Email Evangelism

I wanted to share a series of emails from a student over in the UK who came across my blog and had questions about my faith. At first, my replies were just direct answers to exactly what she had asked, because I was trying to feel if she was wanting to find fault with my faith or if she truly was interested and seeking. Well, I definitely found she was not trying to find fault. She seems to be interested in "religion" in general, but has her mind already closed to ever personally believing in a god. This is the second time this week I've had people emailing me, asking about my faith through my blog. I think it's awesome. Now this girl is on my heart, and I pray that God will take the blinders off of her eyes, and show her that He is real and she can know Him. Please pray with me.
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Original comment:

a very interesting and enlightening poem, i wasnt so aware that people who were religious questioned themselves and their faith so often, not being religious myself, but fascinated by it as well as poetry I enjoyed reading your work. would be good to talk. {email address}

Hi, thanks for the read and the comment. I wanted to explain that, yes I am a Christian and yes, I do question myself a lot. But not questioning in the sense of, "I hope I'm good enough to get to heaven." NO! Being good will never get anyone to heaven. Jesus Christ paid my way there, and I have no doubts in my mind about that. I question myself in the sense of "Wow, look at all the Lord has gone through for me. He suffered and died so that I could live. Am I really doing my best for Him? Am I living in such a way that shows I'm appreciative for His free gift of eternal life in heaven?" That's the questioning we do.

I'm glad you enjoyed the poem though.

So tell me about yourself. your profile doesn't say much of anything.

Kristi

hi,

thanks for responding (and so quickly!)

im a student beginning university in the uk studying direction and
production in media. ive always been very interested in different
religions, without being religious myself as i mentioned previously. i love going to the theatre and any live events (sports to music) and also heavily in to photography especially black and whites - i take a lot of pictures in and around churches...and when i lived in the middle east some of mosques. I also love taking pictures of people, again this was particularly fascinating in oman (middle east country in which I lived) because of the difference in culture and dress.

if you dont mind me asking, in what way do you think you could be more appreciative of him?

cheers,

{name}

Hello. thanks for sharing all that about yourself... very interesting.

I think I could be more appreciate just by remembering Him more in my everyday life. Taking time to read what He wrote to us in the Bible, stopping to talk to Him in prayer, thanking Him for little blessings that come my way, and just living my life in a way that would please Him--again... all because I WANT to, not because I HAVE to. The right perspective is key.

Kristi

hello,

let me start by saying how much i appreciate you responding, without hesitation, to my questions. its such a shame more people cant be like this, well in my experience anyway.

i think its fantastic that you have a faith like you do. at first i wished I had something similar, such a devotion, then i realised, like you that it is the perspective which is important, i believe in many moral principles which correspond with christianity, without believing in 'a god', so to speak. I was brought up with an understanding of, but never with an inclusion of god, or jesus, i am therefore very aware but also very (i want to say cynical but that seems to harsh) of the notion.

i would be very interested to hear how you discovered your faith, of coarse only if you feel comfortable discussing this.

anything you have to say is much appreciated,

thanks again,
{name}

{name},
I do appreciate your questions. Don't feel bad to ask anything!

I was raised in a Christian home and in a church that taught the Bible very clearly. So, I've heard these things all my life. I personally came to understand that Christ had died in my place and paid my way to heaven when I was 7 years old. I've never doubted since that time that I was on my way to heaven.

However, I have been far from perfect. I had my time of wandering away, and questioning my faith. Did I REALLY believe all this stuff? Is this just something my parents taught me so that I would turn out to be a decent person? Is God really
real and do I really know Him? The more I questioned and doubted (and honestly, I can say now I only wanted to try to get rid of God so I could feel better about living a sinful life), the more God showed me definitely that He is real, and I am His child, and He wants a personal relationship with me.

See, Jesus died on the cross to provide our way to heaven, but that's only the beginning of the story. When we accept His sacrifice as payment for our sins and our way to heaven, the Bible teaches that we become a child of God. God comes to live inside us (in the form of the Holy Spirit) and we begin to get to know God in a personal way. We talk to Him in prayer, and He talks to us through the Bible. It's a
friendship.

Of course we will still mess up and sin until we get our perfect bodies in heaven, but God gives us forgiveness, grace, and mercy every day to keep living in a way that is pleasing to Him. He really is a good and wonderful God. I wish everyone would be seeking to get to know Him.

It's really hard sometimes to believe in something or Someone that we cannot see.... or at least we tell ourselves it is. But take for example your brain. Have you ever seen it? No. Yet, you believe it is inside your head. Why? Because you see evidence of it. You can hear, see, smell, function, move.... you're alive! That's how it is with God. We cannot see Him, but we see evidence of Him every day. Look at all the design, purpose, order, and planning in the universe, in the plants and animals, in our human bodies--that's evidence of a Designer, a Creator. One who knows all and can do all--none other than God himself.

I hope you will consider this further and keep asking questions. Sometimes going through hurts and things we don't understand can push us away from believing in God. But we have to understand that God doesn't cause the hurts. God's ways are much higher than our ways, and He has a bigger plan that we cannot see in allowing some of the atrocities of the world to go on.

prayers,
Kristi

Kristi,

ok i wont feel bad any more! its just i understand how personal this sort of thing can be for some people and just wanted you to know your honesty was appreciated.

what you said was very interesting. it's great that you strayed away from your faith and then came back to it, was there any deciding factor which made you do this or was it a feeling?

I know now that i will never believe in a god, as you do. when i was about 14 or 15 i had a very good friend who was very religious and went to lots of christian youth groups, she took me along a few times, as i was as interested then as i am now. i found it very difficult to be a part of something that i didnt personally believe in, even when i was surrounded by so many people of a similar age, i realised then that i would never believe in a god, as you do. however the experience was invaluable because it taught me about the many different kinds of belief and ways of looking at the bible. it could be fun! haha, but i didn't think it was right for me to be there participating if i was doubtful...it felt deceitful...but anyway, ive been meaning to ask if god, as you see Him takes on any sort of form, physical or otherwise. this is something of particular interest to me, i want to know how people view god. do you have an image in your mind?

i won't be able to write for a couple of weeks as i am away, but i look
forward to your reply when i come back!

cheers again,