10. Personal Evangelism Meditations

Your Prayer

Burning Candle Sit in a darkened room for the personal evangelism meditation and light a single candle at the center as a symbol of the light of Christ shining in the darkness. Concentrate your prayer and relax. Read each verse of the following poem by Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879) in the quietness. Frances was a gifted poet and hymn writer from an Anglican family in Worcestershire and also wrote the beautiful hymn, "Take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord to Thee."
Meditate on the following words to absorb their meaning and hear the Lord speak to your heart.✞

"Lord, speak to me that I may speak,
in living echoes of your tone,
as you have sought, so let me seek,
your erring children lost and lone.✞

O lead me, Lord, that I may lead,
the wandering and the wavering feet,
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed,
your hungering ones with manna sweet.✞

O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
the precious things you do impart,
and wing my words, that they may reach,
the hidden depths of many a heart.✞

O fill me with your fullness, Lord,
until my very heart overflow,
in kindling thought and glowing word,
your love to tell your praise to show.✞

O use me, Lord, use even me,
just as you will, and when, and where,
until your blessed face, I see,
your rest, your joy, your glory share."✞

Holy Spirit Changes

Dove and Fire The Holy Spirit's changes profoundly affect our Christian lives when he fills us with his power. In the Acts of the Apostles, the crowd thought that the disciples were drunk at nine o'clock in the morning, but it was the Holy Spirit working and enthusing them. They looked weak, but they were strong. Acts 2.15 explains, "These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning!" They appear to be hopelessly drunk but exude confidence. Being drunk was a great disgrace in Jesus' day. Acts 2.26 explains what happens when the Holy Spirit fills a person, "Therefore, my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope." Stephen P.R. Rose (1938-2019) was an English neuroscientist who wrote in 1974 in "Cognition," "Do not adjust your minds; there is a fault in reality." This phrase fits perfectly for the disciples filled with the Holy Spirit in the Early Church. The Holy Spirit changes a person when the Savior comes into his or her life, which is remarkable. Acts 2.21 informs us, "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." In Acts 2.38, Peter insists, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'

Crude Oil Change

Refinery By applying fire and pressure, a black sludge called "crude oil" gives up many valuable chemicals. The petrochemical industry produces essential ingredients for plastics, tires, pharmaceuticals, furniture parts, gasoline, propane, paints, and other things. In the same way, the Holy Spirit takes our human bodies and refines them with his gifts. He takes what we have and uses them for his glory!✞

Buckingham Palace

Patrick Hart wrote of an experience he had as a child related to King George the Fifth (1865-1936), the King of England. "When I was five years old, in the 1930s, my father, mother, and I would go for a walk on Sunday afternoon past Buckingham Palace Gates. As we passed one day, I heard my parents say that King George was ill. Some people came out of the palace gates, and I gave them my teddy bear, which had seen better days. One eye and a leg were missing, and sawdust was leaking out of him, but to me, he was the cure for all troubles. I told the people that this was a gift for King George and to tell him that if he put it in his bed, he would soon be alright." "Some weeks later, I received my teddy bear back by post. With it was another parcel containing a toy submarine, a drum, and drum sticks. Attached to the drum was a card reading: 'For services rendered to His Majesty King George V.'" When you give God what you have, he gives you back the more excellent gift, his Holy Spirit, for services rendered to the King of all Kings.✞

King George's Gift

King George's gift is presented to a sick king by a little boy outside Buckingham Palace. It illustrates how the Holy Spirit gives us precious gifts also. Our Heavenly Father completes the work of redemption by sending the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2.38b, we read, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." In Acts 2.33, we read, Jesus is "Exalted to the right hand of God; he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear."✞

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