Spontaneous Evangelism

"And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, 'Look at us" ... Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you; In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand" (Acts 3:3,5; Acts 4:4).

When you least expect it... "SMILE, you're on Candid Camera!"

Remember the old TV series that caught people in the funniest capers? Yes, it was a 'set-up', but it was hilarious to watch their spontaneous reactions.

We did a gas buy-down outreach at a gas station, and someone prayed for a Buddhist man to receive Jesus! We didn't plan for that man to be there, but God did. Spontaneous? YES!

While flying home, the stewardess asked where I had been. She asked to see the photos of my journey. We stood in the back of the plane looking over the photos and another stewardess joined us. I explained the plan of salvation, and we joined hands in prayer while they confessed their sins to Jesus. All this took place while standing in the airplane aisle. Spontaneous? YES!

God often works in the spur of the moment stuff, yet most of our lives are so cram-packed with things to do that we leave little to no room for the Holy Spirit to interrupt our schedule.

Peter and John were on their way to the temple to pray, as was their daily custom. They passed the same group of beggars they encountered every day. Instead of tuning out the pleas for money, this time was different!

This time the Holy Spirit spoke faith into Peter's heart. His eyes were drawn to this man. The beggar thought he was going to get some money, but he got much more. He was healed! Spontaneous? YES!

What looks impromptu to us, God has been planning for some time. "Man makes his plans, BUT God directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). Are we keeping our lives open to divine appointments?

Smile...and make room for daily encounters of the heavenly kind.

Intentional for souls,

Tom Elie
Evangelist/President
Oasis World Ministries
www.oasisworldministries.org

One Month to Live

“Who knows the power of Your anger.... so, teach us to number our day” (Psalm 90:11-12).

D.L. Moody, the great evangelist of the 19^th century, was asked over dinner how he would react if he knew the Lord was returning in one month. D.L. put his fork down, paused for a moment, and then responded, “I would finish eating my steak.”

He was already making every day count for the kingdom of God!

A friend of mine was going through cancer treatment. He said God was impressing on him the brevity of his time here on earth. Isn’t it interesting how short our life looks when facing cancer?

We tend to live life like we have lots of time on our hands. In the Old Testament, people would live hundreds of years before death. But now the Bible suggests we only can count on 70 or 80 years, and that only with good health.

Man’s sinful and fallen nature is the reason for life’s brevity...“the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). God is most definitely angry at sin, so according to Psalm 90, our earthly lives are shorter than He originally planned. ‘This isn’t the garden of Eden anymore, Eve.’

So... what should I do, Lord?

“Teach us to number our day” (Psalm 90:12).

“Redeem the time, for the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).

‘Redeem’ means to ‘buy back’. No, I cannot fix my past. But I can maximize my future.

When I focus on giving rather than taking, sowing more than reaping, speaking faith instead of doubt, I begin to birth life in others.

Here’s four great questions:

‘Am I treasuring this gift called life by lavishly investing it in others?’

‘Am I generously helping people find eternal life through Jesus?’

‘Will I wish I had lived differently when I stand before God?’

‘What would I do if I knew I had one month to live?’

The pressing question for the church is not, ‘when will the Lord return?’ But it’s, ‘when will I be called home? And did I make my days count for the Lord?’ The songwriter wrote, ‘only one life will soon be past... only what’s done for Christ will last.’ Let’s make today count for eternity!

Intentional for souls,

Tom Elie
Evangelist/President
Oasis World Ministries

www.oasisworldministries.org