THIS I can understand!

The Lamb - Chinese Edition

(Editor’s note: We get emails every week from people all around the world. We received the following from Cynthia*, which we want to share with you because it reflects our desire to see people have access to the gospel message in a language that they can understand.)

Dear GoodSeed,

Christmas Day my husband and I had two Chinese couples to our home to dinner. Yinghan* and Mingxia* are our neighbors. Victor* and Liza* have been attending our church. Both of the husbands are engineers. Neither couple had EVER celebrated Christmas on Christmas Day in an American home.

After dinner we gave each couple the Mandarin version of The Lamb.

It will delight you to know when Yinghan and his wife, Mingxia, opened The Lamb, Yinghan commented, “I have trouble understanding the Bible, but THIS I can understand!” He seemed sincere, not insulted by its simplicity (i.e., he never asked, “Why are you giving me a children’s book?”). They were both moved by the incredible beauty of the illustrations as well.

The other couple, Victor and Liza, are here from China for a short period. They too LOVE the book. Victor saw the English version displayed in our home and he and Liza are overjoyed to have their own copy in Mandarin to read [for] themselves and to read to their young son. We also gave a copy to Liza to take to her parents who are visiting them from China.

Thank you SO MUCH for your fine work and low prices! You produce such classy products. Keep up the wonderful work. Your company is a huge blessing to me and many others I’m sure!

May the LORD bless your ministry!

Sincerely in Christ,

Cynthia

P.S. We received a follow up email from Cynthia. She informed us that Victor is now attending a weekly discipleship group at her church and Mingxia is going to attend a women’s Bible study that starts at the end of January. Praise the Lord for his work in their lives.

 

(*Name changed as per GoodSeed policy.)

 

 

TERM Seminars in Canada, UK and Ireland

TERM Seminar

When it comes to sharing the gospel, many of us are unsure of what to say or whether we should even try at all. Some of us quote John 3:16 or pass out gospel tracts. We appeal to the fact that God has a wonderful plan for a person’s life. But in recent years our efforts have often been met with blank stares or harsh criticism. As to those who do confess Christ, it seems many fall by the wayside or show no fruit of understanding in their lives. Some believers secretly wonder about the power of the gospel and whether it even works.

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Who shares Bible verses at a soccer match?!

Soccer match
(Editor’s note: Over Christmas, we received a very encouraging testimony that reminded us of three things: 1) the power of God to transform lives, 2) the effectiveness of the prayers of friends and family, and 3) the fruit resulting from a lifelong lifestyle of sharing the gospel.)

During a Christmas Eve service last year, Stephen* shared how he had been turned off by Christianity when he was 17. While watching a soccer match at a stadium, someone invited him to read aloud some Bible verses. That immediately put him off anything to do with Christianity.

Over the years, whatever Stephen learned about the Bible was gleaned from TV documentaries. It didn’t make sense to him. Then, Mabel*, a friend of his wife, invited both of them to attend a “By This Name” course. Stephen wasn’t interested but his wife insisted on him accompanying her. Unknown to him at the time, Mabel and his wife had been praying very hard for Stephen to attend the course.

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Theology, Mystery and an Old Riddle

puzzle and book

Theology—the way it could have been

If I am honest, I sometimes wish that the Bible had been written more like a textbook of systematic theology. I wish that the Apostle John would have included an inspired chart along with his letter to the seven churches. It would have been helpful if Ezekiel had spelled out exactly what he meant by his visions. And, like the disciples, I would have preferred if Jesus had not spoken in so many parables.

It’s a mystery and that’s okay

But God, in his great wisdom chose not to. Maybe if all we had was a theology textbook then we would all be very pious people … dead in our orthodoxy. Those things in the Bible that are not clearly laid out for us cause us to seek Him, and in doing so, to grow in His grace.

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How do I use visual aids to teach the Tabernacle to children?

Tabernacle Sunday school class

The tabernacle of Moses can be a difficult subject to teach, especially to children. How do you explain the meaning of this seemingly obsolete structure, its strange furnishings, and all the complicated priestly rituals related to it?

Pam*, a children’s ministry director at a California church, found that with the help of the free Sunday school lessons and painting guide downloaded from GoodSeed, her first-to-fifth-grade Midweek Group was soon absorbed in the great visual aid God gave the Israelites that points to Christ.

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How can I know that things are right between me and God? How can I know that when I die I will live forever in a place that is secure and happy?

clouds

Before we can answer that question, we need to recognize some things about God and ourselves.

1. First of all we need to understand that the Lord God is a holy God. He exists in all His majesty, being the Creator-Owner of the Universe. He is a loving, caring God, but equally He is also a holy lawgiver. His holiness demands that His law be kept perfectly. He can have nothing to do with any lawbreaker. It is right to say that only perfect people can live with a perfect God.

“. . . without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)

On the other hand, we are helpless sinners. We were born into the world lawbreakers, alienated from God. We are far from perfect; we are sinners. God’s law says that all sin demands a “death” penalty.

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Divine North!

compass Spiritual stories are a hot commodity. This was evident in the leaflet thrust into my hand by an eager panhandler in downtown Edinburgh. “Storyteller Angela Knowles is on a journey into the rich and diverse world of stories in faiths and spiritualities. Would you like to share that exploration?” The pamphlet was a reminder that postmodern values are alive and well, a way of thinking that assigns equal value to stories of all faiths. We label such “stories” as worldviews. Worldviews are innumerable—Atheism, Animism, Monotheism, Pantheism, Polytheism, Empiricism, to name only a few. A religion is a worldview. No doubt the Scottish storytelling emporium would have resembled the first-century philosophers in Athens who,

“…spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.” (Acts 17:21)

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What is the point of the Bible?

what is the point
“I’ve read and read… but what’s the point?!”

My friend Joel* was confused and his frustration boiled over as we talked. A college student with a girlfriend and a new baby at home, Joel sincerely wanted to make better decisions for his young family. In his desperation he told me that he had begun to read the Bible for the first time in his life. And read he did!

Using a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year approach, he bounced between much of the Old Testament and most of the gospels in only a few months’ time. But his motivation was fading–fast!

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New Year’s resolution: make the Gospel clear

2014 New Year Resolution

(Editor’s note: With the start of the New Year, it’s a great time to prayerfully renew our resolution to “make the best use of the time” we have with those who do not yet understand or believe the Gospel. (Colossians 4:5). Here’s a story of a couple whose resolution spanned many years as they reached out to their young friend, Naomi.)

We first met Naomi,* then a troubled 13-year-old, in 1986 at a summer camp. It took a long time to win her trust, and in the coming years we maintained nearly constant contact with her. We poured into her life all we knew, and she constantly bombarded us with questions and unique insights.

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What problems come about from assuming too much when we share the message of the Bible?

Horse bolting

“I gotta get going!”

Anthony* tossed the phrase into the discussion with a shrug and a backwards step. Then he bolted out of sight around the corner without so much as a wave.

He did not return.

A familiar sense of frustration crept in as I watched Anthony disappear… I recalled my teenage years when riding horses in some very rugged terrain. Once while cantering along a mountain trail, my horse suddenly froze, then bolted off course leaving me in a dazed, bruised heap on the ground. I lifted my head just in time to catch a glimpse of the steed galloping over a distant hill, its saddle empty and the stirrups flapping. I had assumed the trail was clear of obstacles, but apparently my mount thought otherwise.

A similar scenario happened with Anthony.

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