intentional relationships

The last post I asked you to pray for me and my (great) weakness in sharing the Gospel in this foreign land. I ask that you continue to pray for us (our family and our team and Thai Christians) as we all are seeking the same desire. Since last writing, I have not had opportunity to share the hope that I have in Christ with the lady I am regularly seeing at the park BUT I have had opportunity share with another Thai friend via email. (I actually wrote it in Thai with help from my Thai tutor!). Without going into much detail here on the blog, I was able to share my hope in Christ if only briefly. I had to take some things out of my original writing because I spoke a little too pointedly. That may sound bad but in Thailand when building relationships with Thais, one must take great care in knowing when to press on into sharing about Christ. I am very thankful for my tutor's experience and wisdom in this area. She has been a Christian a long time and is a pastor's wife. She told me of one experience she had when she was younger. She said this one lady befriended her (the lady lived in the south of Thailand). They became very close friends and this lady really liked my tutor. My tutor eagerly shared the gospel with this lady and the lady never contacted her again. My tutor said, "We have to be careful to know WHEN to share." So, with much prayer, I sent the email today. Please pray with me that this person's heart would be changed.
Also, the friend I am getting to know at the park continues to be SO kind and gracious towards me and the boys. She and her son are coming over next week for a meal with us. Pray that God would work in her heart as well. I really enjoy her and her friendship means so much to me. Many times, I feel like I am always the one talking, trying to pull conversation out of the Thai friends that I have but with this lady, it's not like that at all. She talks with me, asks me questions and is SO patient with me as I murder her language! I thank God for her.

This brings me to the title of my post...intentional relationships. I go to the park not merely because it is something to do outside and is entertaining to my boys but I go to the park because I can meet Thais there. A few weeks ago the women on our team and I were talking about this idea of going somewhere to hang out JUST for the SOLE purpose to meet someone and Lord willing, SHARE the Gospel with that person, after a relationship has deepened to that point. One of the women said something along the lines of..."we really don't do this in the States." We have our scheduled activities and we pray that God would use those regular activities for us to reach out to those who are also invovled in those regular activities. Since that conversation, I've been thinking about that...and it's true, at least for me. When in the States I don't really go out of my way to meet someone new for the sole purpose of introducing them to Christ. I hope that when we do return to the States I will always be looking and searching for those outside of the Fold of Christ and seek to bring them in. I've been rereading a book I read back in 1998 entitled The Master Plan of Evangelism (by Robert Coleman). I was challenged by another thought that sorta ties in with this one of intentional relationships. Christ didn't waste a minute, every step He made had purpose and every thing He did had purpose. Coleman writes,

"His life was ordered by His objective. Everything He did and said was part of the whole pattern. It had significance because it contributed to the ultimate purpose of His life in redeeming the world for God. This was the motivating vision governing His behavior. His steps were ordered by it. Mark it well. Not for one moment did Jesus lose sight of His goal." (p.24)

I don't often live that way. I don't often think with one goal in mind. These thoughts have given much more fervency in my prayer life for the lost, they have given me more boldness as I interact with Thais and Americans alike, and they have given me confidence that Christ IS building His Kingdom and I just need to be faithful to proclaiming and He will do the rest. It's not just these thoughts, though, it's Christ. His Spirit is teaching me these things and I am so thankful for the boldness that He is increasing in my life. I encourage you to pray about this too. Are there places you could go to be a light for Christ? To make intentional relationships? Or maybe there is already a place you go everyday or often (ie, work) that you haven't been seeking out the lost...trying to get to know them and share with the hope you have? Or do you lose sight of the goal? Do you lose sight that Christ is building His Kingdom and He WILL be victorious. Or maybe you are reading this and don't know Christ, what then? Do you want to know Him? Do you know how to know Him?

Well, thanks for listening to my rambling. I hope it brought some encouragement to your spirit. What a wonderful God we serve.