Meet Phil (15)

Phillip Brunswick, otherwise known as Peanut Butter, and I go back a couple years. He used to be really good friends with my little brother Mark.

Phil is definitely a thinker, which is why I like talking to him so much. He isn't afraid to speak his mind and thats good because his mind works pretty well.

I have witnessed to the dude before and the big thing that keeps him from coming any closer to Jesus is that he can not cope with the fact that if it is all real then those people that he loves most will spend eternity in hell and he won't be able to enjoy heaven if this is so. (Yes, that was all one sentence. No, I don't know how I passed any english courses either...iether...eether...ayther.. idk)

He and I talked about a lot of stuff but it always comes down to that. I really don't get why that is such a stumbling block for him. Let me see if I can wrink (write/think) about that and come to some solution as to why it is the way it is.

If he goes to heaven and his family goes to hell 1) he won't be able to enjoy heaven therefore 2) heaven won't be perfect therefore 3) I won't believe it.

Hmmm...

1) I explained to him that in the face of the creator of all beauty, goodness, and perfection, a finite creature such as himself would be consumed in the shear awesomeness of God. I don't think that in His presence we could ever not have joy (that is, of course, only if we are in a right relationship with Him - other words we would melt in fear).

2) Perfection is a state that God defines and is Himself. Have you ever talked with someone who had a different definition of perfection that yourself? We can not allow perfection to be described by fallen people, only God is perfect and He knows what perfection is. I used to think that heaven would be perfect if it had all my idols in it, but we all know better now, right?

3) At the end of the day believing and trusting in Christ or the Bible is a decision. Some might say, "I can't believe it" but believing and trusting is a choice we all make. In the face of centuries of attacks from every front the Bible has stood the test of time. I just wish more people would legitimately test it to see for themselves.

After typing point 3 I have realized that I am talking to myself. Lately, I have been having some struggles with prayer. I don't really believe that God will answer them. I have really been concerned about it, but just recently I read Mark 11. In the chapter Jesus says that He will give us whatever we ask. Just believe and receive. I struggle with that, but I kinda just ended my stuggle after writing about # 3 up there.

It is my choice, whether or not I will trust God's word or not. So, lets start doing that!

Ninja Sibs!!!

Last words of the only person to witness the greatest ninja fight ever:

These two young warriors were almost too powerful for my weak eyes to lay weak eyes on. Their speed was so extraordinary that their weirdly placed and functionally useless red ribbons tied around every limb on their bodies were the only things that I could see.

I was called in to be a witness of this great battle. I was a very young boy and the ninjas some how put red ribbons on my arms too. Their speed was crazy!

I could tell this was going to be a fight to end all fights.

A truly intense battle!

Suddenly, a flying kick broke the tension!

Quite possibly the slowest fastest kick ever.

The damager to her nose would prove to be both bad for her face and for our noses.

But she was not easily beaten. She returned the favor with a right hook.

And a right upper cut. (I had a great view of this one.)

Then, showing her expertise in all sorts of martial artsy moves she gave a right handed head lock.


Truly a spectacular battle. Sadly, the awesomeness of this fight was far too great for a small boy such as I. I died after this clash.

I am not quite sure how I had time to write this or how anyone will ever know the story of the Ninja Girl Fight of Ages!

Meet Athena (14)

Before I was talking to Athena I got to talk to a guy named Tony. Me and Trabo stood in the middle of the walk way in the student union. Just us against the world. After asking Jesus for wisdom and giving Him the glory for whatever would happen during our talks we split.

Trabo went to a table of girls that were promoting the cure for breast cancer. Pink was all over that table. Before he went over there I was like, "Dude, I don't think its a good idea to go over there." But of course, who am I to say you shouldn't share the Gospel with someone. My argument was that it may not be wise to go to them because you would continue to be interrupted. People would constantly walk up and when you are witnessing people are usually looking for anything to change the subject. But he went anyway and I am glad he did.

I on the other hand headed to Tony. He was sitting on a bench all by himself. I tried something totally new with him. I started out with questions about slavery. I asked him if he was against all forms of slavery. Surprisingly, he got where I was going and in his views he included any form of having a boss is a form of slavery. So, he said he wasn't against all forms of slavery. Then I asked him would he ever want to be slave if his master was: the kindest person ever, the richest person ever, loved him more than anything, gave him ownership of everything he owned, never gave him anything he could not handle, promised that everything he allowed to happen would be for his good, but the master would expect him to do whatever he wanted whenever he told him.

Tony said he wouldn't go for it. I was totally surprised, but perhaps it is a view into the heart of man. Man does not what to give up control. Too bad we never had control in the first place.

Tony's roommate came up and he said they were going to go eat lunch so I thanked him for his time and he left before I got to even begin the Gospel. Here's is a little secret, I just found out he is in my class. This fish won't get off the hook that easy. Hehehe...

But after Tony left I met up with Athena. Athena was very open to talking. I loved it. She is a catholic but doesn't really practice. That is pretty typical in my experience. When I asked her to explain to me how to get to heaven she said, "Now that is a tough question."

It's funny that before I was a Christian I would have said the same thing. I had no idea how to get to heaven. I could tell you what were some things God wanted me to do, but I had no idea how to get to heaven. Athena was in the same place I was once in.

Instead of going through down the Way of the Master route I shared my testimony. I was sure to include my sins and God's judgement. I shared with her how much I deserved punishment from God. It is crazy to think that I am forgiven. God was so angry with me before, and rightly so, but now...

I thought about this earlier today. God saw me in my sins, and He saw how much I loved living for myself always doing whatever I wanted and He promoted me. He promoted me to be His slave. To be His slave is a higher honor than being the greatest of kings... He has changed me so much. "God, I love you. Thank You so much, Father."

I shared with Athena my concerns about the Catholic church. I even went over imputed vs infused righteousness with her (consult your local neighborhood pastor with any questions you may have).

By the end of the talk I asked her to read 1 John for a couple of reasons. She had said she wasn't sure you could know if you are going to heaven (1 John 5:13) and I was very concerned for her salvation (1 John is a book full of tests that shows you if you are a Christian). I was concerned because she had a catholic background and for some of her answers during our talk.

All in all a good day. Oh yeah, and Trabo got booted from the table by the girls. Hate to say I told you so, but he did it for God's glory and some girls got to see someone who loved Jesus enough to get shoo-ed away from a table. So, this post was really boring. In the future I will definitely talk a little more time before I write these things down.

In Memory of Uncle John

This past Wednesday we held a memorial service for my Uncle John Johnson. I was asked to speak and say a prayer at the service. Here is what I shared:

Times like these always seem to get me thinking.

After I had heard about what happened and the shock had went away I found myself trying to think of all the memories or traits that I would never forget about Uncle John. And in his case they were easy for me to put into words. Fishing. It is no secret that Uncle John loved fishing. I couldn’t talk about Uncle John without at least mentioning fishing. But he wasn’t only a fisherman, he was my Uncle, and I also remember my Uncle loved to joke around. I always saw him with a smile on his face. I can’t remember a family get together that he didn’t pull me off to the side to tell me a joke like it was some government secret. And no matter how many times I saw him he always had a new one to tell me, whether it was funny or not.

Uncle John was a light hearted, funny, gentle man. And I only have good memories of the time we spent together.

But I think it wise to not only remember those times of joy with John but also this present time of sadness and soberness. I couldn’t only think of the old days and how he was always ready to tell me a joke, but of today and what he would want to tell me now, to tell us now.

And there is no a doubt in my mind about the message that John has for us today. If he could speak to us right now after being on the other side he would tell each one of us one thing.

“Get ready to meet God.”

John’s untimely passing is a reminder to each and everyone one of us that we have an appointment with our Maker, and that that day can come at any time.

But I think the reason I am here today, the reason I have been asked to speak is to announce that that appointment, that day we face God, does not have to be one that fills us with fear or anger. We don’t have to pretend it will never come but we can embrace it with hope and joy.

You see we have every reason to have fear of that day. We know that we haven’t lived up to God’s standards. Each of us has lied, each of us has stolen; we have all broken God’s laws. The thought of having to stand before Him and account for everything we have done should make us tremble.

But if you do fear that day you don’t have to, for our God of justice is also a God mercy. And He has looked down from heaven and seen our sins, our filthiness, and instead of crushing this fallen world He has provided a way of salvation for it.

Jesus Christ, God Himself, came to us because we could not make it to Him. He made a way where there was no way before. You see, we have a sin debt to God and He promises that He won’t let one sin go unaccounted for.

But, Jesus sees our debt and promises to pay it for anyone who would trust in Him. Jesus demonstrated His love toward us in that while we are sinners He died on the cross for us. He took our sins upon Himself and stood in our place of guilt before God. On the condition that we turn from our sins and trust only in His death and resurrection all of our sins can be forgiven because He paid the price for each one of them. And in all of this God is just, by accounting for all of our sins, and He is the justifier, by dying for everyone our sins.

So, that day does not have to be a day that brings us fear, or make us angry; it doesn’t have to be a day we try to ignore. That day can be a day we look forward to. That day can be the day we finally meet our Savior.

So, let us think of all the joyful memories we had with Uncle John. Let us think of all the time we spent with him and the influence he had in all of our lives. And let us think of his wishes now and what he would want to tell us if he could.

On behalf of the family I would like thank everyone for joining us today to remember our John Johnson and I would like to end this service in prayer.

Lord we pray that you would give us peace in this time. We ask that You would bring to our minds those times of joy spent with Uncle John. Please remind of us of his laugh and his jokes. Remind us of his voice and his touch. Please comfort us in his absence, and also help us to comfort one another. And Lord Jesus, we thank you for your love demonstrated toward us on the cross and we ask that You would help us to come to know it and embrace every day. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Meet Quintin (12)

The other day I posted a talk with Katie and Ollie as number 12 but I totally forgot about my talk with Quintin.

If you go back and check I have already erased the mind of the blogpost and replaced it with different info. It will never even know what happened.

Anyways, Quintin was a really cool talk. I saw him standing on the sidewalk by the green just looking. That is my favorite posture to see on Tell it To'Em Tuesdays! He was just looking around. So, I started up a conversation with him.

Turns out, Quintin was from ... oh crap! I totally forgot where he was from. But he has been all over. If I remember correctly he grew up in either France or Spain (or Portugal? I don't remember but I think it was France...or Spain...or Portugal.) He had also lived in Scotland (or Ireland) for a while before coming to the states.

He went to a catholic school growing up and lost his faith (or never had any faith), but since coming to America and meeting his current girlfriend he had been going to church.

After talking with him I got the feeling that his spiritual life was very shaky. He was not very sure of things and his relationship with his girlfriend was straining because it. But I don't want to get too personal.

I had a cool talk with Quintin because I really got to connect with him. Sometimes when I get into witnessing mode* I may tend to lose interest in talking with people in hopes to get the Gospel across. This is because many times a conversation will end before I even get to the Gospel. Because of this hurried frenzy (frenzy is such a cool word. It makes me think of piranha. In this context I am using for exaggeration purposes) I am in I don't really get to connect with people and I turn them into marks. Not a good thing.

This is a sweet pirhanna pic.

After my talk with Quintin I realized that although it is important for me to get the Gospel out to as many people as possible I should also attempt to reach people on a relational level. It is the age old battle of Relational Evangelism versus Piranha Evangelism (I just made up that name for it.)

When you share your faith what are some things you do that you want to change?

(witnessing mode)*
Sadly, I should always be in witnessing mode (1 Peter 3:15). Also, because I do this Tell it To'Em Tuesdays I may convince myself I don't have to witness to people on regular old Wednesday or Take A Bath Saturday. I have to always be ready to share the faith. Pray for me.

One last piranha pic to think about.

Should we share numbers of attendees?

OK. This is post is just a thought. I feel as though even asking this question may get people (the imaginary people I pretend are visiting my blog) all cold shouldering me.

I want to ask the question, should we share numbers of attendees, baptisms, cards signed, aisles walked, etc?

I know what I'm thinking you are thinking. I'm thinking you are thinking, "Dude! Rik! What's the big deal? Some people are really into recording those numbers so that in a couple years we can graph it all perfectly and show our grand kids what Bildad was telling Job (Job 8:7)"

This is my thought. Simply recording the numbers to show to everyone may be a step that leads minds down a path of Ends Justify the Means mentality (Man! I just spent like 5 minutes trying to think of the word that begins with a P that means the ends justify the means. I gave up if you couldn't tell).

If we put numbers up in public then people are already getting the impression that numbers matter. If numbers didn't matter then they wouldn't have been put up. With this first step taken, churches have followed the logical path into the Numbers Game. Listen to Hell's Best Kept Secret by Ray Comfort and you will learn that 80-90% of "converts" can't be found in churches a year after they raised their hands or walked the aisle or signed the card.

Potentially that is the problem. So, now you are either like, "Rik, cool it buddy. They are just numbers." or you are like, "Ok, yeah. I am so on board. Down with Numbers!" To which I say, "Nay. We want the numbers to go up, but that is secondary to what we really want." To which you say, "Huh?" To which I say, "Read on!"

I propose something so revolutionary, something so out of this world, so something I stole from my company. I say how about we ... wait. I just realized something. This is not a joke, I seriously just realizes something. My solution is a numbers based solution. I am so lame. Its kinda funny how I could think this out for a whole 10 minutes before I started posting and realize that my logic is flawed. But, I will go on because I kinda built up some tension.

I was gonna say, before I so logically interrupted myself, that maybe instead of focusing on 'numbers' of new converts that tend to be fig trees with no fruit, how about we focus on what matters, a.k.a bearing fruit (John 15:8) . The problem with my logic is that we would have to have some way of recording the fruit (for example. So-and-So came by this week and ministered to me while my children were sick. Or, Yada-Yada called me and really encouraged me to be patient with my husband.) then tallying them up for people to make some sweet pie charts and bar graphs out of.

However, maybe we could still make it work. You see I thought I would record how many of those bearing fruit scenarios a church had and then share the total number in a weekly bulletin, thus the cognitive dissonance occurring with my whole rant about numbers. But, you could instead of tallying them simply share some in the bulletin and allow people to be encouraged from other peoples' faithfulness and love toward their brethren and sistren.

Maybe it could work or maybe I am weird or maybe both.

As an aside. My beautiful and godly fiance called and said the P word from before was Pragmatism. I love her.

Meet Katie and Ollie (13)

I just got done talking to Katie. She was out on the green with her little 8 week and 2 day old puppy. He was a pug. I thought he was supposed to have a little piggy twisty tail but I guess as a pup they are straight (or Katie got jipped).

I figured I could kill 2 birds with one stone today. I could witness to someone and pet a puppy. I got my wish. Katie has a catholic background but does not like organized religion. I asked her why and she said, "Catholic School". What could kids be learning in there that always turns their hearts from the Lord.

My guess, Legalism. Even though on their own people always resort to legalism, if it is pushed on them they hate it and form their version of legalism.

This was Katie's case. The talk was really good, almost too good. I am thinking I am going to test something. I am going to stop trying to guard every word to make it politically correct and just say things bluntly. After thinking about maybe I won't. The reason behind me wanting to do that is because I want people to respond to the message, but it is not my words that move hearts. It is the Spirit of Christ. If it is my words moving people then there is no power in it for the Gospel is the Power of God unto salvation, not my words. Katie and I talked about post-modern thought and what or who God is. The religion she has made up is formless and shifting constantly. At one moment God could be it, she, he, all three, everything, or not there. I used to be a devout follower of that religion.

She also talked about hypocrisy in the church, which I can do nothing but agree with. The conduct of those proclaiming to be Christian is causing people to blaspheme the name of Christ. But, I think there is a good argument against the idea that because of hypocrisy someone would deny Christ.

I don't like Bob. He is a jerk. I have never met you, but I have met Bob and Bob says that he is your friend. Should I conclude that I don't like you because I don't like Bob?

Of course not. I should not judge you by the conduct of Bob and people should not judge Jesus by the conduct of people who say they know Him.

Back to Katie. The dreaded phone ring signalled to me that our talk was almost over and I had not gotten to share the Gospel with her. So, I walked her to her car and did my best to share with her the message of Christ's death on the cross for her sins. I forgot to share His resurrection because of the hurry I was in, but again, God is in control and orders all things. If God is going to save her He will get her all the knowledge she needs.

I am just glad that I got to get her thinking about spiritual things. She said she would definitely think about it. The rest is up to God (and so is everything that is not 'the rest'. he he he.)