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What do you say? How do you begin a conver-
sation with people you have little in common
with? I mean, after all, you only have a small
window of opportunity before they are
shipped off to another location. I had
forgotten that it is not me that does the
conversion but the spirit of God working
through me. So, despite my own inadequacies,
Duncan quickly showed me that a direct ques-
tion, “Would you like to know Jesus and
become a Christian?” mostly resulted in the
nod of a head, a yes and a willingness to
receive a Bible and a Bible Basics book in their
native language. With Duncan’s contact
details in the books, they were encouraged to
read them through and phone him for more
information or instruction to baptism. Some
returned a short time later to get more NEV
Bibles or Bible Basics for their friends or
family. No theological debates just an interest
in what we had to offer, a way to have a rela-
tionship with Jesus and his Father, free of
religion and complex dogma. The people we
met are not prisoners but are in a secure
place where they have a lot of time on their
hands during the day. We witnessed them
reading the books we gave for quite a while
afterwards.
There were four important things I took away
from the visits: 1. Asking people if they would
like to know Jesus, isn't “rocket science”.
Jesus didn't ask us to be able to convert
people, he just said, “Go out and preach”
Don’t fear being rejected by others, we saw
many who were eager for hope. 2. Take a leaf
out of Jesus’ book and have conversations
with the poor and outcast. Sure, it may not
be comfortable to talk to people outside our
social circle, but I am reminded that Jesus
saw similar and “he had compassion on
them.” They may be the most receptive to
talking about the hope we share. Have
compassion. 3. I have no power to convince
anyone to accept the Salvation of God. Even
when I flounder about not knowing the right
thing to say, God can use me in all my inade-
quacy, insecurity and weakness. Pray. Pray for
our Father’s help and blessing on our efforts.
Don’t forget - PRAY! Pray for His will to be
done, that he open the way to those seeking
Him.
God provides angels to go before us. Super-
natural, yes, but I have also witnessed human
angels provided to make our paths straight
and open doors that are normally locked,
raised up for a specific purpose. God bless
them for their courage. If you believe that
you can muster up enough courage to go out
into your own community and ask, “Would you
like to know Jesus and become a Christian?”
then Carelinks have resources to help you.
The New Testament with Introducing Bible
Basics in the back is an excellent way of giving
a valuable gift to people who show interest”.
There’s a video of Bro Mike distributing the
New Testaments and engaging people on the
streets and traffic lights at:
Travelling on holiday or business?
Do what Mike and Betty are doing,
put an NEV Bible or Bible Basics (or
any statement of the Gospel) in
these tiny libraries springing up all
over the place. Who knows who
will get to read this French NEV
New Testament... the seed is sown
in northern France. More info ...