Don't you just hate it when you are confronted by those Non Christians, who simply just ask too many questions. Who are just in your face about, "Why they should become a Christian" or another bothersome one and a close second, "Why are you telling me this?", worst one being is "Can You Prove God?".
I know that these are pesky questions because I have been confronted by each one of these in the past, and I dare say at times I have become rather Flummoxed*.
* flum·moxed; fləməkst / adjective; bewildered or perplexed. "he became flummoxed and speechless"
Well be flummoxed no more, I am here to the rescue. If you're still reading this and some may say it's a load of tripe, I am sure that with further reading, you will find it interesting and informative and maybe, just maybe you can use what I have to say to you here and you can save all of your precious hours going to all of those annoying Evangelism classes where they teach you what to say for a "Fee".
I'm not saying that this Jack is smarter than whomever is reading this "Primer" but as it happened I had the privilege to listening to a Talk given by the late Jake Loewen, Author, Evangelist, Bible Translator, Missionary (in a foreign land even), Educator in a Uni. Now this Guy was smart (he wrote a book that I think I read and I have to admit I didn't understand it) but I sensed that he was more than all of the above. I sensed that He had a relationship with God that didn't take up using any "little grey cells" and as he put it, "whenever he felt that tick in his stomach, he was compelled to say it, regardless of what it was and the potential of sounding stupid. He felt that this is how God talked to him and he encouraged all of his listeners to try it.
I am one of the few who did and I have to admit, that if I had actually listened to what was about to come out of my mouth, I think I too would have said this had sounded stupid.
BUT
... it works, it's unbelievable how often that little tick in my gut has caused just the correct answer to that little pesky question that has just been proffered to me!
AND
... my answer has never gone South, that means to say I haven't generated a maelstrom of fury or even a punch in the Head.
So I thot that I'd write this book(let) along the lines of how our late departed Brother Jake, spoke. He gave us scenarios of questions and situations that had confronted him over his life, then he gave us his responses.
OUCH
His responses to me at the time seemed "really" stupid and how he didn't garner that punch in the head, I wondered, but I still gave it a go, now however I have to admit that I haven't encountered the same situations he did, nor the depth of them, thereby eliciting his out of this world responses as opposed to mine but hey I think mine have come in handy or should I say opportune or maybe even Providential, and I use out of this world responses since like Jake believed his responses were what God had placed in his gut to say and I do too.! And isn't God out of this world, in a manner of speaking even tho He is here as well, but I belabour a point that I am not currently going to go there.
Please read on. In a Christian sort of way I am kind of Proud of my answers, but not Prideful way and please tell me there's a difference in meaning between these two words...
SO HERE GOES
1. I'm not a Christian You Know!
A Chinese friend told me his Dad was dying, that he had to go home, I said, "Hey I'll go with you" and wouldn't you know it one week later I was in China, the airline tics were on me (first class) and one of the greatest "discussions" where my gut came into play took place here which had reverberations all the way back to Canada.
The back story:
One Sunday at Church standing all by his lonesome, is this Chinese fellow just watching each person as they walked by. He would watch them as they came in the door and follow them all the way across the room. So I joined him and together he watched each person as they crossed the room. Nary a word was said.
Suddenly he leans over to me and says, "I'm not a Christian you know"
"Kool" I responded, then more silence.
"Like you then are a Buddhist?" I asked.
"Nope, just a blank slate", was his response
I said, (and listen carefully you can still hear the "Click), "So then lets start writing on that blank slate of yours", I heard a laugh and to my right another person had joined us wondering what we were doing and garnered some mirth from our conversation.
Over the next few month's we wrote on that slate, then in the dead of one of those nites he told me he had to go to China and as I said one week later there I am lying on the death bed with his Father.
2. Da Pan Zei, are there many rich people in Canada?
You may be asking, "Why are you showing this pic of yourself, sitting behind a donkey with a bewildered family of Chinese cowering for their lives behind you?" and my first answer would be "Boy that was a long question, and a bit presumptive, they aren't cowering they are trying to look around me.", however the correct answer would be "I'm in China, was there for a month just because I listened to that little tick in my stomach.
Did you know that I don't speak Mandarin? and where I was staying no one spoke English. I needed a translator and I found one thru my new Chinese friend or to be politically correct "Oriental" friend, maybe it's even "Asian" or maybe "Pan Asian".
Who cares, I don't.
Anyways everynite I would phone home and give my wife an update on my stay, however one nite she gave me an update, that her father had just died. It was expected, as it should be for all of us. I told her I would get right back to Canada.
She said no stay!
More middle story:
The very next day, my translater, then named Victoria, now Jennifer says to me, "Da Pan Zei" Oh yes I forgot the Chinese gave a Chinese name. I think loosley translated it means "Big Fat Guy"
Da Pan Zei she says, I hear there are a lot of Rich People in Canada", now listen to the click, Nope I say most are really very poor.
Oh, is her response, I was told there was a lot of Money in Canada.
Oh, is my response (click again) "I didn't know you meant money, to me wealth is measured in how much Peace you have in your heart" She knew I was talking about Christ.
"Stum" was her response on this subject. (Stum is German for silence, or something like that).
The story:Two years later I get this cell call. Its Victoria, now Jennifer. "Da Pan Zei" she says, I'm in Canada now. In B.C. In Coquitlam. Living on King Albert Ave. I shudder to think that this is only five blocks from my house.
Da Pan Zei I want to hear more about Peace in my Heart. So we get together and I explain it best I could. Didn't have this book to guide me. We used the Bible so that she could learn to speak English better than she already could.
A few months later she calls me again, Da Pan Zei she says and I interrupted her "but its snowing outside and Chinese don't drive well in the snow let alone on dry pavement. " Thankfully she laughed, she didn't understand the joke but she was polite and laughed at all of my jokes.
Once again Da Pan Zei, I was looking at Christmas lites tonite and at one house they weren't one quite yet so I waited. Then they came on and when they did immediately I knew that everything you had told me was true.
It was then I realized why I had went to China in the first place, missed my wife's father's funeral, and went out for all of those Chinese dinners, for that moment.
And I must say that it is still paying off 12 years later as that little click turned into a whack of Chinese here in Canada becoming believers. Jennifer will even wait at a bus stop just ot meet more Chinese.
She is truly a wealthy person and has got a lot more than what she even bargained for.
3. So, why are you telling me all of this?
Many years ago, probably 25 years or more and I use this pic to show that also a lot of years ago I did have short hair,
I was building this group of 24 town houses and I had hired this real estate agent to sell them. Now I only say the following for the sake of the story and the point I am going to make later on. The agent was a she and she was rich (money), had a nice car and was very pretty. Long flowing hair.
One day while waiting for "buyers" we chatted. She about her career and I about the need for Christ in her life. I gave the full meal deal short of pictures and graphs, and her response after all of that effort was, and with a flick of her hair, "so why are you telling me all of this?" and if I would have said because the Bible tells me to speak to my faith I would have sounded sort of T.V. Evangelist, you know the type.
Click, I hear that sound way in my gut, I say to her do you know Carman, he's a contemporary Christian rock singer. No she says. To bad I say, he has this great song called "Witches invitation" Now your not a witch I say, but in his song after he is told by the warlock how powerful he is, Carmen responds with "On your death bed as you're gasping for your last breath who are you going to call on, your demon friends, your incantations your spells?" (I'm starting to get nervous) my response to you is that both you and I are going to die one day and on your death bed are you going to rely on your real estate success, your car your wealth. Nope, so I'm giving you the answer for your last breath that you will either call out to the God I am telling you about now and he will accept you or you will not and then .... .
She told me she understood what I was saying, but just like the rich young ruler who came to Jesus in the nite and was told by Jesus to sell all he had, she wasn't prepared to give up her lifestyle.
I still see her signs around, and when I do I say a little prayer for her. Who knows?
4. So have you ever seen God?
Okay, I'm not looking up to God here. Actually 'm in Germany climbing this exceptionally long hill to get into a Castle just because I was too cheap to take the Tram.
But I truly believe that I have looked into the face of God.
I was at one of the dinner and movie thingee at church, called Alpha, visiting with this recovering addict. The conversation was going exactly as I wanted it too, I had the guy on the ropes, there was no denying he wouldn't be able to stump me.
"Stump me", I want to go here for a moment. I have suffered thru a number of evangelism classes, where I have learnt all the correct and tactical comments designed to stump the seeking enquirer. That's exactly what I think of these classes. Speak until that person can no longer have any replies. You've won, but really have you? Maybe that person has just finished with you and now is thinking about his root beer in the car getting warm.
"So have you actually seen God? asked my stumpee. It was at that moment I realized I had been stumped myself. I stared at him, sweat forming on my forehead, how was I going to get out of this one. (Isn't that what most Christians think when they are stumped, ("Dear God get me out of here") then "click".
Of course I have seen God. I'm looking at him right now. You were created in the image of God, the eyes are the hi way to the soul. The soul is a reflection of who God is. Right now I'm looking into your eyes, I see your soul, ergo I'm looking into Gods face.
Now was it he who was stumped? Nope he was convicted. A while later he gave his life to Christ. I have heard he has had spiritual trouble, I pray that somehow he is being cared for wherever he is.
4. So why should I actually become a Christian?
I was about this age when I became a Christian, but I would agree that this alone isn't reason enough to become one.
If you want to know you have to go back way further in time. Some place around the time of the "Fall", that's Christiannese for when Adam and Eve ate that "apple" in the Garden of Eden, which in turn brought sin into this world. I hope I got your attention on this one.
5. Can you actually prove there is a God?
6. I don't believe in God, I'm an Athiest!
(not so much a question, but still a common comment)
7. The Bible id just a story made up by Men!
(again, not so much a question, but still a common comment)
8. I think most Christians are just Hypocrites?
Yes but that's when people look at people and then judge Christ by that standard (quote by Rick vanDyck)
9. I got no problem with the Jesus story, but I just cant get my head around the rest of the Bible and its stories!
