I was in the bank this week to make a transaction that was a little complicated as it involved a Christian ministry in Israel. It didn’t help that I had to explain everything through a mask, but the clerk was most helpful.
Banking on the gospel
In the end I was missing a vital piece of information, but it didn’t matter because we got into a long conversation about Jesus. I found myself saying that he was “the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6) and also the hope of Israel. Though, as a nation, they once rejected him, there is coming a day when “they will look on the One they have pierced” (Zech 12:10) and turn to him.
I was conscious of others listening in, and encouraged afresh that the word of God is “sharper than a double-edged sword” (Heb 4:12) as it sought to penetrate the hearts of my hearers.
God’s word is not muzzled, as I was, and you can bank on it. Jesus is the Word that became flesh when he dwelt among us on earth. Today, the risen Jesus still speaks to us through his word, which is as penetrating and powerful as it ever was. And not having all the right information gives me the perfect excuse to return and say more.
Lockdown opportunities
It’s so refreshing not to be restricted to speaking about the weather when there are far more important issues at stake. One of the helpful aspects of the pandemic is that it’s a gift for evangelists who, in the UK at least in recent decades, have often tried in vain to gain a hearing from people generally leading comfortable lives.
as we consecrate ourselves like the people under Joshua, “the Lord will do amazing things” among us.
But now, amidst the growing darkness, loneliness and uncertainty of lockdown, people are asking questions as they begin to wonder what life is all about. When Joshua was about to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, they were instructed to follow the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant (representing the very presence of God): “Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before” (Josh 3:4).
In Jesus, we have the very presence of God through the Holy Spirit he left us, and if we follow him, we will surely know which way to go. And as we consecrate ourselves like the people under Joshua, “the Lord will do amazing things” among us (Josh 3:5).1
Lynda’s life-change
Do you struggle with the idea that God can speak today? I have been reading the life story2 of a lady from Sussex, Lynda Hailes, who as a young woman was deserted by her husband. She already suffered from acute inferiority and lack of self-worth, so this came as a hammer blow.
As it happened, she had just become a Christian, and attended a nearby Bible camp where the preacher3, was re-telling the 3,000-year-old story of how David was chosen to be king. The prophet Samuel was sent to the house of Jesse, David’s father, where he would find God’s choice among his sons. But after being presented with seven of them, he knew the Lord’s chosen was not among them.
So he asked Jesse if he had any other sons. David was in the field tending the sheep, but was not considered worthy enough to be presented to the prophet. Though rejected by his father, he was accepted by his heavenly Father, who says: “Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7).
Then Lynda heard the preacher say: “People may have rejected you. You may even have rejected yourself. But God has called you; he has chosen you.” This, and many other instances of being able to discern the voice of God, served to transform Lynda’s life with a series of miracles, including healing from chronic back pain – and even of infertility.
Begging the word of God
The word of God is not only powerful, but also refreshes and satisfies the hungry soul. This is what Jesus meant when he said: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (Jn 6:35).
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, international director of Barnabas Fund, an aid agency for the persecuted church, tells the story of an English pioneer missionary, John Williams, who was used by God to help establish the Church in the Pacific Islands (where he was eventually killed and eaten).4
Williams wrote of a cheerful and persevering believer he met on one of the Cook Islands. Buteve had neither hands nor feet, yet still managed to cultivate his patch of land and grow plenty of food for his wife and children. But he could not walk to church with other local people to hear John preach on Sunday, so he would sit by the roadside when they returned after the service and “beg a bit of the word” from each one as they passed by.
He would receive a variety of brief answers, some remembering one point in the sermon and others another. Buteve would store them up in his heart and prayerfully meditate on them until he understood them. In this way he became a staunch and faithful Christian.
let us all take up the baton to share the “life that is truly life” at every opportunit
Take up every opportunity
As we recall the wonderful legacy of Argentinian evangelist Luis Palau who, according to his sons is nearing the end of his battle with cancer, let us all take up the baton to share the “life that is truly life” (1 Tim 6:19) at every opportunity. You don’t need a pulpit – just those one-to-one chats with whoever God puts in your way, like my friend at the bank.
God has surely called us “for such a time as this” (Es 4:14). He has given us “beautiful feet” (Isa 52:7) to bring good news to those who are lost and without hope in the world. Personally, my feet don’t look beautiful with the effects of much marathon running, but the Lord is more interested in where they take me.
We haven’t been this way before, but the Lord has the roadmap. Go wherever he takes you and proclaim the good news!
Endnotes
1 I am indebted to my Kent colleague, Keith Pavitt for his thoughts on Joshua
2 Lynda Hailes and Josh Hailes, A Wedding Song, Gardner Publications, 2016
3 Terry Virgo,
4 Barnabas Aid editorial, March/April 2021
