As kids we've always been told by our parents never to talk to strangers.  As adults, we still listen to the reverberating voice of our parents in our head.  I'd like to propose a shattering reality.....we aren't kids anymore!

That's right, we have a few years of experience under our belts, and we're not as vulnerable or naive as we once were.  So, let's do a bit of a mind shift here and consider all the opportunities (i.e. strangers) that we are constantly encountering to share the Gospel.

A recent example in my life is my encounter with Todd.  He's a man in his mid 20s who I see all the time walking on the side of the street.  The other day it was cold and snowing, and I had an hour to spare.  So I pulled over and told him to get in.  He got in and since he didn't have a specific destination, we drove for a little while and finally pulled over in a parking lot to talk.

My talk with Todd ended up being a great conversation about Truth and the fulfillment of life that is only found in Christ.  Since then, I've run into him once more, and we had another good talk in a parking lot, and by then he was more comfortable around me and began opening up about his personal struggles.

In conclusion, I submit to you that we must take initiative and be bold in our witness of Christ, suppressing certain paternal voices in our head.  In so doing, we will have the privilege of witnessing the Holy Spirit do the miraculous work of transforming lives!

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In 2 Peter, Peter exhorts all who read his letter to make their calling and election sure by diligently pursuing the fruit of the Spirit. “For in this way,” he writes, “there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:11, ESV). 

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The Source of Full Assurance

I was challenged a few months back when I was listening to a speaker who was talking about "disipleship".  He said our society walks around with these huge metaphorical buttons that say "BUSY".  When asked by others how our week went, typically our response includes communicating how busy we were.

This cultivates a wall that we unintentionally meant to put up.  Now, people think twice before calling us, asking a favor, or anything else that has to do with "interfering" with our busy lives.

I'll never forget walking into someone's office, looking for some counsel because of some issues I was having.  I asked the man if he had some time to talk, and in he response he said "No, I'm very busy [pause]....quick sit down and tell me what you need." Obviously, that's an extreme case, but I already went in hesitating because he comes across as a busy man; and his response to me made me even more uncomfortable and feeling rushed to share what I was struggling with.  After that experience, I never went back to him.

My point is this, our lives as Christians is all about glorifying God and ministering to people.  By wearing the "busy" button, we destroy opportunities to get involved in other people's lives.  The people that impacted my life the most were those who always seemed available no matter what time I needed to talk, and I'm sure you can relate.

I'm not saying there aren't times when we legitimately don't have time to talk.  I'm saying there's a way of coming across to people that even though there are a lot of things going on in our life, they know we never seem to be too busy to talk.  That starts with guarding how we communicate our lives to people.

In my case, I try never to use the word "busy" or "crazy".  Instead I use terms such as productive, a healthy productivity, or eventful; and I typically correct people if they say or imply that I'm busy.  Another way of breaking down the wall is to some extent letting people know at the end of my conversations how good it was talking to them, and that they should call me whenever they feel like talking.  If I notice someone standing around on Sunday who seems to want to talk but I'm preoccupied fulfilling my responsibilities, I try to catch them and encourage them to call me during the week because I'd love to catch up and talk to them.

We live in a busy society, and it's hard to help people think differently about lives.  I'm still working on coming across as "not busy".  What are your thoughts?  Any suggestions?

Here's a few verses I'm wrestling through:

• Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give  grace to those who hear. (Eph 4:29)
• Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. (Eph 5:4)
•  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Phil 4:8)
•  Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (1 Tim 4:12)

Eph 4:29 is pretty clear, but 5:4 is open to question.  What is crude joking?  Our culture is full of it, and it's even commonly found in the pulpit; but where's the line?


Philippians is really tough stuff.  When you evaluate everything by the standards it sets, we instinctively begin justifying our actions because a passage like that is so radical and implies major changes in the area of our speech.  The same goes for Eph 4:29 that says that only words that build up are to be spoken.  Does that mean never talking about football because it doesn't "build up" each other in the faith?  These are my tensions.
Finally, I wrestle with 1 Timothy 4:12 that says we're suppose to be an example to the believers in our speech.  If we want a platform for ministry, our speech has to be respected.  No one is going to listen to a junior high girl who uses "like" every other word and lacks the smallest ounce of intelligence.  Watch this video to get a better understanding of what I'm saying.