June and I recently led a discussion of The 2:7 Series, Book 2, Session 3, which contains an excellent article on “Relational Evangelism,” drawing largely from the work of Navigator Jim Peterson: Living Proof and The Insider, both excellent reads.

I was struck by four simple practices:

Initiate relationships

Jesus was clear:

You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? (Matthew 5.43 – 47, ESV)

Look for rapport. Find common ground.

Show acceptance and love

The lesson reminds us, “Jesus was the friend of publicans and sinners. We must accept people as they are. Be realistic about unbelievers and don’t expect too much. They are not Christians, and they will probably act accordingly. Don’t come across as a reformer.”

Responding to last week’s blog on Encouragement, my friend and blog-reader Laura wrote:

Preach it!! I hope to disciple a young gal who has three children by three different husbands. She no longer has custody of her oldest child. She ended up at our church because she was always put it on the spot at the other churches she visited. “Where is your husband?” And questions like that! She has stayed at our church because she heard truth, but it was always in the context of grace and forgiveness and acceptance!

Boldly identify with Christ early

We can be open about the fact that we are Christians without being aggressive. Maybe we share part of our story when the opportunity presents itself.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world… (Philippians 2.14 – 15, ESV)

Pray

It is a spiritual battle, after all, and no one comes to faith because of my superior evangelism techniques.

…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel… (Ephesians 6.18, 19, ESV)

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4.2 – 6, ESV)

These are things any of us can do:

1. Initiate relationships
2. Show love and acceptance
3. Boldly identify with Christ early
4. Pray

I write to myself. Tomorrow I’ll share a story of a pastor who for a time lost the “relational” part…and then recovered. Stay tuned.

Back to Job, we have an interesting exchange between Job and Zophar in chapters 20 and 21. Zophar’s view (with a big dose of Santa Claus Theology) is that the wicked always get what they deserve:

Do you not know this of old, Since man was placed on earth, That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment? Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens, And his head reaches to the clouds, Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse; Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ He will fly away like a dream, and not be found; Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night. (Job 20.4 – 8, NKJV)

We’d all like to think so, but sometimes the wicked hang around for a long time. Putin is still here, for example, living in luxury, murdering his political opponents, etc.

Job gets this: the wicked always get what they deserve? Um, no. They don’t. Sometimes the wicked do just fine:

Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power? Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull breeds without failure; Their cow calves without miscarriage. They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance. They sing to the tambourine and harp, And rejoice to the sound of the flute. They spend their days in wealth, And in a moment go down to the grave. (Job 21.7 – 13, NKJV)

Job’s observation is that death comes to all. And if the sins of the wicked are visited on their offspring, what does he care? Job’s conclusion?

How then can you comfort me with empty words, Since falsehood remains in your answers? (Job 21.34, NKJV)

Solomon observed the same thing:

There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity...I returned and saw under the sun that— The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all. (Ecclesiastes 8.14, 9.11, NKJV)

What Solomon calls “time and chance” we might attribute to the sovereignty of God and this principle:

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55.8, 9, NKJV)

This falls under the heading of too good not to share…

I’m working through The Ignatian Workout for Lent: 40 days of Prayer, Reflection, and Action by Tim Muldoon. I was struck by a paragraph from Exercise 15, “Let the Party Continue.”

The Exercise opens with our reading about the miracle at Cana of Galilee where Jesus turns water into wine. (See John 2.1 – 12.) Then an introduction:

In John’s Gospel, Jesus begins his public ministry with the miracle of changing water into wine. Why does he choose this action, rather than something more—well—Godlike? Why not raise someone from the dead or heal some people—or for that matter, cure cancer, eliminate poverty, and end war? Why do a miracle that simply allows a party to continue?

“Why do a miracle that simply allows a party to continue?” That’s a good question. I wouldn’t have!

Here’s the paragraph that grabbed me: how do we change the world?

There is something intensely paradoxical about this first miracle that should give us pause in our efforts to change the world. Jesus’ actions are always personal and always surprising. He was not a social-justice crusader. At no point did Jesus challenge the oppressive Roman government, organize the poor to demand their rights, or lead a boycott against the religious authorities.

He continues:

He simply wanted to reveal God’s glory and to show that he himself was the bearer of it. He was fabulously unconcerned with applying divine power to scare people. His actions were rather modest and even capricious, in this case, simply obeying his mom’s directions to help out an impecunious bridegroom.

He concludes:

This is not a man who appears to be on a massive public-relations campaign, announcing the presence of God in a carefully strategized sequence. He seems much more interested in random acts of compassion that get him into trouble.

“Random acts of compassion that get him into trouble.” For example, the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda and the healing of the man born blind.

So how do we change the world? Through Holy Moments, random acts of compassion, like Jesus did.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5.16, ESV)

Quick quiz: where in the Bible is the famous quote:

I know that my Redeemer liveth.

“I Know That My Redeemer Liveth” occurs toward the end of Handel’s Messiah, a well-known soprano solo, worth a listen.

So who said it in the Bible?

For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19.25 – 27, NKJV)

Did you know it was our friend Job? It’s at the end of a speech denouncing his friends. Here’s a sample:

Then Job answered and said: “How long will you torment my soul, And break me in pieces with words? These ten times you have reproached me; You are not ashamed that you have wronged me. (Job 19.1 – 3, NKJV)

He continues:

All my close friends abhor me, And those whom I love have turned against me. My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. “Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has struck me! Why do you persecute me as God does, And are not satisfied with my flesh? (Job 19.19 – 22, NKJV)

There’s another phrase you might not remember comes from Job: “…the skin of my teeth.”

Then there’s this remarkable wish, which has come true:

“Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead, forever! (Job 19.23, 24, NKJV)

We are reading his words today. Inscribed in a book…forever.

Then this startling statement of faith:

For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19.25 – 27, NKJV)

It’s a good word. Death comes for all of us. The body wears out, but the promise is, “I know that my Redeemer lives…in my flesh I shall see God.” Amen.

We observed from Mark chapter 1 that among the first things Jesus did was start to build a team – a group of men he would train and send out. Mark articulates the strategy in chapter 3:

And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. (Mark 3.13 – 15, ESV)

“With him…send out…to preach and have authority to cast out demons.”

I confess I don’t know much about the casting out demons part, but the Gospels are clear that there’s an enemy, and we ignore him at our peril.

This passage also contains the first listing in Mark of the “12 apostles:”

He appointed the twelve:

• Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);
• James the son of Zebedee and
• John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);
• Andrew, and
• Philip, and
• Bartholomew, and
• Matthew, and
• Thomas, and
• James the son of Alphaeus, and
• Thaddaeus, and
• Simon the Zealot, and
• Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. (Mark 3.16 – 19, ESV, bulleted so we can count them!)

Jesus considered training and sending a vital part of his ministry. The Apostle Paul did, too, instructing Timothy:

What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2.2, ESV)

Paul -> Timothy -> Faithful Men -> Others

It’s the heart of our ministry as well, and it’s why we’re teaching a discipleship class to one person. As someone said:

You can count the number of seeds in an apple; you cannot count the number of apples in a seed.

As we follow Jesus this Lenten Season on the way to the cross, we remember one of his primary objectives:

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3.8, ESV)

I wrote about the devil, our enemy, on Thursday. One regularly recurring event in the Gospel of Mark is Jesus casting out demons. My friend and Navigator colleague Bob Adame, with his wife, Claudia, are in the thick of the battle in Albuquerque. He writes:

Pray for us as we continue to minister in the apartments where drugs, gangs, violence, death rule.  We are praying that the Lord turn this apartment complex from darkness to the Gospel light.  We are in a battle with the evil one that is destroying the lives of young people and children. 

“A battle with the evil one…destroying the lives of young people…” Then he shares some successes:

Casandra, who was also part of our pre-teen and teen Bible Kids Club ended up living with a drug addicted man that ruined her life.  She eventually ended up in prison but recently she has been transformed by the blood of the Lamb, and she is being discipled by Claudia and her ex also wants to be discipled by Bob.  Casandra is out of prison and working and she desires to minister to women who have experiences a similar lifestyle as she has experience. 

Ruby who was 12 yrs old when she became part of Kids Bible Club has led her parents and also led her nieces and nephews to Christ.  When we met Ruby, she was a rebellious teenager and hanging out with bad company.  Her father was an alcoholic and was a bad influence on Ruby. but praise God she came to the Lord. 

Nick was 12 yrs old when we met him.  At 12 yrs old he was banned from any public school for fighting and his drug-addicted mother was supposed to home school him, but it never happened.  Claudia tutored him and brought him up 2 grade levels, and we enrolled him in a Christian school since no public school would accept him, and he did graduate from high school, and while he was in High school, he became Co leader of the basketball team. We led Nick to Christ as soon as we met him and begin to minister him through Kids Bible Club.  Now he is married to a Christian girl and doing well.  Also, he gets up at 5 in the morning to pray and read his Bible.  Praise God. 

The enemy is alive and well, but my friend Bob is working hand-in-hand with Jesus to destroy the works of the devil. Picture of Bob (sorry about the closed eyes!) at the National Navigator Staff Gathering, November 2023. He and Claudia would appreciate your prayer.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10.10, ESV)

Yesterday, I wrote about a challenge to be encouraging from Job 16:

I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you! Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing? I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you. But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief. (Job 16.2 – 5, NKJV)

I tried to implement this principle when having lunch with a friend who is perpetually discouraged. And rightly so. He’s between jobs. He’s suffering from a disease that’s said to be incurable. He tries hard to follow God and hear from God, often without success (in his mind).

Within a few days after our visit, three different sources, including one from our current readings in Job, seemed to speak to his issue. So I sent him a note. Maybe you will find something encouraging in there, too.

–Beginning of email to my friend–

Thanks for having lunch with me. It’s tough when both of us are going through challenges!

After seeing you I ran across three quotes from different sources. I pass them on without comment:

This came from Ryan Danker of the John Wesley Institute:

I was watching reels on my phone yesterday and came across a clip of Rick Warren speaking at the commencement ceremonies of Oral Roberts University in 2024. His words struck me:

I can’t tell you how many times in my life people have come up to me and said something like, “You know, Rick, my problem is I just don’t love God enough.” And I say, “that is not your problem. That’s not your problem. Your problem is you don’t understand how much he loves you. Because if you understood how much God loves you, you can’t help but love him.”

When you understand and you feel—now you’ve heard God loves you all your life — but when you finally feel loved by God, unconditionally loved by God, it changes you. God loves you on your good days as much as he loves you on your bad days. God loves you when you feel it; God loves you when you don’t feel it. God loves you when you do the right thing; God loves you when you don’t do the right thing, because his love is not based on who you are it’s based on who he is.

It’s not based on what you do. It’s based on what Christ did for you on the cross, with arms outstretched, and nail pierced hands, and blood flowing down. Jesus is saying to the people, “I love you this much; I love you so much it hurts. I’d rather die than live without you.” That’s how much Christ loves you.

You can’t make God stop loving you. You can try. But you will fail. Because [his] love is not based on any condition, it’s based on God’s character. When you get that it will set you free. – Ryan Danker, quoting Rick Warren

Job certainly didn’t have this information when he wrote:

He has torn me in his wrath and hated me; he has gnashed his teeth at me; my adversary sharpens his eyes against me…God gives me up to the ungodly and casts me into the hands of the wicked. I was at ease, and he broke me apart; he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces; he set me up as his target; his archers surround me. He slashes open my kidneys and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground. He breaks me with breach upon breach; he runs upon me like a warrior. (Job 16.9, 11 – 14, NKJV)

And one last one:

Perhaps the most basic act of faith, after believing that God exists, is believing that God is good when evidence seems to point to the contrary. From The Ignatian Workout for Lent: 40 Days of Prayer, Reflection, and Action by Tim Muldoon

Hang in there,

Bob

–End of email to my friend–

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10.24, 25, NIV)

Decades ago, I was asked to teach one Sunday at a singles’ Sunday School class at a large church. The regular teacher gave me this counsel: “Bob, they’re singles, most of them divorced, they’ve had a lot of pain in their lives. You don’t need to pile on.” Then he quoted Job:

I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you! Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing? I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you. But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief. (Job 16.2 – 5, NKJV)

“My mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.” It was a good word then…and now. I tried to keep it in mind when talking with a friend the other day. Stay tuned.

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (Hebrews 3.13, NIV)

We noticed yesterday one of Mark’s obvious theme: “immediately.” There’s another theme that we may tend to gloss over. See what you think:

• And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” (Mark 1.25, ESV)
• And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. (Mark 1.34, ESV)
• And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. (Mark 1.39, ESV)

He “cast out many demons.” Satan is alive and well and is our enemy:

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6.11, 12, ESV)

The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3.14, 15, ESV)

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 12.17, ESV)

Maybe we ignore him at our peril. After all, who is the antagonist in the story of Job that we are reading?

And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. (Job 1.12, ESV)

When things are going badly, resisting Satan and his demons might not be a bad idea.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4.7, ESV)

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. (1 Peter 5.8, 9, ESV)

One fun aspect of the Gospel of Mark is his use of the word “immediately.” Did you see them in the last two posts?

• The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. (Mark 1.13, ESV)
• And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. (Mark 1.17, 18, ESV)
• And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them… (Mark 1.19, 20, ESV)

The theme continues:

• And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. (Mark 1.21, ESV)
• And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. (Mark 1.29, ESV)

There are 35 “immediately” in 16 chapters of Mark compared with 14 in 28 chapters of Matthew. Mark is clearly an action-oriented story, confirming what people who know about this sort of thing believe, that Mark got his material from Peter, an action-oriented guy.

And there’s nothing wrong with action! Life is filled with situations where immediate, decisive action is required. Firefighting comes to mind.

There are, however, other times when immediate action is inadvisable. The story of the Gibeonite deception is an example (see Joshua 9):

So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD. (Joshua 9.14, ESV)

And right here in the middle of all this “immediate” action in Mark, we have this:

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1.35, ESV)

Unlike Joshua, Jesus did “ask counsel from the LORD.”

May we do the same: appropriate, immediate action AND taking time to pray.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. (Ephesians 6.10…18, ESV)