i was reading through the links on an email newletter i get weekly, and came across a copy of what is believed to be the last interview given by CS Lewis. The interview was done by Sherwood Wirt in 1963, and the conversation mostly centered around Christian writing. it's no secret that CS Lewis was one of the greatest thinkers of modern history, and i was especially amazed at the critical thought his answers contained.

the one statement of his that caught my attention the most was the answer he gave when asked "How can we foster the encounter of people with Jesus Christ?" Mr. Lewis responded by saying, "You can't lay down any pattern for God. There are many different ways of bringing people into his Kingdom, even some ways that I specially dislike! I have therefore learned to be cautious in my judgment... There is a character in one of my children's stories named Aslan who says, ‘I never tell anyone any story except his own.' I cannot speak for the way God deals with others; I only know how he deals with me personally. Of course, we are to pray for spiritual awakening, and in various ways we can do something toward it. But we must remember that neither Paul nor Apollos gives the increase."

of course, Mr. Lewis did not mean that there are many different religions that lead to God, but rather, different people come to Christ through different circumstances or events. kind of like the "different fish bite different bait" idea. if you are familiar with the character Aslan, you know that he represents Christ in the Narnia stories. i love that statement of Aslan, "I never tell anyone any story except his own." God does not deal with us all in the same way, because he knows we are not all the same people. i am glad for this, because i may have never responed to the gospel had the Holy Spirit tried to convict me of my need the same way He convicted you. our experiences and perceptions are different.

there is an organization i am particularly fond of, that does a ministry i cannot do. in fact, i think very few people could reach the unsaved the way this group does; it is made up of ministers who are called by God to do a very specific work. unfortunately, they continually get blasted by other Christians who disagree with their method. this group isn't breaking any law of God, but they are not sheltering themselves in a church building with a sign that says "ya'll come" either. these ministers are in the middle of a battlefield, where the fight has literally destroyed the lives of other pastors and teachers, and through much prayer and close accountability, they are effectively reaching the unreachable with the life-changing gospel of Christ.

how great is our God! i am overwhelmed by the thought that the God of the universe, who created and sustains all things by the simple word of His power, is close enough to deal with me by telling me my own story and writing Himself into every detail of my life. God, please continue to work in our lives on an individual level, changing who we are by your power inside of us. please help us to not quench your Spirit, but to allow you to guide us in meeting people where they are instead of where we think they should be.

lost dog...

last weekend, i took jayden out to the back yard to play. later on, shannon stepped out onto the back deck and sat for a while, then went back in. she left the gate to the deck open, thinking jayden and i would go in that way, which we usually do. this time, though, we went in another way, not realizing the gate to the deck was still open. sometime that evening, our dog (really shannon's dog - i'm not much of a pet person) went through the gate to the deck, and back down the other side, which is not fenced in, and apparently got lost. we were gone all day sunday and didn't notice what had happened until sunday evening.

being elections were just held the week before, there were still a bunch of campaign signs all over the place. so shannon grabbed some "vote for ______" signs (i didn't vote for him so i won't mention his name) and turned them into "lost dog, golden retriever, if found please call _____" signs, and put them back in strategic locations. the next day, she made some more and put them out, too. it took some time and effort, but shannon didn't mind. her dog was missing and she was going to do what she could to find him.

what about me? it's a pretty well known fact that i'm not into pets. you might imagine i stayed busy with football scores and everybody loves raymond reruns, but you would be mistaken. this was actually important to me, too, and i did some things to help out. not because of my natural love for animals, but because of my love for shannon. see, finding the dog was a big deal for shannon, and that's what made it matter to me. i didn't complain when she talked about it, or when she made the signs. i cooked dinner one night so she could work on the signs. (ok, it was hamburger helper, but i made it). i kept jayden while she put the signs out. i drove her through the neighborhood looking for the dog. and i listened to her when she told me about the tips she got from someone who called to say she saw our dog with a kid who lived in down the road. then, when she found the dog - i didn't even complain when she kept him in the house for a couple of hours.

people who don't know Christ matter to me because they matter to Him. we all have different passions and gifts, but at the same time, we all have the same God with the same heart to find His lost creations. since it's important to Him, let's make sure it's important to us.

God, help us to worry less about ourselves, and more about the things that are important to you. and help us to prove we care about your interests by the way we live these lives you've given us.

my last post ended up being about prayer and how it is not about us giving God our wish list, but rather getting God's will done in our lives. over the past several days, God has continued to emphasize the importance of prayer to me. i've seen bits of the news reports - enough to know what's been going on. just yesterday, in my favorite restaurant, a couple of guys sitting next to me carried on their conversation about the big topic of the weekend. i wanted to get into the conversation, but was speechless. what can you say? critics love to jump on the bandwagon, and this time around, the wagon has a lot of riders and an endless supply of seats.

i know people who are skeptical of big churches. they're on the wagon. others are skeptical of any contemporary way of doing church. they're on the wagon. others are skeptical of Christianity. they're on the wagon. meanwhile, the rest of us are speechless. If Ted Haggard can fall, what makes us safe? And it's not just about Ted Haggard. there are two other guys that i know personally who have fallen in similar ways recently. they weren't in big churches. they weren't on tv, but they were just as much a part of the fight between good and evil. if they can fall, what keeps me safe? Galatians 6:1 warns us that we should be careful when another Christian falls, understanding that we could fall just the same.

i hope that none of us blow this off as some thing that doesn't affect us. it affects all of us who take the message of Christ seriously. our ultimate mission in life is to share the gospel, while we are in the process of everything else we are called to do. anytime we are around non-believers, our responsibility is to look for opportunity to share the gospel. just a few days ago, a friend of mine who i love and pray for and am encouraged by, mentioned a situation she was in but doesn't like. she said that she was wondering if her reason for being there was to be a witness. i told her "of course it is." there may be other things God wants us to do, but as we are doing them, we are to be making disciples of Christ, which starts with sharing the gospel. without the gospel, there is no hope for anyone. sadly, though, the more Christians stumble, the more our message appears to be a joke. regardless of whether we liked Ted Haggard, or his church, or his denomination, the gospel that he represents is the same gospel we are commanded to share. this affects us all.

it can also be a little scary. again, what keeps us from falling? i used to spend a lot of time being afraid i would fall. i still know it's possible - that is, if i think i can't. proverbs tells us that pride precedes the fall. we are all sinful by nature and have the capacity to commit any sin we find enticing. but now, instead of being scared in an unhealthy way, i find encouragement. Jude 24-25 says: To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord
are we willing to pray with the sole desire of being conformed to the image of God?