It was A few months ago bout 10:30 PM that I heard something slamming outside. I got out of bed to see what was going on and I saw a broke down car in my drive way and a man with a bright flashlight coming toward my house. I quickly got dress and opened the door and he was right there, I do not even think that he knocked. There was a little bit of fear coming over me as he ask me to come down to the end of my drive way and help him out. However I told him that I would be glad to jump his car off if I could find my cables. I got down to his car and became very nervous because I could tell that he was on drugs badly. All I wanted to do was to get his car fixed and get back in the house. A few minutes had passed and I had told him that I was the Youth Pastor at a church down the road and was curious if he went to church anywhere. All of the sudden another person got out of the car and came over real close to where I was standing. My nerves was feeling a bit stretched then. It was his wife, she was very gray in color and on drugs so badly that she looked dead. My heart was truly broken to see this, especially after seeing that they had two small children in the back seat.
They began to tell me that nothing in their lives could get any worse. Their car was broke down, their house burned down the night before and they were having to stay with a friend. Immediately the word sprung up in me and I quoted to them 1 Peter 5:7. I told them that the Word says to cast ALL your cares on him because he cares for you. You could see a glimmer in the eyes all the sudden. They begin to tell me that someone had invited them to church down the road so they were going to go there. I will never forget the look on the young lady’s face as she told me, “please pray for me and my children”. I assured her that I would and again they told me that it just could not get any worse. I again told them to cast their cares and worries on Christ! He told me that they were gonna get their lives straight and get back in church where they belonged. They left and I felt a bit refreshed knowing that I was able to share the Word with someone hurting. However there were so many things that I would have done differently if I could do it over again. After thinking about the time I had with these lost hurting people I almost feel ashamed. I wish so badly that I would have wrote there names down and the names of there children. I wish I had of given them a card or something so that they could contact me for prayer when they needed it. One thing that regret the most is that I did not ask them if they were ready to receive Jesus as there Savior King at that moment. I let them get away and they were write in front of me.
Sharing God’s word and the Gospel of his Word is so important. One thing that I have learned from this experience is that we cannot waste any more time waiting till next time. There is lost and hurting people walking this earth and we are just letting them get away each day. If I had of gotten some way to contact them I could have checked on them and made sure that they were o.k. It is not about walking around a screaming “Jesus loves you” in people’s faces. It is about people seeing the Love of Christ in you and you become a light in their darkness. When I came back in the house and got back in bed I shared what had happened with my wife. Her response was “you always get the easy ones”. I thought that her response was quiet funny. On the contrary though It is not always easy witnessing. It is almost like something that you just have to do. There are certain fears that you have to overcome and obstacles that get in the way. The key thing that I see clearly now after this experience is that we can shed light on someone’s darkness. However, if we do not make any initiative to continue to help them somehow, they can and will fall back into the dark! It is so much more than saying Jesus loves you and then walking away! I pray that the Lord God Almighty will give me more chances so I can be a light in someone’s darkness.
Because I said so....
God has opened many wonderful doors for me in the past years... I am so thankful for each and every one of those doors. One huge door was being able to start Bible College last year. It has opened my eyes up to so many things about my relationship with God and how to truly see him. Last night I started my second Theology class and wow was it amazing. We talked about basic things just to get the class rolling, you know like what is theology and what is doctrine...basic stuff. Then as we got deeper into the night some great things started to unfold and one statement was made that changed the way I looked at salvation....I mean it changed it deeply!
"How can you love someone you don't know?"
That statement alone amazed me... In today's Christian society if you ask someone what it is to be saved they will answer you, "To love Jesus with all your heart, that's what being saved is". Some may say "to believe that Jesus died and rose again", "If you just believe and love". Is it not more than that...As Christians we have made it easy to live our lives they way we want to, and hold on to certain threads of doctrine to get us by... Is it enough?
John 14:6 says - I am the way, the truth, and the life. no man comes to the father but by me. So we understand that Jesus is definitely the only way to Heaven. That's no problem. However have we taken the time to get to know who Jesus is... Or do we just say that we love him because that is what it calls for in our faith...
I would like to say that I am sorry if I am being a bit harsh...however I want people to understand what it really mean to have Salvation!
I know that their are some weirdos in the world that like to spit that "L" word out as soon as they start dating...Why because everyone wants to be loved... However most people like to take it slow. They wanna get to know the person before the take the step to say "I love you". Why? Because it is important to you to know who you are loving. Right? You don't wann get your heart broke. They thing is Jesus will not break your heart! He has taken the time to get to know you! He know the number of hairs on your head.
Have you taken the time in your faith in Christ to get to know Him so that when you say you LOVE him you know what you are talking about? If you think about this hard enough you will understand that being a Christian is more than just showing up at church on Sundays and walking the walk or talking the talk. It's about knowing that you are nothing without Him...My wife tells me all the time that she wouldn't know what to do with out me and I feel the same about her.... That is what our salvation should be based upon...That without Christ we are nothing and that we depend on him for everything.
There is gonna come a day when it is not so easy to be a Christian....( the Bible says so ) We are gonna have to be firm in our LOVE and BELIEF in order to survive the persecutions that are coming. When someone argues with us and asks us why we are a Christian and what proof do we have, the answer can't be "because I said so" or "because the bible says so". You need to research, study and have an answer that will make the person asking "think"! I can tell you every little thing about my wife because I love her.... Can we tell people every little thing about Jesus.....We say we LOVE him!
May God Bless You Richly
ant
"How can you love someone you don't know?"
That statement alone amazed me... In today's Christian society if you ask someone what it is to be saved they will answer you, "To love Jesus with all your heart, that's what being saved is". Some may say "to believe that Jesus died and rose again", "If you just believe and love". Is it not more than that...As Christians we have made it easy to live our lives they way we want to, and hold on to certain threads of doctrine to get us by... Is it enough?
John 14:6 says - I am the way, the truth, and the life. no man comes to the father but by me. So we understand that Jesus is definitely the only way to Heaven. That's no problem. However have we taken the time to get to know who Jesus is... Or do we just say that we love him because that is what it calls for in our faith...
I would like to say that I am sorry if I am being a bit harsh...however I want people to understand what it really mean to have Salvation!
I know that their are some weirdos in the world that like to spit that "L" word out as soon as they start dating...Why because everyone wants to be loved... However most people like to take it slow. They wanna get to know the person before the take the step to say "I love you". Why? Because it is important to you to know who you are loving. Right? You don't wann get your heart broke. They thing is Jesus will not break your heart! He has taken the time to get to know you! He know the number of hairs on your head.
Have you taken the time in your faith in Christ to get to know Him so that when you say you LOVE him you know what you are talking about? If you think about this hard enough you will understand that being a Christian is more than just showing up at church on Sundays and walking the walk or talking the talk. It's about knowing that you are nothing without Him...My wife tells me all the time that she wouldn't know what to do with out me and I feel the same about her.... That is what our salvation should be based upon...That without Christ we are nothing and that we depend on him for everything.
There is gonna come a day when it is not so easy to be a Christian....( the Bible says so ) We are gonna have to be firm in our LOVE and BELIEF in order to survive the persecutions that are coming. When someone argues with us and asks us why we are a Christian and what proof do we have, the answer can't be "because I said so" or "because the bible says so". You need to research, study and have an answer that will make the person asking "think"! I can tell you every little thing about my wife because I love her.... Can we tell people every little thing about Jesus.....We say we LOVE him!
May God Bless You Richly
ant
