Taking every opportunity

For the last while we as a congregation in Maastricht have been working through the Psalms. What a blessing to see how God listens, hears, responds and helps. It was so good to see how many of the writers obviously have the same emotions as we all do and that God allows these emotions in the right place. When we trust Him with our thoughts and desires, then things work much better for all.

As we have finished the psalms we are looking at a new set of lessons where we touch on the fundamentals of our faith and how they help us with the difficult questions presented us in our society. Last Wednesday evening we looked at the foundational truths that make up the truly good news of the gospel. One of the things we hope to be able to (re)emphasize is how we can speak with those around us. And as we were looking at these fundamentals we have been praying for the conversations that God presents us with each day. 

As usual, I was not prepared for how wonderfully God surprises. He loves to do what we do not expect or even think of. So the days after our study I had several good opportunities to talk about this very good news. One conversation was with someone who specifically asked what we believe, as he was not religious and wondered what kind of faith this could be. Another was with believers about the struggles we have in life. That same evening a dinner with friends brought conversation about God’s faithfulness and how we struggle to trust, but how good it is. 

This is the reality of every day. We try to keep our eyes open for every opportunity that God presents us to talk about His wonderful love and grace. Sometimes we do not really recognize these moments as opportunities until we are in the middle of a conversation. It is not that we are manipulating conversations. We are simply speaking of the One we love and the good that He has brought us. 

We are thankful that God wants to and can use us in every situation to bring His grace into the world. We pray that we are allowing Him to work through our conversation in all of our daily activities - as parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, shoppers in a store, drivers on the road or wherever else we may find ourselves. 

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:5-6

Super Bowl Monday?

Last night (or was it this morning) I watched the Super Bowl live - I think for the first time in my life. It didn’t kick off until midnight thirty here I the Netherlands and I got home just before 5 am. But it was an interesting experience. 

I volunteer as a board member for a local organization that gets people together for activities. It helps to link older people who have fewer contacts with others, helps those who don’t have much money for food, is a place for caregivers to come and rest while their partners with Alzheimer are cared for and tries to help neighbors get to know one another. One of the other board members is a young man who also happens to play American Football for the Maastricht Wildcats. 

In the US this might not seem so strange - except that this young man is recently into his 30’s. In the US every self-respecting high school has some sort of football team. But if you talk about football here, you usually mean soccer. Everyone plays soccer. There are even teams for 5 year-olds. 

American Football is something else all together. But Maastricht has a real team, in the first division of the Dutch league. And I was invited by this young man to come watch the Super Bowl with his teammates. So I made sure that I had taken a quick nap and headed off to see if Kansas City could beat Philadelphia (I am a Bronco’s fan, but the Chiefs are a close second for me). 

I spent much of the evening/morning talking football in Dutch and English. Many of the players are international, so speak English. Most of the people present were Eagles fans, so it made for a fun tension. And the game did not disappoint. The most interesting thing for me were some of the conversations. 

One of the players was introduced as “our church-going player” who also sang in the choir. I was introduced to him as someone who would know what he experienced, since I was also an active Christian. 

During the game two ads were shown about “He gets us… Jesus”. One of the guys I was sitting with asked: “Who is this?” 

I looked a bit surprised and asked “Jesus?” 

He responded, “Yeah, I know who Jesus is. But an ad like that cost big bucks. Who is behind it?” 

This led to a conversation about what the ads were saying and how the focus was on Jesus. I do not really know who paid for the ad, but it gave me an opportunity to focus conversation on Jesus as well - for a moment. In the meantime my board member friend had apologized for his rough language and we continued with good topics, including football and life. 

By 4 am we were all cleaning up and heading out to our cars or bikes to go home in the very thick mist that had set in. Everyone was happy. Well, no. Me and one other fan of the Chiefs was happy. The others were resigned and tired. I am sure some of them would need to study for the next day (some are students). Others would have to go to work. But I was thankful for this opportunity to get to know some people because of a sport event. 

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:2-6

Salted

I have to admit that this corona thing hit me a bit unexpectedly. I was just planning on starting several different opportunities to reach out in the city when we all had to go home, stay home and only meet digitally. For the church I feel we were ready and moved quickly and fairly seamlessly into not only meeting together but greatly encouraging one another. But looking at the opportunities to reach out with the gospel, I was at a loss for a while. The thing is, I have always believed that we should always be speaking of our King and Saviour - whenever we are talking. So when we talk to people on a walk, God enters our conversation there. When we go to the store, God is in our conversation as well, if in no other way than to thank and bless the cashier. 

But suddenly, people seemed to be wary about speaking. People even seemed wary to look you in the eye. And our digital contacts were minimal. It has been exciting to hear how some people have even increased there conversations, have come across people who are seeking Christ in these uncertain times. And this is great, because Jesus is indeed the only way to find peace and certainty. And a few of our conversations have indeed increased - opportunities to look at who Jesus is and consider how He desires to walk with us in giving real life. 

Am I making good use of my time and conversations? Maybe. Maybe not.  I AM thankful for all of the opportunities we are afforded. I have had much more time to record songs for use in the church - which means that God’s word will speak to those who listen. I have had the chance to write - as a matter of fact, it feels like I am doing more writing now than ever before. But perhaps that is good use of the time. I am writing and translating articles for a new website for those who are seeking God. Or writing lessons for summer camp - which may or may not be possible. So there is plenty to do. And perhaps some of the newer digital methods of reaching people will also light up as people become aware. 

In any case, I need to keep asking myself the question: am I using my time wisely. And I need to keep speaking of my Lord wherever I am. Be salty. 

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:2-6