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The Nations in America

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By Stan Peterson

Recently I’ve been working in the UW district of Seattle on Brooklyn Avenue at an old apartment complex named Campus Apartments. I’m a fire sprinkler fitter installing a new system in the basement. As I work from unit to unit I get a thorough vista of all around the site. From that view last Wednesday I saw a young man walking down the alley with a friend smoking a cigarette, when all of a sudden I got an impression or unction to go to this young man and share the Gospel. I hesitated and uttered a quick prayer, something like, “Do You really want me to go to him?” I dropped my tool bags, ran up the stairs and out into the alleyway, and looked hard into the direction he was traveling, but it was way too late. I asked forgiveness for my slothfulness and asked God if this young man really needs to hear the message that He would bring him back to me.

Friday came and right around my usual break I was working in a different unit, in the front not the back. I happened to be working right at the window, and I caught a movement and looked — it was the same young man! In shock, I hesitated for a second (literally), then dropped my tool bags and ran out the front after this young man. What do I say? I thought. What do I do? I was in my grungy work clothes, and I just ran, blurting out “Excuse me, I am working in this building and I saw you pass the other day in the alley, you were smoking a cigarette and talking to your friend, was that you?” I confirmed that it indeed was the young man I saw the other day. I started in with saying that God has a message and it is urgent for him to hear this. His eyes got real big and his countenance changed and he leaned closer to understand what I was saying.

I found out that this young man is from Saudi Arabia and is here studying at UW. He is a Muslim who had never heard of Jesus Christ before that day! I explained to Him God is Creator, Man is fallen and in great need, and the gospel of Jesus Christ and the sacrificial atonement in layman’s terms, making sure that he understood what I was saying. He asked me if he could get my phone number, and, shocked, I gave it to him. As he pulled out his iPhone it was all in Arabic, and I watched him type my info into his phone. He said that he wanted to hear more and would call me. His name is Anas; please pray for God to continue to move in his life and for salvation for him and his family. (I have not heard from him yet.)

The next morning as I was walking into work I contemplated a frightening thought. Matthew 25.32 says that God will one day separate the people who are saved from the people who are not saved. Will I see the numbers of people I knew but did not share the Gospel with as we are being separated?

Do I mourn for my sin? Do I mourn for the sin of my brothers and sisters in Christ? Do I mourn for the sin of the lost, for the sin of those who if not confronted with grace and truth will be led to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment? These thoughts sobered me and awakened me to all I have seen in the week prior, whom I had passed by without a thought toward their eternal destiny. The students hurrying off to class; the parking police busy writing tickets; the alcoholic who sleeps just outside the alley; a lady who has lost her bird and frantically comes up to me while I am waiting one morning to be let inside of the locked complex; the apartment manager who asks me nicely to be sure to clean up after I am done; not to mention the very people working beside me, such as the two plumbers who are from England, two electricians from Ukraine and Bulgaria, the general contractor, and two carpenters. God has laid the nations before us right here in the United States of America.

May we be a people who intercede for ourselves, our brothers and sisters, and the nations.

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Do We Really Care?

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By Brian Sharpe

Does eternity matter? Do we really care? I would think that we would say yes to both of these questions. However, the problem is that most of us care about image or offensiveness more than we care about others and their eternity.

Now I’m confessing to being a part of the problem. A couple weeks ago I preached on being peacemakers in our world. I also talked about how we need to just invite people to things like the men’s dinner. Well, last Saturday I was working in my backyard in my shed. My neighbor was in his backyard with his new wife. I’ve talked to my neighbor on several occasions. I knew men’s dinner was that night and I was trying to figure out how to bring it up. I asked my neighbor if he needed help, since he and his wife were taking down a tree. He said they had it. I continued to work in my backyard. When I was done my neighbor was still cutting up the tree. I didn’t end up inviting him to the men’s dinner. I felt bad. I didn’t have the opportunity. At least, that’s what I told myself.

Now I’m not saying we should be abrupt and forceful in most cases. But I’m also not saying we should wait until “the right time.” I need to be bolder. I need to care more about the people around me. I keep hearing that my actions show my belief. Can you tell I care about the people around me based on how I’m living? This makes me think of a song that came out several years ago by Brandon Heath. I need to see people as God sees them. I need to have the love for others that God has for them. I need to be a peacemaker. This is what God is laying on my heart. I pray that God will challenge you with it as well.

“Give Me Your Eyes”
By Brandon Heath

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?

Chorus:
Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the brokenhearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what’s underneath
There’s a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He’s out of work
He’s buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?

Chorus

I’ve been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way You see the people all along

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Do They Know?

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By Tom Chase

This past month a man whom I have done engineering work for over the years passed away. After the initial shock of his passing (he was a man about my age, a young man right?), the first questions that came to my mind were, “Did he know Christ?” and, “What is his eternal destination?” I asked around our office to others who worked with him, others who had opportunity to know the answer to these questions, perhaps who had been bolder than me. No one seemed to know for sure. Yes, he had been a “nice” guy … very friendly … but what about Christ in his life? I went to his memorial service hoping to find out that yes he knew Christ, but sadly, no … no indication of that. There was simply the speaking of a life well lived and hopeful wishing about the future. I went home rather sad.

“Do They Know” by Steven Curtis Chapman

I’m one of the chosen few
God chose to carry to
A hopeless and dying world
Good News
I’m a disciple of
A caring Father’s love
A light to the world
To show them the way.

Do they know
Can they see
Jesus lives in me
Do they know
Can they see
Jesus lives in me

A vacant house comes alive
When somebody moves inside
A light in the window means somebody’s home
I say Jesus lives in me
But can everybody see
The light of His love that shines in my heart

Do they know
Can they see
Jesus lives in me
Do they know
Can they see
Jesus lives in me

A cloud of witnesses surrounds us
Who long to share what we’ve received
Tell me where will they see Jesus
If not in you and me.

So we must let them know
Let them see Jesus lives in you and me
Let them know, let them see
He is all they need
Jesus is all we need.

I am challenged by all this. Peter’s call to the church, found in 1 Peter 3:15-16, resonates with me:

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”

There is so much, here but one thing that stands out to me is that people will ask. They will ask about the hope we have as believers. If they are not asking, I have to ask, “Why?” Perhaps the answer lies in the context. The context of this call to be ready (and being asked) is a life lived in a different way (see below):

“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, ‘Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’

“Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.'”

(1 Peter 3:8-14)

My prayer for me is that the Gospel will continue; that in a fresh, new way it would change who I am so I can live in such a way that people will ask; and that in the days, weeks, months, and even years ahead I will invest the time necessary to better answer the questions people will have about the nature and character of the God whom I serve.

May it be so!

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Women and children

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by Stan Peterson

Whenever I think of women and children (especially girls), I tend to go towards a frilly, dainty, petite, foofy characterization of them. God has blessed me by giving me five beautiful yet powerful women in my life. First is my wife Jackie, the strongest and most courageous woman I have ever met. She is resourceful and creative (cooks on a budget), she is wise and witty, she is a great encouragement to me and our girls and others in our community. She gives me great comfort and security in her love and affections for me. I could write volumes about my beloved bride, not to mention my beautiful girls; I thank God for them every day and take not the gifts He has given me for granted.

“God has chosen the weak things of this world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (1 Cor. 1.27).

I believe that women and children will play vital roles in reaching the unreached people groups that are left in the world. I look to the Bible and see numerous accounts of God using women and children. I see Mary the mother of Jesus, probably the most famous woman in all the world. Betrothed to a carpenter, becoming pregnant before her wedding, living on the run with no real place of her own in the early years. Mary nurses, swaddles, nourishes the very Son of God in order that she may see Him lay down His life for the sake of many. Mary was an unlikely candidate, but God chose her and used her to usher in Immanuel, God with us.

Children too have a special place in the heart of Jesus. He does not refuse them in coming to Himself and uses them mightily to teach us great lessons in and throughout all of Scripture. Abel, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Samuel — the list goes on — God took these children and used them for His glory and our good.

As the Gospel penetrates deep into the unreached areas of the world, it will be done in and through crucial relationships being formed by women and children. Women and children often fall into the category of left out, overlooked, downtrodden, and poor. I believe that the next revivals will be fueled by those we never expected. Women and children, the very despised, reaching out to their enemies through love. The reason I say this is because of the position that women and children have in Muslim-majority countries: they are the epitome of weakness, frailness, and degradation. These are precisely the ones that our God came to save and whom He loves to use in spreading His good news. Please pray for the women and children that are in Muslim-majority countries. Pray God would give extraordinary boldness to proclaim His Word.

Pray for their peace in the midst of a land filled with persecution and that their actions would soften the hearts of their oppressors. Pray that God would be glorified greatly in and through the salvation of the men of this region by way of the women and children.

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Sex and evangelism

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by Stan Peterson

What do sex and evangelism have in common? When Christians bring these topics up in conversation, both tend to produce feelings of guilt, anxiety, and shame. I will save the talk on sex for a later date, but for now let’s talk evangelism. The guilt that comes from not being obedient to Jesus’ command (Matthew 28:18-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”) can be overwhelming. All I have to do is look at my life and see that I have fallen short of the glory of God in this area.

The anxiety and fear that comes with sharing our faith will lead us in one of two directions. The first direction is paralysis — our guilt paralyzes us into a passionless state in which we lose all enthusiasm to obey, for we are regarding man above God. We prostitute ourselves to comfort and grow indifferent towards God and His heart. The second way fear will manifest is through our pride when we become defensive and arrogant. We become controlling and take on an “I am right you are wrong attitude.” Statements such as, “I was persecuted for the sake of Christ” spew forth, when in all reality we should be saying, “I was a controlling jerk.”

When we allow guilt and fear to shape our lives as opposed to the Gospel, we stay in a state of distortion. Our minds are no longer being renewed by truth but are being swayed by our sinful flesh, the lies of the enemy, and the world. This often leads us into shame. Shame will destroy us by fueling the distortion of ourselves leading us into a place of bondage.

How do I break this crazy cycle of guilt, shame, and bondage brought about by my disobedience and a pattern of unhealthy thoughts? We need a miracle. We need God to reveal our rebellious hearts and kiss us with His mercy at the same time. God’s goodness leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). As we embrace the truth of the gospel and receive our identity in Christ, the chains of guilt, fear, and shame are broken. By the Truth, Jesus Christ releases us into freedom, a freedom to love God in a greater capacity, a freedom to love others in a greater capacity. God’s love fills us, and as we are filled with God He spills over, touching all around us. We find ourselves loving our enemies instead of avoiding them, blessing our neighbors who curse us, doing good to those who hate us, and praying for those who spitefully use and persecute us.

Our evangelism must be based on God’s love and freedom, not on guilt. This is the only way we can fulfill the Great Commission. Evangelism is not a method to be used, or a program that can be taught, or an argument to be won. True evangelism will flow from a heart that is connected to God. This is not a duty to be performed but a privilege to be delighted in. Will you join with me on this journey? Let us together break the chains of shame! “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

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On the Gospel

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by Brian Sharpe

New Years always brings about great time for reflection. Stan preached on a passage last Sunday where we could reflect on the message that Paul brought to the Corinthians. This message was described as a message “of first importance.” Paul brought the people of Corinth back to the Gospel, helping them remember the message of the Gospel. What I would ask you to reflect on is: who brought the Gospel to you?

We can read biographies or autobiographies of great missionaries like Hudson Taylor or Jim Elliot, but what we fail to remember is that we had missionaries bringing Jesus to us. Missionaries are people who are sent with a message to share. God has made us all missionaries. We need to be on mission sharing the message we were given. This message may have been brought to by your parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles. It may have been friends or a pastor. It doesn’t matter who it was, it just matters that the message of the Gospel was brought to you. It was given as a gift from God to you.

Is the message that was brought by Paul to Corinth … the message that was brought to you by the missionary who taught it to you … as important to you as it should be? Is it a message that you live by and share or just a message that has helped and changed you? It is important to recognize that God built his church by word of mouth. He did not build it through large programs. He built it by his people loving him so much that all they could do is share him with everyone they knew. This is what we want to be about at Elim. We want to be a body that is so in love with Jesus that all we can do is by word and deed share Jesus with everyone in our sphere of influence.

This leads me to a couple of closing questions:

  1. Who shared Jesus with you … and what would your life look like if they had kept their mouth shut?
  2. How did they share Jesus with you?
  3. When was the last time you shared the Gospel with someone with your words?
  4. Who is in your sphere of influence that you can share Jesus with?
  5. What is stopping you?

Answer these questions and share your answers with someone. Elim is here to help people know God, grow together in Christ and go and serve South Hill and beyond. Join us on this Gospel journey and share Jesus with everyone you know!

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