doing the loving in the all the right places

"all the jews and greeks who lived in the province of asia heard the word of the Lord" (acts 19:10).

in today's reading, mr stott makes an interesting observation when he states that religious people are best evangelized in religious buildings, but secular people are best evangelized in secular buildings.

i guess there's something to be said about sharing the gospel with unbelievers but not necessarily in a church setting, where "religious" culture and language may be unfamiliar and intimidating and off-putting.

we need to be culturally "sensitive" even when we relate to people who are of the same culture as we are.

we can all learn from the apostle paul who was the master evangelist. he was wise enough not to feel that persuading non-religious people into the synagogue just to hold dialogue with them was the most important thing.

instead he met them where they were most comfortable. by argument, by persuasion, by irrefutable evidence, and surely by the example of his own life, he proclaimed the message of salvation.

he is the example and pattern for our own evangelism. it is inspiring to think that by this strategy, "all the jews and greeks who lived in the province of asia heard the word of the Lord" (acts 19:10).