Always Be Prepared

I've been thinking a lot since yesterday. I suppose that the visit I had from the Jehovah's Witnesses may have been as much for my benefit as anything else. I promise I'm not going to let this blog shift its focus onto apologetics. (Apologetics, by the way, is the reasoned arguments that you provide to defend your faith, that is not the formal definition, but I think it works just fine. In other words, it is the reasoning that explains why you believe what you believe.)

But, ladies, I came to realize something yesterday. Far too many of us are woefully ignorant of Scripture. And I feel the need to gently fuss about it.

My misguided visitors were rather surprised when I not only opened the door and spoke to them, but when I also proved to know a thing or two about the Bible. If their reaction is to be trusted, this is a rare occurrence. Shame on us!

I know all the arguments against engaging the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Mormons who come knocking: they have memorized their doctrine and the Bible verses that appear to support them, their logic is intentionally tricky and they might manage to confuse you, you won't change their mind anyway, so why bother.

But I'm afraid there are two bigger reasons we don't open the door. One, we don't really care about the lost souls on our front porch who are earnestly heading straight toward eternal damnation. That is simply terrible! Second, we don't know how to make a reasoned defense of our faith, and so we are afraid to even try. This is just as bad!

In 1 Peter 3:15, we are told, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;." (emphasis mine) I know that some people see this verse as encouragement to freely give your personal testimony. But even the Buddhist can give an honest and genuine testimony. That doesn't make his faith true, it just means that he really, sincerely believes it. We, who posses the truth, must be able to provide more than just our personal experience. We must be able to assert the authority of Scripture.

Now, don't think I'm going to fuss at you today without giving you a little help in the right direction. I can't pretend that I've memorized every single section of Scripture that points to, or explicitly claims, or obviously shows, the divinity of Christ. I did read many of them today, but in a pinch, I doubt I would be able to recall them immediately.

But I did see something that I thought I could remember, and you can too. Any one of you who read this blog can remember two numbers: 20:28.

That's right, before I even tell you what the verses are or what book they are in, I want you to make yourself a giant mental sticky note: 20:28. Say it out loud, write it down, or whatever helps you to remember. 20:28.

OK, now, remember this: the last and the first. That's easy isn't it? We are going to find our key verses in the last of the Gospels, which is John, and the first book that comes after them, which is Acts. John and Acts, got it?

Here we go:

John 20:28

"And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

In this verse, Thomas explicitly calls Jesus not only Lord, as he was accustomed to calling him prior to this point, but he also explicitly calls Jesus "God." The Greek word used here for God is "theos." And in your Bible this word is translated with a capital "G" not a small "g." That means God as in the one true God: Jehovah. Now, it is true that elsewhere in the Bible, this exact same word is translated with a little "g." But even if that were the proper translation, it doesn't matter. Because in the very next verse, John 20:29, Jesus commends Thomas for believing that He is God. Jesus cannot possibly be sinless as a man, AND accept worship as God. He must be either God, or a sinner.

You may get some convoluted argument about mistranslations, misunderstandings, etc. But stick to your guns. Either Jesus has just committed a sin by accepting worship as God, or Jesus is sinless AND IS GOD. The text is plain and speaks for itself.

Then we have Acts 20:28:

"Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." (emphasis mine)

This one is simple. Here we have it explicitly stated that God purchased the flock (that would be the church) with HIS OWN BLOOD. This must mean that the blood which Jesus shed was the blood of God. Jesus, must therefore, be God.

Let me tell you, I've looked at so many Bible verses today pertaining to the divinity of Christ that my head started to spin at one point. I am realistic enough to realize that not all of you are going to do the same thing. But really, if you can remember these two addresses (verses) you are well on your way to being able to defend the divinity of Christ.

So, please, next time, open your door, too. Don't view the person on the other side as a threat. Allow the Holy Spirit to use you. Show love, be polite, be gentle and respectful. But be prepared to show the truth. Even if it goes badly, and you feel like you botched the whole thing, it is good practice. You can do better next time. More importantly though, it is not up to you to be perfect or to know every detailed argument. The Holy Spirit is the one who works in people's hearts to lift the veil and reveal the truth. It's an amazing privilege to be used by Him in the process. So even if you bumble and stutter and feel ignorant, fear not. If God has a purpose, it will be fulfilled, regardless of your abilities or lack thereof.

And don't forget: 20:28, the last and the first. How hard is that?

P.S. To my regular readers: I am well aware that this post may attract some strange comments. It's OK if that happens. They are welcome to read my post, but I really wrote it for all of you who normally drop by for a visit.

The Mission Field (That Came Right Up to My Front Door)

I had some unexpected visitors this morning. Two very nice women rang my doorbell. I spotted them knocking on the front door of my neighbor, and sort of scoped them out as they made their way to my house. I figured they were with some sort of religious organization. Normally, I DO NOT open my door if I am unaware of who the person is on the other side. I live in a neighborhood that has a lot of character, and there have been some, um, interesting people that have come by.

But these two seemed harmless enough, so I said a quick prayer asking for grace, wisdom and knowledge, and when they rang, I opened the door.

They were Jehovah's Witnesses. It took a few minutes to get around to that, but eventually we got there. I am not all that familiar with the Jehovah's Witnesses and what they believe. But I thought that there was some major point of disagreement between their beliefs and the typical evangelical, so I asked them what it might be.

In a nutshell, they deny the Trinity. They believe that Jesus was a special, righteous man, but they don't believe that He was God in the flesh.

Oh, boy! How often is it that you have a chance to really talk, without any hesitation or constraints, about religion with a perfect stranger? This was an opportunity that I just couldn't resist! These two very nice ladies had come expecting to tell me about the kingdom of Heaven, and throughout our conversation, they kept trying to steer me back to their agenda. But I wanted to talk about Christ, so I did.

I don't remember everything that they said or that I said. But, as soon as they realized that I was an evangelical Christian who knew more about the Bible than the 23rd Psalm, they wanted to find common ground between us. I, however, had the exact opposite intent, and wanted to point out to them that we did not, in fact, believe the same thing at all. And I told them at least 6 or 7 times as they stood on my doorstep that I feared for their souls, because they did not believe in Jesus as He revealed Himself in Scripture.

Before I go on, I should say that I was extremely polite, and so were they. But there was no way I was going to let them leave my doorstep without telling them that they believed a lie, that they did not know the truth, and that come Judgment Day, they would be on the wrong side of God, unless they trusted in Jesus as Saviour and LORD. (LORD as in God.)

They shared some arguments against Christ's divinity, I opened my Bible to John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." They told me that my Bible had a mistranslation of that verse. They had an "explanation" for everything. Of course, they are well trained in their beliefs before they are sent out to knock on doors, so I shouldn't have been surprised about that.

At a certain point they decided to leave, once they realized that they were not going to convince me of anything. They gave me a few verses to look up that had to do with Heaven, which was what they wanted to talk about all along. Before they left I encouraged them to read the Bible for themselves, without the influence of what someone else told them to believe, and let Scripture speak for itself. They actually seemed to listen when I told them that. And then I parted by telling them that I would pray for their souls all day today, because they did not know the truth, and had not been brought to the light.

This was such a strange experience for me. I don't normally look people in the eye and tell them their souls are going to be separated from God for all of eternity. I sort of doubt that anyone had ever told them that before. But, there are times when we just have to speak the truth in love. And when a stranger comes to your door, and they want to talk about what you believe, then how can you pass up the opportunity to give them the TRUTH?

Naturally, after they left, I came up with about 5 good Bible verses that would have gone a long way toward proving my case. And a dozen arguments against their logic. But I suppose if they were supposed to hear those things, God would have impressed them on me before this encounter. But, I'll tell you one thing. I'll be even better prepared next time.

I should hang a sing on my door, "Jehovah's Witnesses Welcome!" OK, just kidding.

Even the sparrow

I overslept a little bit this morning. This used to mean that I would be rushed to get everyone in the house ready to get out the door, but now, it means that I have lost a chunk of my personal Bible study time. I hate it when I do that.

So, I sat down at the kitchen table, opened my Bible, glanced at the clock and groaned inside as I realized I probably only had 15 minutes of peace before the whole house woke up and needed my attention. I began to read Psalm 84, what Charles Spurgeon refers to as the "Pearl of the Psalms." I have to agree with him.

Psalm 84:1-2

"How lovely is Your tabernacle
O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the LORD;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."

At this point in my reading I get distracted. A tiny sparrow has been spending a great deal of time in the basket of a dying house plant that is sitting on my back porch. (I'm notorious for killing plants, despite coming from a long line of green-thumbed women.) I think this little bird must be building a nest. For some reason this morning, he or she, I can't tell which it is, was just a singin' at the top of its little lungs. I stood up and walked over to one of the windows to get a better look at the joyful little bird. It saw me standing on the other side of the glass, probably less than 4 feet away, and it flew to the table that sits on our back patio to continue its song.

Its beak pointed straight up into the air. Its little tail bobbed with each exuberant chorus. Its chest swelled and the feathers on its back puffed in and out as this tiny creature poured out his joy. It sounded to me like his song declared, "Do you know? Do you know? Do you know?"

I just stood and watched him for a few minutes, enjoying this special close-up glimpse of the beauty of creation. Then I sat back down to continue my reading. Here is exactly what I read in verses 3-4.

"Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young--
Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
My King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
They will still be praising You."

I was stunned. It really felt like I just got a big wink and grin from God!

The 84th Psalm is deserving of a much more in-depth post, and maybe I'll even get around to writing one, but just for this morning, it was all about that little sparrow, and the treat it seemed God planned just to set my day off on the right course.

Praise Him all creatures here below!

By the way, if you have any similar stories, I'd love to hear them. Just leave me a comment!