I sat there shaking my head. My husband asked me what was wrong to which I responded, “It’s those pesky Israelites!” I had been reading through Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Throughout both books the prophets would speak over and again to the people about their idols. They had made idols of silver and gold.  They had carved idols of wood. They had adopted the evil practices of surrounding cultures and performed them in and around the temple.

What was wrong with these people?  Did they not realize they were God’s chosen people, the apple of His eye?

Wounds come in a variety of forms. When we were little girls, my best friend and I cut our palms and rubbed them together. The gesture was done so we could be ‘Blood Sisters’. Our cut was not deep enough to create a lasting scar. My grandpa, on the other hand, was electrocuted as a young father and lost half of his left foot. All my life I saw him walk in custom made shoes. The end of the shoe was cut open, the sole cut in half, and the excess leather folded over and sewn to the sole of the shoe. He walked with a bit of a limp. I imagine the healing of his foot took on many different colors, and it’s certain  the smells that came from it would have turned the toughest stomach. 

I just came in from my morning walk and it was 59 degrees when I started.  That may not mean a lot to most of you, but right now, in East Texas, at 59-degree morning is an unexpected blessing.  We are still bumping 90 during the afternoon, with nightly lows in the high 60s/low 70s.  When I walked out the door, I grabbed my jacket and gladly used it the entire time.

As young girls walking from my grandparents house to the local store in our small town, my best friend and I were stopped by a traveling evangelist as he shared the good news of the gospel. He explained the consequences for anyone who did not accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord. I was reminded hell is real.

I don’t know how many of you may remember the old song, “Excuses, Excuses.” It was the biggest hit of the Kingsmen quartet in 1981. Since I don’t have the rights to print it here, I’ll just try to explain it. The song was about all the excuses that people give to keep from going to church. The same could be said about telling others about Jesus. It seems that we always have excuses. Here’s my “mock off” of the song.

“I’m persuaded that much of our fear, anxiety, discouragement, and hopelessness is the result of bad theology.” - Paul David Tripp, Everyday Gospel

That sentence from a recent devotional study gave me pause. I never thought of myself as having bad theology, but this statement made me realize that any excuse we have for not obeying our Lord’s command to ‘go and tell’ is the result of not truly believing the God of the Bible.

My dad was diagnosed with leukemia in 1994.  He was only 47 years old.  I was 24 and pregnant with our first son.  It came out of nowhere and rocked our world.  God blessed us with 7 more years of ups and downs.  It was not an easy road to walk, especially for my parents, BUT GOD.

If you are like me, you have been inspired by these Go and Tell blogs.  You might even have some people in mind you want to share with, but where do you begin? I wanted to share some resources  available through the BMAA Lifeword media department.  They exist solely to share the gospel with the world. Many of us know that they are very active around the world, but they also have lots of resources for English speakers.

My genetic coding includes a love for horses. Growing up dad worked 2 and 3 jobs at times to provide us horses, and purchase feed for the four legged beast that took up residency in our pasture.

Dad was known to go to the killer pen (where horses went prior to being made into soap or glue) and purchase horses for $25. He would spend time ‘breaking’ them, and selling them for a profit.

How many of you garden? I’ve tried my hand at it, but I’m not very good. I still plant morning glories every year, but that’s about all. I seem to kill every plant that I touch. However, I look around at the beautiful world and realize that God takes care of many plants without my help at all. In fact, the results are always up to Him. The same is true of our witnessing. God tells us to go and tell, but He is responsible for the results.

I was a new, young bride totally clueless about what it meant to be a farmer’s wife.  My dad was always home for dinner by 5:30 PM so I figured my hubby would be too. I was wrong. My first stab at a home cooked meal was ready at 5:30. My farmer came home at 9:00!

Many long hours were involved in making a crop, most of which were spent in preparing the soil to accept the seed. 

While I was mowing this evening, I noticed the plants and decided today was water day.  It has been cloudy and cooler (mid 90s) the last couple of days and they are faring better, but the heat will be back.  Then I thought about our lives with Jesus. 

He does not always plant us in the easiest environments.  There are things we all enjoy doing in service to God, but there are other things that are not part of our choice garden.

“…And let us consider who we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  Hebrews 10:23-25

              This is a scripture we are all probably familiar with.  But in the busyness of life, sometimes encouragement is something we just don’t have time for. 

Two pews up and just to the left is where she was. From my seat I could see she was in deep meditation. The words on the pages lay before her in her lap. She was completely consumed by what she was reading. What was it that had her so drawn in? What was it about the words she was looking at? I couldn't help but notice. She was being affected by what she read. From where I sat, it was a beautiful picture.

When you do anything such as cook, repair something, teach a lesson, or whatever, you must be prepared. You must get necessary tools, ingredients, etc. ready. You must also know what the steps are, or you may even have to learn certain things before you can do the job. The same is true of witnessing or making disciples.

A few Sundays back, I was supposed to work in the toddler nursery, so I wore my church t-shirt.  After church, I went to the grocery store...I won’t say I was over the top friendly and polite, and maybe I was the way I always act in the store, but I know the thought of representing Jesus was on my radar. Later that afternoon, the convicting thought came.  Did I really need to be wearing a church t-shirt to be so aware of representing Jesus? 

We all know the great commission from Matthew 28:18-20, because we have heard many messages and lessons taught from this passage throughout our lives. But did Jesus say how many is enough?

There are so many ways that we each can go and tell but I want to zero in today on just one—one that is near and dear to my heart. Vacation Bible School.

I have a confession to make…I LOVE TO READ…Recently, I reread The Calling of Emily Evans by Oke.  It is about a young girl living in the early 1900s in Canada who feels called to do mission work.  She is sent to a small community to plant a church.  Needless to say, some of the people are not welcoming of her religious ideas…I got to thinking after reading the book about the subtle ways she influenced these people’s lives…She didn’t do anything that we cannot do.  She loved people. 

It was late 80’s. My Mamaw offered to let me pick some greens to cook and have for supper (fyi, supper is currently referred to as dinner). I accepted and went by to pick. She and papaw lived right smack dab in the middle of a very small town with a population about 100. My husband and I lived 2 miles from her.

Arriving at her house I walked in through the side door, as all family and friends did. We grabbed a container to pick the greens. Off to the garden we went.

How do you know when to speak up and when to keep quiet? How do you know which people to witness to? How do you know exactly what to say? Stay tuned to the “right channel” and the Holy Spirit will lead you to say and do what needs to be said and done with the proper recipients. It doesn’t matter if you’re part of an organized visitation or witnessing program with your church or simply taking opportunities as they come in daily life, you should be praying for the Holy Spirit to lead you to the right people and to help you say the right things at the right time.