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Spreading the fragrance of God's grace everywhere

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October 12, 2012 by Karen Wingate 4 Comments

Bold Grace In Outreach

The Sunday School Class I attend recently finished the book, Eats With Sinners by Arron Chambers. Throughout cultural history, the willingness to eat with someone demonstrates an acceptance of that person.  So the question, week after week, was this: As you attempt outreach for the sake of the gospel, who are you willing to eat with?  We all felt challenged by Jesus’ example to reach out to those who don’t fit in our inner circles.

I’ve tried to make a difference in my world.  I’ve tried to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Jesus everywhere. I smile at store clerks, wave at children and donate homemade bread to our local Christian school bake sale. But it doesn’t seem to have any impact. I don’t see results.

So lately, through this study, I have felt the challenge to be more bold, to up the ante, to move out of the mundane and step out of my personal status quo. I asked God to show me ways I can be more daring in reaching out to others. I’m intrigued with how the Spirit nudged me.

Outreach To Restaurant Servers

tips for restaurant workers
“Lord, bless our server.”

On a trip to see our daughters, my husband and I ate supper at a Ponderosa Steakhouse.  At the beginning of our meal, we prayed as we always do in restaurants.  This time,I found myself thanking God for our waitress and asking Him to bless her evening. At the end of our meal, I wrote her a note, thanking her for her service and telling her that we had prayed for her, thanked God for her and were praying that she would have a blessed evening.  Then I lay a decent tip on top of the note.

Outreach to City Workers

OAnother day, as I was walking home, I noticed the city crew installing new sidewalks along our cross-street. As a non-driver resigned to walking everywhere, I really appreciate sidewalks.  I especially like new sidewalks.  No more tripping over cracks.

sidewalk repair
I’m so thankful for this new sidewalk!

I got a crazy idea. It was scary. What if they reject me?  What if they talk in the bar about that crazy woman who . . . ?I asked the Lord for guidance. His answer impressed upon my brain: doing a kind deed is always the right thing to do.  So I went home and made chocolate chip cookies for the crew.

We left before the waitress discovered her note.  And the crew’s initial response was “thank City Council and tell them to appropriate more money.” But a worker saw me the next day and thanked me for the cookies. As they continue to work on the sidewalk, the guys greet me.

My next nudge? We have two “street children” who have been coming to our church’s Wednesday night meal. They sit by themselves. Next Wednesday, I’m taking a deck of Uno cards and teach them how to play Uno.

If we’re going to spread the fragrance of Jesus everywhere, we need to make sure the scent is strong enough for the world to notice.

Filed Under: Grace on Parade Tagged With: outreach

October 9, 2012 by Karen Wingate Leave a Comment

How To Display Grace at Christmas

It’s that of year.  Already, tucked in second line formation behind the Halloween decorations, stand the Christmas trappings at your local discount store, ready to herald in the holiday shopping season.

That means several things. Crowded stores. Long lines. Empty shelves. Overflowing parking lots. Crying babies and frustrated mommies.

Christmas shoppers
It’s the most busy time of year.

I’m tempted to boycott department stores during November and December.  I’m tempted to do Christmas shopping online within the comfort and quiet of my own home.  But if my goal in life is to display God’s grace, how will I choose to cope with the Christmas season frenzy?

Another Option

My friend, Marilyn, modeled an option for me.  Marilyn lives in a city where gambling runs rampant.  Marilyn could lead a crusade against the evils of gambling.  She could avoid that section of town.  Instead, Marilyn started a ministry to casino workers.  She hasn’t seen marked results.  But little by little, she is building relationships.

I decided to take that same tact about Christmas shopping.  I decided to make Walmart clerks my focus of ministry.  No, I don’t vigilantly say Merry Christmas. They expect that from what they see as fundamentalist Christians.  My goal is to display God’s grace, not whack them over the head with truth about which they should be celebrating. So I look them in the eye, smile and ask, “How are you?” I engage them in conversation, asking when they get off from their shift, asking how busy have they been, and wishing them a restful evening.  If the moment presents itself, I tell them with all the enthusiasm my tired body can muster that Christmas is the best holiday of all.

Because it is.

Do I see results? Not at all.  The most reward I get is a tired smile, I suppose, because somebody took time to care about them. As I leave, I pray for them and ask God to nurture the seed of grace I’ve placed on the soil of their heart. My goal is to leave the scent of God’s presence, a scent sweeter than holly and cinnamon, a scent that says, “Grace walked through this aisle.” The rest is up to the Lord, the originator of this holiday we call Christmas.

What group of people can you show God’s grace to this Christmas?

Filed Under: Grace on Parade Tagged With: Christmas shopping, evangelism

October 5, 2012 by Karen Wingate 1 Comment

Heaven’s Scent

As I walked past the home of a family whose children recently started to attend our midweek children’s program, the door burst open and a child hurried down the steps. She ran down the sidewalk and flung her arms around me.

We chatted for a few minutes about her, about school, about my dog. All the time, she had a wide smile on her face.Children needing our love

I was amazed.  I’ve had children whom I’ve taught in Sunday School eagerly greet me before.  There was one toddler who screamed to an entire grocery store, “That’s my teacher! Hi teacher!” However, I don’t do anything at our children’s program.  I float and fill in wherever I am needed.  I often just greet the children. I’m there to be a support and to show personal interest in them. I can’t remember that I had said any more than “hi” to my new friend.

It didn’t matter.  To her, I represented the church, a place where she had found love and acceptance, a friendly place, a place where she was meeting a Friend who could be her friend for a lifetime.

2 Corinthians 2:14 says that through us, God spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Jesus everywhere.  Perhaps she caught a whiff of the fragrance of Jesus when she came to our children’s program? Perhaps, as I passed by her house, she caught that wonderful scent once again and craved more?

I surely hope so!

Filed Under: Grace on Parade Tagged With: children, outreach to children

October 2, 2012 by Karen Wingate Leave a Comment

Let Me Tell You Some Good News

I love talking with my Aunt Katherine.  She has a passion for missions and evangelism. She lives her Christian life out there on the edge. She’s blunt.  You know where you stand with her.  She’s authentic.

She is also a woman full of God’s wisdom.  I don’t remember what we were talking about one particular day but she made the comment, “Whenever I interact with someone, I need to make it my intentional goal that when I leave that person, they will know unmistakedably that they are loved by Jesus.”

That’s quite a tall order.  And yet, I think she is right.  This past weekend, I taught my “Yes You Can!” teaching ministry seminar where I repeated many times, “Every moment is a teachable moment” and “Make every opportunity to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord.”  I made the point that we have so little time with the children we teach; we dare not waste a single moment on trivial and unfocused material.

Chocoate Factory
“So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that.”

That’s true in our personal lives as well. We have so little time – we need to make each moment count.  It’s not necessarily what we say, but what we do and who we are.  One of the most compelling ways we can communicate God’s love is by modeling His grace to others – by going the extra mile in showing people they are importnat to us, by reacting with compassion and kindess, and by overlooking weaknesses and faults instead of pointing them out.It’s like Paul said in his farewell address to the elders at Ephasus in Acts 20:24:. “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me —the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”  Gospel means good news.  Grace – the concept that Someone wants to lavish generous love on us even though we don’t deserve it – is definitely good news!

I’m with Paul.  My focus in life is to share the evidence of God’s grace with those around me  so that, as Aunt Katherine says, there is no doubt in their minds when I leave that Jesus loves them.

As the paraphrase from The Message says, how will you let everyone know about the extravagant generosity of God today?

 

Filed Under: Grace on Parade Tagged With: good news, grace

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"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him."
- 2 Corinthians 2:14

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