student who took time from studying to talk to us. She had grown up Presbyterian, but found it hard to be dedicated while in college. We also tried to talk to an older gentleman whose clothes were in disarray, but he was very confused and angry at us when we asked to speak with him, so we went somewhere else. After the two hours, all of us regrouped and talked about our experiences.Many of the other groups had different stories than we did. One group spent the whole time talking with one gentleman who thought that everyone was everything and everything was everyone, so God was a part of us and we were apart of God whether we liked it or not; everything was part of "the energy." Another group talked with some Jehovah-Witnesses, but because they didn't know any background about that, they couldn't share any verses or insight. A couple of our leaders had a very good talk with a younger couple, and at the end of the conversation, the woman was ready to accept Christ, but the man was not, so they went over the plan of salvation, but then the woman wanted to think more about it. Another group met this very discouraged lady, who listened to what they had to say, getting more and more downhearted as they went on, but then didn't want to hear about the hope and joy that we have in Christ. For me, it was quite an interesting day, but it also reminded me that I have a lot to be thankful for, especially growing up in a Christian home and environment.
For my devotional today, the passage was Deuteronomy 6:1-9. Part of that passage, verses 4-9, really speak to me. I don't remember where I heard a series of messages about it, but I think it was a passage for a winter retreat at camp. In verse 5, three things are mentioned; we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and strength. The speaker gave definitions for these words: heart - your emotions and feelings, soul - your very life and breath, strength - your abundance. It's easy to think that those are just definitions, that we really aren't that affected by them. To love God with all our heart, our emotions and feelings, means that we don't idolize anything above Him; nothing else takes away our attention or focus. To love God with all our soul, our very breath, life, desires, and being, means that nothing comes first in our life except for God; God is our passion in life. To love God with all our strength, our abundance, means that everything we have is for God's use, our money, time, mental and physical capacities, and material wealth is all for God's use. When I think about it that way, I realize that it is a huge deal, that we aren't ourselves anymore after we come to Christ; we belong to God. He received those wages of death that we were due, so we owe Him ourselves, our entire being. It wasn't enough that He would just take the payment for our sins, but He had to give us an additional gift as well; we have the privilege to freely accept His gift of eternal life with our Father. It is so amazing!!!
Please pray for the people that we encountered yesterday, that they would ponder what was said. Also pray for the people who turned us down and didn't want anything to do with us or what we were offering them. There are also some cold/flu type sicknesses that are going around, please pray that those affected would start to feel better and that those who haven't caught it yet would stay healthy. One more thing to pray for is that everyone on this trip, including me, would experience what it is like to give God our entire being!
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