Fish Tales 5/3/2016

Which comes first the chicken or the egg?

We go out into neighborhoods on a weekly basis to share the good news of Jesus Christ and make disciples.  It is a training ground for leaders, pastors, and anyone that wants to learn how to reach people that need the Lord. It's "live-action discipleship".

When out in neighborhoods, I often take an apprentice so they can learn "on the job".  They often ask what comes first? Is it an A, B, C or 1,2,3 process? Yes and No.  Sometimes both.  Sometimes it all happens at the same time. There is a process, but it flexes to the audience and the Spirit.

Many times while prayer walking we find someone like Pam and Bill.  They both were happy for prayer.  They both share deep stuff.  We prayed for them and then asked them, Do you feel near or far from God? As they respond we share how we came to faith (Our Story) and gospel presentation (God's story).  To God's glory the both drew near to God that day.

They then invited us back to study the Word together and to be discipled.  That's how it usually happens, really.  No kidding!

Other times we have engaged people like, Jak.  He is from another faith background. Jak is very inquisitive.  He is loaded with questions.  We spend a few months going to his home and sharing true stories from the Bible.  We ask Jak questions and he asks us questions.  We are both pressing deep in the Scripture. We are being tested and growing.  Jak is being exposed to deep truths of the Word.

Some come to faith and are discipled and some are discipled into the faith.  Either way the result is the same.  The end goal is that they become healthy disciple makers. This is a process.  It takes time.  So Endure.

 Get out there and Go Fish!

Fish Tales 4/28/2016

Person of Peace - Answered prayer   

In an apartment yesterday, we were prayer walking with expectation that God would give us a person of peace.  This person would receive prayer.  They would receive our message.  They would show hospitality.  There would be a draw.

We worked our way to the last building in the complex and saw two men on the second floor.  We asked if the would like prayer.  One, I'll call Luke, asked if we were Jehovah Witness.  We smiled and said, no. Luke came downstairs and took the book we had for him. (Lifebook)  He said he was spending time with the JWs going through the Bible, but it was not his background.

We asked if we could come back and share some stories from the Bible and talk about his thoughts on the JW.  He said, yes.  We gave Luke our number and made arrangements to meet again.  The next day we met.  He welcomed us into his home and he began genuinely asking great questions.

He then confessed that he had been praying that God would send someone to share with him the truth and walk him through the Scriptures.  Luke said, he was surprised how fast God had answered his prayers.  We then told him that we too had been praying for a person to disciple.  We all were very encouraged.

We decided to get together weekly for accountability and discipleship.

 Fishing is exciting at times!

Go Fish!

Fish Tales 4/27/2016

Brokenness

The more you "go" fishing, the more you encounter brokenness.  While at an apartment this week I ran into a young lady I'll call Gail.  She sat quietly on the steps of the second floor.  After talking to another lady that our team led to the Lord, I went up and spoke to her.

I told Gail we were here praying for the community.  We asked if she had anything we could pray about either for her or the community.  She opened up.  Really opened up.  Gail shared that her boyfriend recently passed away.  Her Grandparents died a year ago and her parents prior to that.  She also lost her dog.  If you added a bottle of Jack, it would have made for a perfect country song.

You could feel and see the brokenness of this lady.  We prayed for her and talked for about forty minutes.  We shared the gospel too.  She really appreciated to have someone to talk to and pray for her.

Listen, people are out in our communities every day that are broken.  They are trying to solve it by themselves.  They are self medicating to ease the pain that only God can heal.  But God, he can do it through you.  Pray for your community and ask God to show you where the gospel is not.  Ask where are the last, least and lost.  Where can you join him in the work of the harvest?

Go Fish!

Sharing to jws part one

I'm checking out "[[Witnesses for Jesus]]" App. http://subspla.sh/7279cdf

Introduction to NAMS