Haiti, Evangecube, and Bible Verses

In Haiti we used a tool for evangelism called the "Evangecube." It is a cube that can open up in different ways to reveal different pictures that explain the Gospel in very direct terms. Some of the verses in the instructions I have already memorized, but there were some verses I do not have memorize. This post is for future reference where I can direct myself or others on how to prepare for a Haiti trip or just share the gospel.

Here's a link on how to use the Evangecube: How to use an Evangecube

I have one caution about this post. This list is more of a meditation on what would be useful in sharing the gospel. It is not necessary to memorize all these verses to use the Evangecube. These verses are definitely not necessary to share the Gospel. I am encouraging people to think about how to share the gospel and what verses they would use. In my personal experience and my personal style in sharing the gospel in Haiti, I think it would be useful for me to have these verses somewhat memorize so I can have people read a Creole bible and read the verses back to me.

Picture 1 (Man in Separated from God).

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23 ESV)

Picture 2 (Christ on the Cross)

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,(1 Peter 3:18 ESV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.(John 3:16 ESV)

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 ESV)

Picture 3 (Tomb) The instructions did not have a verse for Jesus being buried in a tomb, but here's one.

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. (Matthew 27:57-60 ESV)

Picture 4 (Risen Christ) Again no verses in the instructions, but here is the verse in the Gospel of Matthew:

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.(Matthew 28:5-6 ESV)

Picture 5 "Cross Bridge"

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.(John 14:6 ESV)

For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. (Hebrews 4:2 ESV)

Picture 6 (Heaven and Hell)

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:18 ESV)

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36 ESV)

This verse is not in the instructions, but I think it would be useful in sharing:

Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God. (Acts 16:30-34 ESV)

Assurance of Salvation

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.(John 1:12-13 ESV)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:27-28 ESV)

Picture 7 (Steps for the Followers of Christ)
Love God and all people

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40 ESV)

Study the Bible (God's Word) Daily

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— (1 Peter 2:2 ESV)

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:23 ESV)

Pray to God constantly

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)

Meet regularly with other Christians

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.(Hebrews 10:25 ESV)

Tell others the good news about Jesus

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. (Mark 16:15 ESV)

Ephesians 3 -- Knowing the Love of Christ

Our house church is studying Ephesians. The following passage is from a prayer in chapter 3.

that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19 ESV)

Charles Hodge, the great Princeton theologian in the 19th century, writes in his commentary of Ephesians about this passage.

“It is the love of Christ, i. e. his love to us which passes knowledge. It is infinite; not only because it inheres in an infinite subject, but because the condescension and sufferings to which it led, and the blessings which it secures for its objects, are beyond our comprehension. This love of Christ, though it surpasses the power of our understanding to comprehend, is still a subject of experimental knowledge. We may know how excellent, how wonderful, how free, how disinterested, how long-suffering, how manifold and constant, it is, and that it is infinite. And this is the highest and most sanctifying of all knowledge. Those who thus know the love of Christ towards them, purify themselves even as he is pure.”

Experimental knowledge is tasting and seeing that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8). It is having and keeping Christ's commands because we love Jesus and God the Father. Christ promises to manifest Himself to us, when we obey His commands (John 14:21). God reveals Himself not only in the spiritual disciplines (reading the Word, prayer, meditation, fellowship, etc), but also when we step out obedience. In our obedience, the love and manifold wisdom of God is revealed. God revealed His love and wisdom when we were in Haiti in miraculous ways. This is why I think we need power to comprehend the love of Christ. Not only does the subject of Christ's love have infinite scope, which will take an eternity to comprehend, but it is comprehended through faith in obedience. We need strength to faithfully obey Christ's commands so we can experimentally know Him better.

God gracefully gives us the power to obey. As Paul finishes the prayer in Ephesians chapter 3.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

We obey Christ because of what he has already done for us. We obey Christ because we seek Him in His promises to us because He fulfilled His promises to us in the past. We seek Christ because we have an infinitely powerful, loving and wise God who wants to sustain us and empower us. We seek Christ because God will glorify Himself through Christ's body, the Church. Charles Hodge encourages us to join Paul in praise to God, when Hodge comments on this doxology in Ephesians 3.

“Κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἡμῖν, according to the power that worketh in us. The infinite power of God from which so much may be expected, is the same of which we are now the subjects. It is that power which wrought in Christ when it raised him from the dead, and set him at the right hand of God, ch. 1, 19-20; and which has wrought an analogous change in the believer in raising him from the death of sin, and making him to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; and which still sustains and carries on the work of salvation in the soul. The past is a foretaste and pledge of the future. Those who have been raised from the dead, who have been transformed by the renewing of their minds, translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, and in whom God himself dwells by his Spirit, having already experienced a change which nothing but omnipotence could effect, may well join in the doxology to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think.” ― Charles Hodge, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians

Haiti and Scripture Memory

Here are some verses that I wished I had memorized in Haiti. If I had the passages memorized with the exact reference then helping people to find the passages in the Creole Bible would have been much, much easier. I either paraphrased these and finally found them later. Dave K. used the 1 Peter 5 passage with leaders with good effect. I hope you can find these verses useful. Pray that I'll be diligent in memorizing these. I'll be adding to this page.

Sexual Purity

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; (1 Thessalonians 4:3–5)

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. (1 Peter 4:1-6 ESV)

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.(Hebrews 13:4 ESV)

Humility

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:6-10 ESV)

Servant Leadership

But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45 ESV)

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:1-11 ESV)

Victory in Christ

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13 ESV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 ESV)

Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:10-13 ESV)

Haiti III

I struggled with my decision to go to Haiti. I knew a lot of theology, but I had struggles in communicating those truths verbally. However, through advice of fellow believers, the result of circumstances, and God's prompting, I decided to go. People, when they found out I was going, encouraged me that a person with my theological leanings and maturity would be helpful in Haiti. I was excited to go, but I was like Paul at Corinth, I approached this ministry with fear and trembling. Once we got to Haiti and started ministering, I struggled with finding the correct verses to apply to situations. I had my bible with me, but the verses eluded me. However, God did use me. Dave encouraged us to use our life experiences. I ministered in the following ways.

I met with Pastor Layans. We discussed our pride in our sons and our desires for our families. I think we really connected.

I asked forgiveness from a 15-year old boy. I did not believe him when he told me his age and motives. I later found out differently and had to ask forgiveness. He wanted to become a pastor, a powerful man in God. I told him how Jesus was humble and a servant of all. I told him it was through humility we become great in the kingdom of God. When the team was ready to leave for the day, he insisted that he carry a box I was carrying to the tap-tap.

I washed an elderly woman's feet. After talking about pride, the next day, Doc Nate asked me to wash a woman's feet. How cool was that?

I pleaded as a father to a 31-year-old woman that she would not sleep around. From talking to this school teacher, I found out she was a professing christian, but she was sleeping around. I gave her some verses on sexual purity, but she rolled her eyes. At the end of the conversation, I pleaded with her as a father would to his own daughter, that it hurts God her heavenly father when she sleeps around. I think that reached her. It also opened the door to some spiritual conversations with the female translator I was working with at the time.

On Thursday, one of the team members was involved with sharing the gospel with a man involved with Voodoo. Earlier that week, this same team member expressed his lack of confidence in his knowledge of scripture. However, he did great all week. I was called in to do some follow-up with the new believer, whose name was Ellinois. I gave him some scripture verses about assurance of salvation and fighting temptation. I asked him to come back on Friday and I would try to give him a bible. That evening the team member shared more about Ellinois. I was happy for the team member, but I realized I worked mostly with Christians all week. I was excited that God was using me, but I wanted to help with bringing someone to the Lord. I prayed that God would use me in that way. Friday went by. It was mostly young women with women-type problems who wanted a Creole bible. I gave what advice I could. It was a busy, but unexciting day. At 3:00 p.m. I didn't witness any conversions. Ellinois didn't show up. Disappointed, I gave Steve the Creole bible, which I kept back for Ellinois, to give away to another believer. I started to help pack up. I decided to use the facilities. When I came back, one of the interpreters said someone was looking for me. It was Ellinois. He came back. I prayed with him. I said I didn't have a bible but I told him to use a Piper book in Creole. If nothing else, focus on the verses at the start of each chapter. I told him to get plugged in at a church. I was very glad he came back. Please pray for Ellinois.

As I thought about this on the way home. God brought 1st Corinthians to mind. He used the least confident believer of the group to share His gospel. God did not use my supposed theological acumen or maturity, but God used my sinful pride and my experiences as a father to help people through me.

Here's the passage in 1st Corinthians.

And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:3-5, ESV)

As a wise man wrote once, "It is not about me." It was not about what I thought my skills were, but how God could demonstrate His power through my weaknesses.

Haiti and Ephesians Part II

My last post was on how God used the Church's multicultural missions to display His manifold (intricate and artistic) wisdom not only to mankind, but to the "rulers and authorities in the heavenly places." The Haiti trip provided two more examples of this truth to me. The first example was on Sunday. The Worldwide Village team took us to a Haitian church that was outside of Port Au Prince. The church was an open structure with a roof. I could see the Caribbean sea and I could feel the breeze coming up the hill. It was beautiful. The pastors had a greet-and-meet session. I shook hands with members of the Haitian church, members of other U.S. mission teams, and mission teams from other countries. I was even greeted with a holy kiss by an elderly Haitian woman.

After the meet-and-greet, the worship team lead in worship. 2 small boys who were running loose around the church, sat down with me and held my hand. They wanted me to give them something, but they didn't go away when I said no. They sat quietly with me and leaned against me. I was then surprised when I recognized the words of the songs. The worship team was alternating between singing a verse in Haitian and then a verse in English. Towards the end of the song, everybody was singing and praising God in their own tongue. On the bus back to Port Au Prince, our whole team marveled and agreed that this was what heaven will be like.

The second example occurred to me after the first day. Monday night I was frustrated with working with the translators. I tried to keep my questions short, but the patients were often answering my questions with long drawn out stories from their lives. Their stories didn't answer my question. If only we were speaking in English, I thought I could cut their answers shorter and keep the conversation on target. I felt like I wasn't making progress and presenting the gospel clearly.

On Monday night, I volunteered to give the team devotional on Tuesday night. As I was organizing my thoughts on Tuesday morning about how to present the lessons I was learning from Ephesians 3, it occurred to me: God was using all of us: the doctors, the nurses, the d-team (discipleship team) members and the Haitian translators together to present the gospel in a beautiful, dynamic, intricate, and multicultural manner to the Haitian people. I was participating in a masterpiece being created by the master Artist of all artists. Instead of being frustrated, I should be glorifying God through this. Tuesday went much better. And yes, this made me smile.