I didn’t know anything about her, except that this was her
second time to church and she wanted to be baptized. Vince introduced her and
said, “She wants to be a Jesus follower. Will you tell her how?”
Her name was Cathy and she looked about 25 years old. She
was short with blonde hair and a pleasant face. Her round blue eyes looked
eagerly at me as I started to talk. I asked if she had grown up going to
church. She said no, that her parents never went to church. A friend had invited her last week and she
brought her three-year-old daughter by herself today.
Not wanting to repeat what she already knew, I asked her if
she understood the message from the sermon. She said she did. I asked if she
understood the prayer at the end, where the Pastor explained how to follow
Jesus. She said yes, she did.
Then, I began to explain, “Jesus was born in a manger and lived a perfect life and
died on a cross, to forgive us for all of our sins, past, present and future. It’s like our slate, our life, gets washed
clean and we get to start over. Would you like that?” I asked. A smile spread
across her face, “Yes, I would. I need that.”
I went on, “Ok, first we pray and ask God to forgive us for
our sins. Then, we thank Him for sending His son, Jesus, to die on the cross to
pay the penalty for our sins. Then, we commit our lives to follow Him, the best
way we know how. When we do that, God sends His Holy Spirit to live inside us.
He will guide you in how to live your new life as a Jesus follower. He will
never leave you and will be with you where ever you are. Do you understand?
“Yes, that would be great,” she eagerly replied.
“Even though this prayer of committing your life is a one
time thing, our new life of following Jesus is a journey. We all learn as we
grow. We learn through coming to church. We learn through reading God’s Word,
the Bible, every day. The Holy Spirit will help you."
I prayed out loud and she repeated what I said. I feared I
had left out so much. Did she know what sin was? Or heaven or hell? I forgot to
tell her how great God is and how much He loved her. I forgot to say that this
would not make her life perfect, and that there would still be difficulties, but
now she would have Jesus with her.
I held back saying, “ Do you know what a huge miracle this
is, that the God of the universe picked you, out of all the people in our city,
to come to church today? It is God who put the desire in your heart to want to
have a relationship with Him. Your life will be blessed beyond measure from
this day on.”
I had only just met her, so I didn’t want to smother her with Jesus. But I wanted to hug her and
say, “Welcome to the family! I can’t wait for you to get to know this
wonderful God, who has an incredible life planned for you!”
People do not wake up
and out of the blue decide to come to church. God calls them because He loves
them so much.
I left to get a New Believers Bible for her, while she went
to pick up her daughter from the kid’s area.
“My daughter loves coming here,” she beamed excitedly. “All
week she has asked when do we get to come back to church? She asked me
everyday.”
She turned to me with new excitement in her eyes, and a huge
smile. “I feel different already,” she told me. "Thank you for telling me
about Jesus and praying with me. I had never heard that before. I can’t wait to come back next Sunday.”
I can’t wait either.
She held her daughter’s hand and they walked out, both
smiling with joy.
Amazing!
I never stop being in
awe at how God calls people to Himself, forgives them with His amazing grace
and changes their life forever.
It was all God. He did everything. I forgot to say so much.
Where was my pen and paper to draw out the ‘The Bridge’ illustration, showing
how we pass from death to life? I didn’t quote any Bible verses, not even John
3:16. And really, how is she going to believe the Bible if I didn’t tell her
about Genesis 1:1 ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth . . .’?
It did not matter. Today was her day. God called her,
prompted her to come to church, prepared her heart and mind to eagerly ask
about God. He gave her understanding and the desire to follow Him.
Amazing!
Amazing grace that
saved another wretch like me.
She came in lost and
now was found.
She had been
spiritually blind, He opened her eyes, and now she could see.
Beautiful, Robyn! A great way to start this year and every day of our lives.
ReplyDeleteYou did great! I love when God allows us to be part of His story- up close and personal!
ReplyDeleteThanks Norma and Michele! Happy New Year to you and your families!
ReplyDeleteGave me the chills! How wonderful!
ReplyDeleteIt still gives me chills too Angie! I love how God continues to call people to Himself and saves them. He is an amazing God!
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