Conventional Evangelism vs Biblical Evangelism

godsplumbline: Conventional Evangelism does not prepare people to suffer for Christ, where as Biblical Evangelism does.

Surviving the days to come

I originally began to write this for a survival video that I have yet to put up. But I sensed the Lord telling me to make it seperate from the video. So here it is:

I’ve talked to a number of people this past year on what I believe is coming to the earth. Telling them we need to prepare for hard times. Meaning: get out of debt, store food and supplies, find out what your specialty or trade is and plan on using it for bartering, build a network of trusted individuals, try to prepare your mind “what if” — meaning just think what would you do if there were no water, no food, no electricity, etc. Most importantly; seek God and get in His Word. I know that is the most important any of us can do. For without Him we can do NOTHING.

Oddly enough, some of the worst rejections and responses I have gotten, are from Christians. Their attitude?

“I work, I don’t have time to know what’s going on in the world.” Sorry, not an excuse. 

“I can barely make ends meet now, let alone save for tomorrow.” Well, then stop spending money on stuff you don’t need and will end up not having any use for. 

“I don’t want to think about it.” Well you better think about it. Because the day is coming if you have not thought about it, you just may be a hindrance on someone who DID think about it. 

“I’m not going to live in fear.” Uh, who told you that lie: that it is fear to plan for bad times? 

My all time favorite one is this: “I’m just going to trust God.” Really? Like those of us who are seeing what is coming and doing our best to prepare are not trusting God?

The I’m just gonna trust God thing sounds so sanctimonious. Really it does. For what it is saying is, I will depend upon YOUR resources. For if they were trusting God, they would know that He, as our Source would have us to be a blessing to others. Can’t bless someone if you yourself do not have the resources available.  

Some of you pastors and preachers out there will be a hindrance upon your flock if you do not prepare. Do you actually think any parent is going to take food out of the mouths of their own babies to give to you? Why should they? Would you take it out of the mouths of your babies and give to another? I doubt it very much.

Some of you will continue to give to false ministries who could give a royal rip about you — instead they make merchandise of you. Are they warning you of the things to come? Or are they pointing you back to their ministry; give to me and God will bless you? Buy my books and my CD’s and get God’s special annointing on your life! These are hirelings! Because if they have one ounce of discernment or any sense, they would be able to see what is coming upon the world — yet they find ways to manipulate you to get your resources.

Then again, perhaps they DO see what is coming and they just want to make sure they milk you of everything you have so they can live high on the hog while you and your family suffer the consequences of an economic collapse.

It is not fear to think about the future and how to prepare. I know, I know, Jesus tells us, “whoever desires to save his life will lose it.” But I do not believe Jesus meant for His children to sit on their butts and wait for someone to come rescue them. If we are to be the light of the world, then should we at least have the mindset that if something bad happens, then we should have enough to give to those whoever God sends to our door? And yeah, that even means liberals and obama supporters. (SIGH) Even if I’m not real crazy about them, I don’t want them to have to resort to taking some kind of chip and loose their very soul. God forbid that I stand before Him one day and He say, “I sent that obama supporter to you and you held back your can of soup, they went around the corner, got that chip and lost their soul.”

(Yet, I’ll still be real honest about that. I’m not there yet. It will take an act of God to change some things in me. I suspect He will have His way with me because His word says, He who began a good work in me, is faithful to complete it. But for now…well, I can’t make myself FEEL something that just does not exist.)

I am NOT in the prosperity gospel as many of you well know, however, for the life of me, I can not see myself being a beggar at the mercy of man. I would much rather have something to give away in time of need to a neighbor or stranger than have to take something from another. Which brings me to this promise of God: 

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand. I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed. — PSALM 37:24-27 –

This is His promise to us.

I do not take lightly that there are those who may find it hard to prepare physically. But there must be something special in you — something God put in you for His children and for the world. You are not without, if God is your Father. What is it you would have to offer? A song, an ability to lead worship, the ability to lead in prayer, are you able to extend mercy? That is needed! Are you one who is not squeamish at the sight of blood and could lend first-aid to the wounded? You will be needed. Are you able to lift up the feeble hands among you? You will be needed, my sister and my brother!  Maybe you have the knack of calming others. Or perhaps your thing is staying up all night standing guard. Just think of the smorgasborg of abilities, talents, gifts and resources He has put in us and will do through us! I get excited thinking about it! I hope and pray God will set me among my brothers and sisters. I want to see the Father’s glory at work in each and every one of us!     

If we acknowledge the Lord in all our ways, He will make our path straight. He will show us all what is to come and prepare us inside and outside. I have no doubt about it. That’s the kind of God we serve! One who will never forsake us and equips us for battle!

Patrice Lewis: Don’t come knocking on my door

On Thursday I made a severe error in judgment. I logged onto the Drudge Report, where these headlines jumped out at me:

• Stocks drop most in a year on economic reports, European debt crisis
• Roubini: Stocks to tumble another 20%, cash the safest place
• Strains accumulate
• Fed official: Europe’s crisis poses risks to USA
• Confusion over regulation moves trigger sell-offs

These headlines got me worried because they coincide with a couple of entries I recently posted on my blog: “Predictions for the rest of 2010,” and “More cheery news.” I’ll pause while you go read those items.

Now that you’re back, can you understand why I find myself nervous about the future?

When I’m nervous, I tend to can food. In the last two days I’ve canned 33 pints of mixed vegetables and 14 quarts of chicken breasts.

Because, you see, I expect the bleep to hit the fan within a year, possibly less. Mother hen that I am, I want to gather my chicks close and protect them. The frustrating thing is, those of us with concerns about the economy can’t help but wonder how much of it is orchestrated. Whatever the cause, things appear to be spiraling out of control. So I’m doing the only thing I can do, and that’s to prepare for hard times.

Of course, most people aren’t preparing. History is full of people who ignored warning signs and put their heads in the sand (and their rumps in the air). These are the folks who derive great amusement at us who prepare, smugly calling us conspiracy nuts or lunatics. Then they’ll calmly inform us of their contingency plans: “Well, we’ll just come live with you if things get tough.”

These are the Grasshoppers of society, and I’ve written about them before. These are the people who still have their jobs and homes, but seem incapable or unwilling to look beyond the shallow concerns of everyday life to read the headlines or see the storm clouds gathering on the horizon.

This attitude makes Ants very, very nervous.

One woman posted on my blog: “I live on 1 acre in town, and we have 48 relatives within walking distance of our house. If only four people show up to be fed and cared for, my six-month supply is cut in half to three months. The more people who show up for help … well, just do the division! I’m trying to build my stock and some nights I don’t sleep well just thinking about how quickly it could be depleted. This is not fear talking; this is wrapping my brain around reality.”

This woman has tried warning her friends and family, but when she saw them “taking cruises and trips to Florida,” she knew the message wasn’t getting through.

Grasshoppers, every one of them. Grasshoppers are not people who are unemployed or facing eviction or dealing with medical bills. Grasshoppers are people who have jobs and are perfectly capable of preparing, but who deny that hard times could ever happen.

Whenever I address this subject in a column, there’s always someone who “jokingly” announces that he’ll just come live with us if the bleep hits the fan. My standard reply is, “Stand in line. There are dozens ahead of you.” The honest truth of the matter is, “Why is it MY responsibility to feed YOU when you’ve had plenty of warning that times are going to be tough, and you’ve just been too stupid or stubborn to listen?”

And the trouble is, the woman with 48 relatives shares a major concern with other Ants: We love our Grasshoppers to pieces. They are our friends and family. So the question arises – how do we decide who comes to live with us and share our supplies? How many Grasshoppers can one Ant support?

In Aesop’s original version of “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” the grasshopper died. That’s nature, folks. The grasshopper died because he didn’t have the brains or the forethought to realize summer must end and winter would come. The grasshopper died because nature dictates it’s every insect for itself.

Only man shows compassion for his fellow humans. But the Ants among us are few and far between, and compassionate or not, it is physically impossible to feed every Grasshopper on the planet.

That’s one of the things that drives me nuts. Right now everything is abundant and relatively cheap. Putting aside those who are already facing hardships, there are still plenty of people who can help themselves prepare for a harsh future, but won’t. And even Ants have to remember to prepare. As a friend notes on her blog, “I am always aware of the necessity of being prepared, but sometimes I talk about it more than I do it.”

After some discussion, my husband and I decided to dedicate 10 percent of our income to preparedness projects. That’s 10 percent of an income that’s already dropped 40 percent from a couple years ago. In other words, we’re eeking out what preparations we can despite our lower-income status.

And yet we have thoughtless and unprepared friends, relatives and strangers – most of whom are better off financially than we are – who are doing nothing. But they will blithely come knocking at our door when times get tough and expect us to cheerfully and freely share everything. The reality is, we cannot feed them all. We simply cannot do it. It is impossible. And so … we’ll have to choose whom to turn away.

Some people argue they don’t have the money or room to stockpile things. In which case, I urge them to stockpile knowledge. Pick a specialty that is useful in a new economy and perfect it. Sewing, welding, mechanics, gardening, medicine, carpentry, animal husbandry … there is a whole world of knowledge and skills out there crying for people to learn them.

In other words, if you’re going to mooch off someone, at least have the courtesy to offer something useful in exchange.

Please, folks, become Ants. If you insist on remaining a Grasshopper, don’t come a-knocking at our door. We may not answer, because so many have already been let in ahead of you.