Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you...(Acts 17:22–23) We all encounter men every day who need Jesus. But because they are all different, and they’re the verses preceding today’s passage, we find that Paul spent some time in Athens and tried to understand the best way to approach the people who lived there. He found a place to engage them in conversation about Jesus. Suppose you have a co-worker in the cubicle beside yours. He’s an acquaintance, and from conversation, idea to immediately invite him to an in-depth Bible study that goes heavily into the Greek meanings He invites men to go with him to the dirt track races. That’s a casual, non-threatening environment that allows him to build relationship. He engages in intentional friendship, which opens doors later for deeper conversations about spiritual matters. MIMBS 4 34 Monday—August 7•Meeting Men Where They Are at different places in their spiritual journeys, we can’t approach them all in the same way. In you’ve determined he’s not really involved in spiritual matters. It’s probably not the best of various words. But you might choose to follow the example of one of the guys in our office. Name one man you can intentionally engage in a spiritual friendship. Brainstorm a bit about the best way to pursue a relationship that may eventually pave the way for deeper conversations about spiritual matters. Daily Reading: Ezra 4:24–6:22, 1 Corinthians 3:5–23, Psalm 29:1–11, Proverbs 20:26–27 Tuesday—August 8•The Wide-to-Deep Continuum Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:1–3) When you consider how to engage a man in an intentional spiritual friendship, you must consider where he is spiritually so you can creatively determine how to reach him. At Man in the Mirror, we call this the wide-to-deep continuum. When a man is early in his journey, you cast the net widely. You pursue casual conversations and build relationship to the point that you can naturally talk about Jesus. But suppose you’re engaged with a man who’s been in church for a while. He’s trying to figure out how to raise his kids in a godly way, or how to navigate business decisions with integrity. That’s the kind of guy Jesus was talking to in the passage written above. Nicodemus was a religious leader, and Jesus went right to the spiritual issue at hand. “You can’t see God’s kingdom unless you’re born again.” Jesus cast a deep net when He talked with Nicodemus. Figuring out where your guy is on the wide-to-deep continuum will help you determine how to most effectively reach him. MIMBS 4 Describe some ways you can effectively determine where someone is on the wide-to-deep continuum? Daily Reading: Ezra 7:1–8:20, 1 Corinthians 4:1–21, Psalm 30:1–12, Proverbs 20:28–30
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