I enjoy reading Christian fiction and especially those with a western theme. I did after all, grow up watching Saturday afternoon cowboy shows. One book that I recently finished was very different. It featured a country veterinarian and a troubled former police officer. One line in particular grabbed my attention. The ex-police officer, described the vet, by saying, “Trace was a missionary masquerading as a veterinarian.” (Finding Her Way Home by Linda Goodnight, Steeple Hill Books, p175) I thought, “Wow, that’s the way it’s supposed to be!”
Mission work was what Jesus was talking about when he said to the eleven, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15; ESV). We know this as the great commission. Jesus sent His disciples to make more disciples as they preached, baptized, and taught. While this was spoken to the eleven, no one seems to deny that this is not also the mission of the church today. Each one of us has some part in getting the Word of God out to those around us, by sharing the Good News.
Speaking of believers in Christ, Peter called us, “…a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.” (1 Peter 2:9; ESV). Look at what we are called to do: “proclaim”. Other translations use words like “show others, tell others, declare, show forth.” What could be clearer than that?
But what exactly is it we are to proclaim? We are to declare the excellencies of God. Other translations suggest various nuances like, “the goodness of God, the praises of God, the excellent qualities of God.” But each of these mean that we are to tell others about God, about His goodness, and His great deeds, so that all will be caused to praise and honour Him. We must speak openly of His wonderful qualities and put his character on display in the way that we live.
That line in the book – led me to wonder, “Was I a missionary disguised as an educator?” I was often approached by staff and even parents who sought help with personal issues, like “I want you to be the first to know that I have been diagnosed with MS.” “My teenage daughter ran away from home. We don’t know where she is.” “My husband is having a very difficult time dealing with our handicapped son.” And I thought, “Why me?”
Perhaps they did see God at work in my life and to some extent through my life. The one thing that I did do right was that I listened. I listened and offered words of comfort and support. And I did offer to pray for them and for their circumstances. But did I proclaim the goodness of God? Did I ever ask about their relationship with Christ Jesus? Did I even offer to open the Bible to Scriptures that may have been a comfort? I must admit that I did not. I lobbed the ball into their court by offering prayers but never got a return volley. And I just left it there. I never picked the ball up and tried a different serve. I was hardly the missionary in teacher’s clothing.
I’ve often asked myself why I never offered more. I can come up with lots of excuses. I’m pretty good at that. “They never showed an interest.” “I’m not very good expressing myself verbally.” “I was young and inexperienced.” “It was in a secular workplace.” I could go on, but you get the picture. Really, I think that I never truly absorbed Mark 16:15.
Some of us get the “Go into” part wrong. We want to insert “Invite” instead. Invite them to worship with us and I’ve done my part. The preacher can take over from there. Inviting is good. Do not stop doing that. Paul suggested in 1 Corinthians 14:24 that it was possible “if some unbelieving outsiders walk in on a service,” (MSG) that they could be convicted of their sins. Yet that was not the purpose of the assembly. The chapters found there in 1 Corinthians were talking about the proper use of one’s gifts to build up the church. In reality, Sunday worship time is for believers; for those of us who are already Christians. We come together to praise God , to remember Christ’s sacrifice and to be encouraged and strengthened by one another.
Evangelism, in the form of teaching and spreading the Good News occurs outside of the church building’s walls. Jesus said “Go.”
But I was already there, with unbelievers all around. What I missed out on was the “proclaim the gospel” part. In my mind, it sounded too hard. What was I to say? How was I to say it? What if I got it wrong? Goodness! What if they asked a question I could not answer? Does that sound familiar?
It took a sweet Polish lady in our congregation to show me how easy it is. She did not have much education. She learned to read and write English from her children but she could work God into almost every conversation. Someone admiring her flowers would be reminded of God’s beautiful creation. Someone commenting on her home, health or family would be told how God had blessed her. She was eager to invite people into her home, to church activities and to worship. But she was just as eager to share how she searched before becoming a Christian. If someone had a question, she knew to whom she could direct them. We can do that too. It is easy.
There was a good Biblical reason for what she did. It is found in Matthew 22:37-39, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ (NIV, 1984). This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.” She loved God and she loved people. I have seen her weep for a person who rejected any mention of God. She cared that much for that individual’s soul. That to me is the crux of matter. Why don’t I try to work God into my conversations? Why am I hesitant to tell my story; to mention my blessings and my relationship with God? If I’m honest, I have to say I’m concerned about my soul but am I always concerned as much as I should be about other souls? Self-examination is a good thing!
I have written this with a great deal of introspection. I can see my spiritual growth through the years, the growing concern for the lost, and my increased ability to speak of God more freely. It has taken a good deal of time and I still have a ways to go. I hope you read this with the same mindset with which it was written.
Are you a missionary masquerading as a __________?
Give it a try!
Fenwick ON
I enjoy having a few goats on the farm. They are entertaining. It is fun watching the young ones run, jump and twist in the air or climb on the backs of the adults. Even the adults continue to have a bit of childishness in them. They all seem to have a curious, mischievous, devil-may-care attitude. It is a characteristic that gets them into trouble often and has them calling for help.
My daughter and I just rescued two goats the other day. A pregnant nanny had somehow jumped into the feeder. All four legs were through the grating below and her fat belly was wedged between the front of the feeder and the wall. And then, our young billy decided to climb (which they love to do) and explore the upper reaches of the barn. He had a great time in the loft until he wanted to come down, but could not seem to figure out how he got up there.
I have had to rescue goats from fences, numerous times. They figure out how to turn their heads sideways to slip through a small opening in order to grab a bite of greener grass, but cannot reverse the process. Horns slide through a lot easier going out than coming back in. And so they stand there, and call for help.
But then, we are not much different than they are, are we? Far too often we get ourselves in a fix with seemingly no way out. Our reckless, thoughtless, sin-seeking side decides that some activity would be fun, or interesting, or entertaining. After all, what’s the harm? But then there we are with our head stuck in the fence. What do we do? We can call for help. And fortunately our Father is there to help us out, to forgive us, and set us straight – until next time.
“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” Psalm 46:1 (NLT).
Why is it that so many people only call upon God when they are in trouble? Is that the only time we think we need Him? Yes, we give thanks, when we get out of our predicament and/or are forgiven, but what about every day? There are so many reasons for talking to God! Thanking Him at the end of the day for not getting caught in the fence is just one of them. The song writer was certainly right to encourage us to ‘count our many blessings…to see what God has done’. We need to give Him the thanks, praise, and the honour that He so richly deserves.
“Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things.” Isaiah 12:5a (NLT).
“Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise Him, all you people of the earth. For He loves us with unfailing love; the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise the Lord!” Psalm 117 (NLT).
Fenwick ON
The tombstone read:
Consider young man as you walk by
As you are now so once was I
As I am now you soon shall be
So prepare young man to follow me
That was a very profound verse to have inscribed on one’s head stone, but an individual came along and add the following:
To follow you is not my intent
Until I know which way you went
We all want to talk about and envision heaven, but we tend to avoid the topic of hell. This is likely due to the descriptions we get in Scripture.
The King James Version translates three different words all as “hell”. (2 Peter 2:4 is an exception) These three words are: “Sheol” which is really the grave, “hades” which may refer to eternal punishment, and “Gehenna”. The word Gehenna takes us back to the valley of Hinnon where Kings Ahaz and Manasseh sacrificed their sons to the pagan god Molech. It later became Jerusalem’s garbage dump. Its came to be synonymous with filth, stench and the constant smoke from burning waste and corpses. It was a perfect image for hell. In a sense, hell may be described as God’s garbage dump. All that is unfit for heaven will be tossed into hell.
The added extra is that hell is everlasting. Jesus, quoting Isaiah, in Mark 9:48, said their worm does not die. There is no end ever to that suffering and for that reason, also no hope. No hope of escape. No hope of dying. No hope of being eliminated. It is forever.
But wait! Isn’t this talk about fire really just symbolic language? I believe it is. I do not expect walls of jasper and a city of pure gold, or foundation walls decorated with precious stones, twelve gates made of pearls, or streets of gold like transparent glass when I get to heaven, yet that is how it is described in Revelation 21. God used language to try to give us a picture of just how wonderful heaven will be. He described it in terms that we are familiar with. I suggest that heaven will be even better than advertised.
In the same way, God gave us a glimpse of hell. God has described in human language the most awful place in time and eternity that we can imagine. We know how painful a burn is. We understand how frightening and lost we feel when we find ourselves in complete darkness. (Matthew 8:12). The idea of living forever in a cosmic garbage dump is terrifying. Yet, I suggest to you hell will be even worse and obviously not a place where we want to go.
Here is a trick trivia question. Where is God? The usual answer will be that He is everywhere. But that is wrong! God is not in hell.
In 2 Thessalonians 1:9, we read,
“They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.”
Hell is a place without God. That is why it is total darkness. That is what makes it so bad.
In this life, we are surrounded by God’s providential presence. Even those who reject God still benefit from His goodness and presence. Matthew 5:45 tells us that;
“He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
All of that ends in hell. There we are separated from Him forever. We cannot truly imagine what life would be like without God but that is life for those in hell.
God created mankind to have a relationship with Him. We were created for life with God in a real relationship that is only possible when we choose to enter into it. God created us with the ability to choose or to reject Him. There are two groups of people in this world. There are those who say to God, “Thy will be done.” And there are those who reject Him to whom God says, “Thy will be done.” Going to hell is voluntary. We don’t have to go. We are told in 2 Peter 3:9 that God is patient with us and wants no one to perish. He wants us with Him forever, but it is our choice.
God does not warn us about hell to scare us into a relationship with Him but He tells us very pointedly the consequences of separating ourselves from our Creator. With that warning comes a way out. A fire escape! Jesus our Saviour!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:16-18)
There are two ways to go. One is hell. You don’t want to go there. The other is heaven. Make the right choice. Choose Jesus.
Fenwick Ontario
Based on a sermon by Tony Gant
I remember Mrs. A with fondness. She was my public school music teacher and the first person to tell me that I could not sing. Oh, she did not say it in those words because she was a lovely lady and a good music teacher, but the message was there. I went to a rural, one room school and she travelled from school to school to teach music. One year, all the schools were being assembled for a grand performance. There was to be individual talent as well as a junior choir and a senior choir. I would be in the senior choir. When she was at my school she started a song with us and then walked down the rows listening to each person. After listening to me, she said, “You will be included in the choir but just mouth the words.” Message: You can’t sing! (Rebel that I was, on the night of the performance, I sang anyway)
She’s not the only one to hint that I can’t carry a tune or get the right key. There have been several since and although I enjoy singing, I must admit that I can’t sing. Maybe the better wording is that I can’t sing well because no one can stop me from singing. I always appreciated Psalm 100:1 in the King James Version: “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands”. I figured I could do that!
I knew an older gentleman in our congregation who never sang a hymn for the entire time that I knew him. He always said that if he tried to sing it would throw everyone off, including the song leader. While I thought it humorous in my youth, I think of it with some sadness now. He did not understand that it has nothing to do with the quality of our voices but the praise for God that flows from our hearts.
Psalm 100 begins with a “call for praise and joyful service. People everywhere should shout to the Lord; they are not to be subdued in their praise of Him.” (Bible Knowledge Commentary; WordSearch 7) The Psalmist goes on to say, “Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs” (verse 2, NIV 1984). The psalmist then explained why we raise our voices in praise and thanksgiving. He said we need to recognize our Lord as our God, as our Creator and as our Care Giver (Shepherd). We are to sing and be happy because we are His and He is good, loving and faithful.
Psalms 96 and 98 are very similar in thought. Psalm 96 begins:
“Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, His marvellous deeds among all peoples.” (NIV 1984; emphasis mine).
This psalm talks about the reign of the Lord and the Psalmist called on people everywhere and even all of nature to praise God because He is so great.
Psalm 98 tells us to
“Sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done marvellous things; His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him. The LORD has made His salvation known and revealed His righteousness to the nations.” (NIV 1984).
Again, in this psalm the writer called all the earth to sing and praise the Lord who reigns, because He has done marvellous things by His great power.
These three Psalms suggest there is much for which to give thanks. God is majestic and worthy of our praise. For us, His saving work through Christ Jesus is enough for each one of us to have a song on our lips every day. 1 Corinthians 1:20 tells us,
“For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory” (ESV).
Albert Barnes wrote the following concerning that verse:
“The promises of God which are made through Christ, relate to the pardon of sin to the penitent; the sanctification of his people; support in temptation and trial; guidance in perplexity; peace in death, and eternal glory beyond the grave. All of these are made through a Redeemer, and none of these shall fail.” (Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament; WordSearch 7)
Praise God! Sing! God wants to hear songs of praise from all His children.
Can’t carry a tune? Doesn’t matter.
Off pitch? He does not care.
Wrong key? Sing anyway.
While God deserves our best, some of us don’t have the talent to sing well but join with me in making that joyful noise for He has done marvellous things! He deserves joyful praise from all of us.
Fenwick Ontario
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