faith

Cultivating a Heart for Evangelism

JANE STORY |GUEST The call of Matthew 28 to “go and make disciples” rings down through the centuries, spurring the church to share the gospel. Anyone who has read through Acts has felt the conviction of realizing that every Christian is entrusted with sharing the truth of Jesus. Yet evangelism is difficult. It can feel awkward and uncomfortable. We might fear how people respond to us. We may worry that we will look foolish if we don’t have all the answers, or that we will say something confusing or offensive. Despite the difficulty, sharing our faith with others doesn’t have to be an insurmountable obstacle. In fact, we can even be excited about sharing our faith with others. It all begins with cultivating the right attitude. A right understanding and practice of sharing the gospel is a crucial part of our sanctification. I was raised in a Christian home and came to faith at young age. As a child, I was regularly exposed to teachings about evangelism, and had moments where I inexpertly attempted to share my faith. But by the time I entered college, I had grown disillusioned. I believed that every person was a sinner in need of saving by Christ alone. Yet I had also become deeply uncomfortable with all but the mildest forms of evangelism. Years of listening to American culture lash out against awkward or inappropriately coercive Christians had dissuaded me from my former zeal. I came to a place where I would only share the gospel with my closest friendships or if I was asked about my faith directly. Otherwise, I would be “respectful” by keeping it to myself. In college I found Cru, a campus ministry known for their incredibly direct evangelism style. “Initiative evangelism,” which means walking up to strangers with the explicit purpose of sharing the gospel, is taught and practiced regularly. I joined the group but stayed far away from these activities, fearing we were scaring people away from Christ. However, as I encountered Scripture and the kind persuasion of other believers, my heart did a complete one-eighty. Here are some key passages and principles that altered my perspective:...

Cultivating a Heart for EvangelismChristina Fox2024-03-29T18:03:16+00:00

Why Talk About Covenant Theology

SARAH IVILL | CONTRIBUTOR Our family attends Christ Covenant Church. The school that meets on our campus, and is a ministry of the church, is Covenant Day School. Our denomination’s college, as well as the seminary, is named Covenant. And the most recent women’s ministry leadership training conference was titled: A Covenantal Framework for Life & Ministry. Yet many of us do not understand the meaning of Covenant Theology, and therefore, do not understand why it is important to talk about it. So, I want to suggest five reasons why we should talk more about covenant theology. What Covenant Theology Reminds Us First, Covenant Theology reminds us of a perfect promise. There is no way that we could have reached out to have a relationship with the creator God. But amazingly, He has reached out to us by way of His covenant. He has promised, “I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Lev. 26:12). Second, Covenant Theology reminds us that the Bible is better than any other book. It reveals the bigger picture of who God is and who we are. Through His Word, He reveals our need of salvation and of His perfect solution in the Savior. Third, Covenant Theology reminds us that Christ is the center of our story, as well as the bigger story of redemption. In fulfillment of the covenant of grace, which is founded upon the covenant of redemption, Christ accomplished the redemption that God the Father appointed, and the Holy Spirit applies (see John 17:1-26; Eph. 1:3-14; Heb. 13:20). Fourth, Covenant Theology reminds us of the implications of God’s free grace. Justification and adoption are acts of God’s free grace, and sanctification is the work of God’s free grace. Everyone deserves God’s wrath (Eph. 2:1-3). But God is “rich in mercy” and love and saves His people by grace (vv. 4-5). This salvation is not a possibility, but a certainty (vv. 6-7)...

Why Talk About Covenant TheologyChristina Fox2024-03-05T17:59:03+00:00

We Always Need Jesus

KIM BARNES|GUEST A few years ago, I found myself struggling during a worship service. If you’re like me, corporate worship has a way of uncovering emotions, thoughts, and attitudes that are more easily suppressed and controlled otherwise. During this service, I became visibly emotional. After the benediction, a friend who noticed my emotional response came over to check on me. Through tears, I blurted out, “I really need Jesus and I’m a little mad about it.” Worship confronted me anew with the fact that I can’t manage my life in this fallen world on my own. But it was more than that. I realized something I’d not previously grasped: I WILL ALWAYS NEED JESUS. Now maybe, you read that and think: “Of course, Christians always need Jesus.” And certainly, on one level, I would have acknowledged this. But what struck me was the realization that subconsciously I expected to need Jesus less as I matured in my faith. After all, as children grow in maturity, it’s expected that they grow less dependent upon their parents. Certainly, adult children who have a strong relationship with their parents seek their advice, communicate regularly, and enjoy celebrating special occasions. But it’s natural and desirable for adult children to live independently from their parents and equally, for parents to let their children go. I imagined that after 40+ years of walking with Jesus I would know enough and be sanctified enough to not need Jesus so much. I imagined that I would become more like an adult child seeking Jesus as a trusted counselor, than a baby dependent on Him for everything. I thought there would be some things I would be able to handle on my own; I thought I would turn to Him for the big things, the hard things, but the rest I would manage myself....

We Always Need JesusChristina Fox2023-08-15T13:20:03+00:00

Freedom in Christ: If the Shoe Fits, Wear it

MARIA CURREY|CONTRIBUTOR Do you remember the first time you slipped your feet into a perfectly fitting pair of shoes? Giving comfort, mobility, and even smart style? A shoe to tick all the boxes! Mine were a multi-colored pair of clogs with an ankle-strap enabling me to run freely with little first grade bell bottom jeans, a blue-flowered tunic, and long braided hair flying behind adventurous feet. Those shoes and pants were a replacement for dresses on the playground because I kept falling and skinning my knees, so Mom found hardier fabric and sturdier soles. My teacher was grateful. The good news is that Jesus gave ALL of us the same, custom fit shoes for our souls to run freely in Him. He gave the gospel of the readiness of peace, part of His armor in Ephesians 6, to stand firm and step out in our faith, to shod our feet for active freedom in Christ. This is one-stop shoe shopping; we need only to sit and submit our feet into His hands and plans. There is a clear Who? How? Where? and What for? to freedom in Christ and what it looks like to fit our feet into His faithful hands...

Freedom in Christ: If the Shoe Fits, Wear itChristina Fox2023-08-15T13:20:35+00:00

Finding My Place in the Battle

JENNIFER HARRIS|GUEST 1980’s cartoon shows were a daily entertainment in my growing up years. After school, my sisters and I would come home, turn on the 13-channel television and make our snacks. We’d settle down on the couch for an afternoon of respite from the world and our studies before jumping into piano practice, homework, and midweek church activities. One of the shows I loved the most was G.I. Joe. My heart was drawn to the idea of fighting for goodness and taking action to defeat evil. I grew up in a relatively peaceful part of the world near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. There was no fear of war arriving on our shores in that era. The sight of military vehicles was so rare that whenever we spotted an army truck on the road, we stared. Although the conservative anabaptist denomination I grew up in upheld the virtue of pacifism, the focus in our family was more on intentionally promoting and working for peace, not merely just avoiding confrontation. Why was I drawn so passionately to this tv show about soldiers and warfare? What was I fighting for? I didn’t know, but God was going to take me through boot camp. Facing Fear in a Fallen World Perhaps I first learned endurance as an infant, though I have no memory. My parents recall watching from behind a glass window, their baby daughter fight to breathe for days in an oxygen tent, as my little body battled to overcome the deadly Pertussis virus. Perhaps it was because I was a sensitive soul, timid, yet at times brave enough to stand up to a bully at school and tell him to back down from hurting a weaker student. Maybe it was because God gave me a very early awareness of the existence of evil. Perhaps also I was more affected than I knew by the secondary trauma I experienced during college from learning that a dear family friend was violently murdered. Whatever it was, this sensitive soul was learning endurance, perseverance, and how to stand firm in Christ. There was a battle to fight...

Finding My Place in the BattleChristina Fox2023-08-15T13:21:51+00:00

An Ancestry of Faith

KATHLEEN CHAPELL|GUEST Several years ago, I took my elderly mother on a road trip to a family reunion. I learned a lot during those four days of travel with her—about my mother, and about myself—but also about my heritage—my heritage through generations of believing mothers. My mother, Audrey Roos Gabriel, was raised as a preacher's kid and trained to be a nurse. Along with Dad, she raised four kids, helped us with homework, drove us to innumerable music lessons, and taught us to love hymns and Jesus. Her mother, my grandmother, Alice Hamilton Roos, was raised by a widowed mother and was a pastor's wife for 30 years. Widowed at 58, Grandma taught me about the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. “I was never afraid,” she would say. “The Lord has always been faithful to me.” Her mother, Melissa Gannaway Hamilton, was raised by a widowed father, married at 16, had ten children, taught Sunday School in the mountains of rural Tennessee, could recite whole chapters of Scripture and many whole Psalms by heart, and taught her children to love Jesus and depend on Him in hard times. Her mother, Tirzah Ferguson Gannaway, who, when her young husband was conscripted into the Confederate Army during the Civil War, gathered up their three young children and newborn daughter, packed a few belongings and the family Bible, and walked through the forests and foothills of central Tennessee to her parents' farm, seeking their protection. Tirzah didn't live to see her children grow to adulthood, but all the family knows the story of how her husband fell in love with her because of her faith in God and her passionate love of the Scripture. And there was HER mother: Eliza Craig Ferguson. Sadly, I know nothing more than her name and dates. No old photos, no family stories. But I think it's clear she raised her daughter, Tirzah, to love the Lord, and I can surmise that she, too, loved Jesus as her Savior.” He is My Inheritance And so there you are—at least five generations of mothers teaching their children about God’s love, praying with and for them, and praying for the generations to come. And I am the next in line. Bryan and I taught our kids about the grace of our Savior while they were growing up—prayed with them and for them—even as now they each pray for their children...

An Ancestry of FaithChristina Fox2023-08-15T13:37:39+00:00

The One Thing You Have to Get Right

HEATHER MOLENDYK|CONTRIBUTOR You can get a lot of things wrong in life. You can go to the wrong school. You can give the wrong gift. You can wear the wrong outfit to a business presentation. You can buy the wrong house. You can marry the wrong man. But there is one thing you absolutely cannot get wrong in life: who Jesus is and what his time on earth was all about. Who is Jesus? If you want to know who Jesus is, ask Him. He isn’t shy. “I and the Father are one,” Jesus declares in John 10:30. Jesus is God. Let that thought linger for a moment. Sit with it awhile. Jesus is God. Meditate on it. Ponder all the implications that statement carries with it. Jesus is God. Evaluate your reaction to his identity claim. Wrestle with any discomfort you may feel as the form Jesus has taken in your imagination morphs into the identity Jesus claims about Himself. Jesus is God. What was Jesus’ ministry all about? Jesus did many great things during His three-year ministry. He miraculously fed thousands of people, but those same people were hungry the next day. He healed numerous physical ailments and raised some people from the dead; however, those same people eventually died at the end of their time. If Jesus’ miracles didn’t “stick,” then what was the purpose of them? Why feed people tonight who will only need to eat again tomorrow morning? Why raise someone from the dead now when they will only die again at some future date? Again, let’s ask Jesus the “why” behind the miracles. He is transparent about them. “The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me,” Jesus explains in John 10:25. The miracles are proof that Jesus is God. Jesus is God who took on the flesh of mankind to do what exactly? If the miracles aren’t the mission, if the easing of suffering is not the mission, then why, Jesus, are you here? “I am here to suffer, to be humiliated, and die,” Jesus proclaims to His followers. “I won’t stay dead. I will rise from the dead on the third day” (Matt. 16:21, Mk. 8:31, Lk. 9:22, paraphrased). Jesus is God. Jesus entered the world as a man so that He could die. Having divine power allows Jesus to fight death and rise again...

The One Thing You Have to Get RightChristina Fox2023-08-15T13:40:41+00:00

Burning Bridges and the Story of Elisha

SHARON ROCKWELL|CONTRIBUTOR Early in my career, a wise mentor warned me to never burn my bridges. He had an example of how a colleague who had a run-in with a manager, left the company, only to discover in a few months that the manager had also taken a new job, and was now his boss! Ouch! The colleague had hoped for a new start, but instead found himself bringing old relationship problems with him. Never burn your bridges was standard industry mantra, so that you could always go back to someone for help or favors. This year my Bible study is reading 1 and 2 Kings. The story of Elijah calling Elisha to be a prophet intrigued me. Certainly, Elijah was directed by God to find Elisha plowing in his field. Elisha’s heart was touched by the Holy Spirit, and he was immediately ready to leave and follow Elijah. But before he left, he wished to say good-bye to his parents. He then prepared a feast by burning the yoke of his oxen for fuel to boil the meat. He shared the meat with the people who were plowing alongside him. What commitment! Elisha left his friends and family and destroyed his worldly possessions by burning them, to answer Elijah’s and God’s call. He would become a servant to Elijah. The idea that Elisha “burned his bridges” captured my attention. There was no turning back for Elisha...

Burning Bridges and the Story of ElishaChristina Fox2023-03-24T17:22:30+00:00

Light in the Shadowlands

JENNIFER HARRIS|GUEST In the high desert of sagebrush and wildflowers in south central Washington, one can trace the course of the sun from sunrise to sunset. From my living room window, I can see this journey as the sun performs its faithful task each morning sending anticipated rays of light over the eastern hills, breaking into darkness to declare a new day has begun. Through the course of the morning, making coffee, sending the dogs outside, lighting a candle, putting on Appalachian hymns, waking kids for school, and preparing breakfast, the view of the sun continues its ordained course over the Ahtanum Ridge to the south. Once the sun is high enough, I don’t pay much attention to its position as I hustle to and fro throughout the day. So high above little me is this hydrogen and helium star that bathes the landscape in unabashed light. As the sun dances across the ever-blue skies, shadows appear. This is where the artistry of God is on display. He paints a new canvas with contours and contrasts, a living work of art in constant motion from dawn til dusk. You don’t want to go too long throughout the day without taking a peak out the window to see what He’s come up with next on the hillside canvas. Every morning, night is transfigured with brilliance, and the shadows are reshaped by light. It is the same way in our lives; there are shadows of darkness, fear, and brokenness. But shadows inevitably prove there is a light shining somewhere. This is true in my own life...

Light in the ShadowlandsChristina Fox2023-03-24T17:23:00+00:00

Moms: Seize the Opportunities God Provides

HEATHER MILITO|GUEST As a homeschooling mother of three, it is hard for me to find much time for anything, including showers and moments of solitude. This season sometimes seems grueling and repetitive with the day-to-day tasks of child rearing, teaching, cleaning, and feeding. Where is there time in this madness to sit and reflect on the Lord’s goodness? An Unexpected Opportunity During the early stages of motherhood, I was overwhelmed by all my motherly duties. I did not know how to fit in my time with the Lord and find this so-called “peace” that He gives. As far as I could see, the peace that was given was tucked away at night when the kids were finally asleep and I, too, was drifting off with a closing-day prayer. I felt overwhelmed as I started the daily cycle again when my children woke up sometimes as early as 4:30! The steady rhythm of my children waking up early for a feeding, or a snuggle, trained my biological clock so that this time in the morning could instead be time with the Lord. At first, I was frustrated that my body would wake up at 4:30 and stay awake, but now I see it as an opportunity to find the quiet time my soul yearned for early in my mothering years. The time that I have in the morning before starting the day is precious. I sit with a cup of coffee in my hand and my Bible in my lap and enjoy time with my Heavenly Father. It has become an essential part of my day. As I grow in my knowledge of Christ, it urges me to want to know him all the more. My mind often drifts to Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” “And to walk humbly with your God.” What a high calling God has for each of His adopted children. As His children, we are called to yearn and seek after Him. I cannot know what goodness is, what justice is, what kindness is, and who God is unless I intentionally give my time, my activities, and my best to Him...

Moms: Seize the Opportunities God ProvidesChristina Fox2023-03-24T17:44:38+00:00