I thought this week I'd tell you my "strategy" for witnessing to others while at places where witnessing is frowned upon, such as the workplace. It's really quite simple and does not force any uncomfortable positions on me or the one I'm speaking with. And what is this plan of action? Here are the steps:

1. I don't hide my faith.
It all starts out with my understanding that God is not some dark secret that I need to hide. At work, I'll mention something neat that happened at a church function and I have been bringing my Bible and my copy of "Desiring God" by John Piper with me. These books are brought out during my breaks and lunches and I don't hide the fact that I'm reading them.
2. I live my life as well as I can with Christ's help.
Others around me are quietly aware of my stand with Christ and are watching me to see what kind of a person I am, now that I've "gone public." They may not even realize it, but with this new knowledge about me, they are forced to look at every action I take with this new fact in mind. This helps keep me focused, as I realize that every word that I say and every action is noted.
3. I let others approach me if they want to discuss anything religious.
I had a co-worker approach me Thursday and ask what it was I was reading. I immediately shifted my attention to her and showed her the book and my notes. She was surprised that I'd bring that to work and asked me why I would read books about religion. I told her that in the last year and a half my life has changed dramatically for the better. When she asked me what started this change, I told her that the first step I took was to read my Bible. I told her that I have renewed my loyalty to God and that I wouldn't go back to where I was before I started for anything. She said something to the effect of, "Well I'm glad it's working for you. Perhaps I should look into that." There wasn't much time remaining in that break period, but perhaps a seed was sown for the Lord.

Any seeds that are to be sown are done so at God's bidding, not mine. Even if this girl never does come to the Lord, I know that she will notice my actions from now on and remember our conversation. There are people who try desperately to convict others of their unworthiness right from the start, and that only serves to put them into a defensive position. Any credibility these people once had with their target is now gone and the entire church suffers for the brazen actions of someone who is trying to do a job that is not theirs.

It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict His elect and it is His job to call upon those who He will, not mine. My strategy is to be ready to speak with anyone that the Lord puts in my path on His terms, not mine.

Soli Deo Gloria,

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Talk about resentment! Saul's daughter despised David for celebrating and acting in a manner she felt undignified for a king... or rather, she despised him for taking over after the death of her father. The Bible doesn't really say which reason she despised him, but I'm prone to think the latter is true. For this, Michal had no children in her lifetime. This may sound like a small problem, but in those days, it was considered a disgrace, as we've read before.

Here's another impressive tidbit about David: He was able to learn from the past and not make the same mistakes that had been made before. Having the Levites carry the ark in the prescribed manner was a sure sign of wisdom. And what a joyous celebration! The song sung to God must have been beautiful. All of this marked the coming of a king who would lead the Israelites back to God, for they hadn't been doing well before. A king that would start with a glorious celebration to honor God is OK in my book!

Day 2

Wow, that is what I call an awesome promise! I wonder if God had a dual meaning in that, though. I mean, David did have sons who ruled over Israel, but not quite forever. Jesus, on the other hand, was of the house and lineage of David. The kingdom He established is you and me! I told you from the start that I'm not a great theologian, but I believe that was what he was suggesting.

Either way, David remained humble over it all, with a reminder that he came from nothing and became one of the most famous historical figures of all time due to God's grace. He was the greatest warrior of all time. Napoleon who? Genghis Khan who? David was the man when it came to war because God brought him victory wherever he went. He didn't try to conquer the world, he was just defending God's chosen people, giving God the credit every step of the way.

Day 3

I mentioned earlier that David was merciful to Saul and to his family. This is a contrast to many of the "regime changes" in history, where all remnants of a former ruler's family would be destroyed to avoid any uprising. In fact, Mephibosheth was taken care of for the remainder of his years, even his inheritance was given to him.

Here's an example of leadership acting on partial information. The Ammonites had a new king and David sent a delegation to express his sympathies for the passing of the earlier king and the Ammonites humiliated the delegation. The resulting battle was about as one-sided as it gets! When God is with you, who can be against you?

Day 4

Up until this point, David had been taking a more active role in the military, often leading the armies himself. By now, though, I imagine he was aging a bit and had all of the possessions he wanted. He had wives and children and a kingdom that was becoming a superpower. David had it made!

Yeah, I'm going somewhere with this.

David was out walking the roof of his palace one evening, minding his own business, when he looked down and saw a beautiful woman bathing. The right thing to do would be to avert his eyes and walk elsewhere... at least on the other side of the roof! But this was the king, the master of all he saw, and he saw something that he wanted. Never mind the fact that he had other wives who had borne children for him. He wanted what he saw. He took her and slept with her, resulting in her pregnancy.

The right thing to do at this point would have been to own up to his sin before God and the husband of this woman and make amends. Unfortunately, this was not in David's thoughts. He sent for the husband of the woman, plucked him from the front lines of battle, and tried to get him to have sex with her to cover his act.

Uriah (the husband I mentioned) was a better soldier than that, though. As long as his comrades were at war away from their families, he refused to allow himself the comforts of home and didn't sleep with his wife. Even drunkenness couldn't persuade him to break the trust of his fellow soldiers. David must have been frantic. The situation wasn't taking care of itself and the embarrassment of being guilty of such an act would be too much of a P.R. nightmare. So he looked for a shortcut on his life's path and sent Uriah back to the battle with his own death warrant. A sin that started out as the lust of another man's wife had grown like a weed within David and finalized itself in murder. When you don't take care of a sin early on, it festers into a bigger problem than before.

Look at 2 Samuel 12:10 again. Nathan speaks for God when David is rebuked, and the most scathing charge of the entire reading is this, "you have despised me." At its rotten core, that is what sin is. It is the act of man despising God and His will. The penalty for this sin for David? The loss of his son. Here's an unusual thought that may comfort any of you who have lost a loved one in the recent past. David said, "My son will never return to me, but one day I will return to him." That is a reminder to us all that nothing on this earth is forever, but God's will is everlasting. Our God is a perfect God, and only He is blameless enough to judge our transgressions.

And only He can wash away our sins.

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Weekly Link Operation World When you watch the news or read through the newspaper, do you ever find yourself praying for the people involved in the stories? Think about it for a moment. We catch the news to see what's happening in the world, but couldn't that also be used as an avenue to expand our prayer list? That strategy works well for things that make the local news, but what about corners of the globe that you don't hear about often, if ever? Operation World is a site that gathers information from missionaries and other sources and brings prayer requests to us from some of these locations that we never realized there was a need. http://www.gmi.org/ow/