Blaze does love his yard, but now he wants to make sure that nothing comes into it without his permission.  He has learned that the cats share his domain, he doesn’t like it, but he tolerates them.  Now, however when he sees a moth, butterfly, any bird, including our little hummers, he yells at them to leave.  When they eventually go on about their business, he comes in with chest out and a smile on his face, as if to say, “Look, Dad I am keeping you and mom safe!”  I don’t let him bark very long, but a little gives him pleasure.

Warming up, at first I thought we might get a bit of moisture, but the sun is burning off most of the clouds and we will be in the 90’s, again.  Summertime, too hot we complain, Winter time, to cold we complain.  ‘twould be nice to have a happy medium – that didn’t have a lot of humidity and threats of tornados......

Reminds me of when I was down in Warm Springs for a training session.  We had been using air-conditioning in our cars for a couple, three years.  The Warm Springs Police were outfitted by the Federal Government through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  In the summer temperatures often got in the triple digits, and in the winter time it often got below zero, but the median temperature was about 50 degrees.  The feds decided if you did not have a median temperature of 55 degrees you were not eligible for air-conditioning!  Fortunately intelligence finally won out and after a couple years they got it in their cars.    Art :-)

Acts 4:18-20 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
¹⁹ But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
²⁰ For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

“For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”  One of the reasons new Christians are such effective witnesses for Christ is they have recently seen salvation.  Their redemption is like a burning fire within them and even without speaking their life professes the truth of the transforming power of Christ.  People see and are aware of the change, some will be encouraged to find out why, others will attempt to lead them back into a sinful life.

The struggle begins.

As days turn into weeks and weeks into months and then years we often lose that first Joy of our Salvation, we allow other things to come into our life and we tend to witness less, we have forgotten what we have experienced and slide into an existence in Christ rather than a life in Christ.

However, the fire of the true believer is always within, we just need to fan the coals with prayer and a rededication to God. 

One of the reasons the fire cools down a bit and that fresh exuberant new Christian quiets down, is their original salvation is all they have really experienced.  All they know is the salvation message, but they have no idea where to go from there.  So, they stagnate, they have no new message and they are not growing in Christ and His knowledge to impart to others.

We take our children to a playground where there are several different apparatuses for them to play on.  We know that this equipment not only is fun for them, but it is used to strengthen their muscles and build coordination.  Most have their favorite item; they want to spend all their time on that item.  They know how to use it, have confidence that they can use it correctly and enjoy it.  For example, there may be several sizes of slides on the grounds, they start off with the smallest, but if that is all they experience they cannot tell how the big slide was scary, at first, but they overcame their fear and now love it.  To take full advantage of all the playground offers, they need to also use some of the other equipment, if they don’t they short change their bodies and their enjoyment.

If someone asks them what the playground is, they will focus on that one item, that small slide.  However, when asked about the other equipment they have no way of expressing what it can do or how to use them.  They have not taken advantage of all it offers and they cannot express and give an intelligent response based on their experience.  They may ‘know’ what the other equipment is all about, but they have not experienced it and cannot give a good descriptive account of its use.  Since they don’t have the experience, they don’t have the enthusiasm.  Their message is not as effective as the person who has that experience and enjoys it.

Salvation is only the beginning of our life in Christ.  If that is our only experience, while powerful, it makes us ineffective in dealing with most people.  A thinking person wants more than a second hand experience, they want to know what being a Christian is all about – and we should be able to tell them.

All too frequently we do not tell them there is a cost, they may lose friends, family may turn against them, they will say and do things as Christians that will make them targets of derision and even physical abuse.  They will have a cross they must bear and we should never minimize that fact.  We don’t want to scare them away, but we also want to make sure their salvation is not just based on emotion, but on the knowledge of God and His demands.  

The most effective way that can be done is studying the Word, spending time with God in prayer, mediation and listening, and placing ourselves under mature Christians that have our best interest, and God’s directions, at heart.  We need to experience the truth of God’s Word which will help us develop a passion to not only see people saved, but to see them grow in God’s Grace.

Many people have been saved by reading a tract, or by a person presenting the salvation message to them; and that cannot be diminished.  But, many saved in this manner wither on the vine because they are not fed, they have that initial experience, but they don’t know what to do after they accept Christ.

When I was saved a half century ago, I was fortunate to have a Pastor that was a teaching Pastor; I was in a church that taught the tenets of our faith and they made an effort to teach the new Christian so they understood their faith.  There was no fear of questions, they had the answers.

While I do not know if this is true or not, supposedly there is an Eastern philosophy that dictates if you save a man you are responsible for him for the rest of his life.  Now, frankly, I have always thought it should be the other way around, after all, the one saved owes his life to the one saving and thus should be willing to serve him.  When we are saved through Christ we have that responsibility – to serve God, but it is not one sided, He has promised to care for us even onto our death.

However, if we have led someone to the Lord, it IS our responsibility that they know what to do from there.  Either we disciple them ourselves or we encourage them go to a church that disciples them, teaches them so they know how to live their life for God.  There is no perfect formula for this, but when we know through the Word and our experiences that the Holy Spirit is in charge, we have the confidence that He will guide us in any given situation. 

As we grow in Christ, we must also practice what we have learned.  Most of that will come – we will have time of depression, of challenges beyond our ability to handle by ourselves, we will have times of fear and doubt – if we follow the Word of God, experiencing His blessings and extrication from our sorrows, we can more effectively tell others about Him.  Not only have we ‘book learning’ but we have experiences that support the truth of the Word.

All of us have had training or classes on doing something.  We are told what works and what does not.  There are two basic kinds of teachers, those that teach in theory and those that teach with experience.  We know which one is likely to be more effective.  When we go into the real world we find that many times applying those things we have learned is not easy – and if the instructor misleads us or doesn’t know what he is talking about it can be detrimental to our getting the job done. 

A new Christian is experiencing the same thing; that is why it is so important they get a solid Biblical education that will prove itself in the real world.  Experience is said to be the best teacher – it can be, either good or bad, but when it comes to the eternal life of a person it must also be built on truth, so the experience is placed in proper perspective.

When we study and learn to lean on God for all our understanding and life direction we are experiencing the same transformation as did the Apostles and believers who walked with Christ.  We feel compelled to share our experiences with others, and because we know the truth of God’s Word we can do it more effectively.  This is not to say we must wait to witness until we are fully engaged in His Word, we want to encourage all Christians to share their experience of salvation and life in Christ whenever they can.  But it does mean that we need to grow in Christ and be able to speak with authority when it comes to teaching others how to live in Christ.

One of the things that made Billy Graham such a powerful man of God was his dedication to the newly saved.  From all accounts I have read, he prayed for hours, he sought God’s direction in his ministry, he had a board of solid Christians who he knew had the mind of God to advise him.  His powerful speaking voice and choice of words in his message helped the Holy Spirit move on the hearts of sinners and millions have been saved as a result. 

But he didn’t leave it there.  Early on he started sending people into communities where he would be preaching.  These people came weeks and sometime months in advance, not to prepare the sinner, but to prepare the church.  They wanted to be sure that there would be those at the altar who understood how to help someone confess their sins and accept Christ – but they also wanted to be sure the local church bodies were prepared to bring these people into their congregations and disciple them.  Graham wanted them to have every opportunity to grow in Christ, he felt responsible for that growth.

In America we are experiencing a dearth of morality.  Anything goes and sinful behavior is being proclaimed as appropriate and even sanctioned by many religious and government leaders.  Anything is okay as long as man says it is; Godly values and righteousness is not only passé but a crime against the masses.  Laws are being passed to underscore that train of thought in an attempt to undermine God’s Word and make His people ineffective.  Many Christians are buying into these opinions and voluntarily not only keeping their mouths shut, but are compromising their witness and the Word by condoning the behavior.

Many Christians, and within a short time it would appear, all Christians in America are going to have to ask themselves the question Peter and John asked their accusers: “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.”   Let us hope that as Christians we have the courage to make the right decision and serve God.  We can best do that by knowing the truth of God’s Word, experiencing the truth of God’s Word and showing others that truth.

When Peter and John spoke they did so of their experience, but they also based the validity of their experiences on the Scriptures.  The knowledge and sharing of those Scriptures confirmed and validated their experiences and therefore their testimony.  

Later, Art :-)