By Justin Edwards
My wife and I were hanging by the pool when a lady named Cathy pulled up a chair poolside and happened to be reading The Shack. Well, if that wasn't a flashing red light from God I don't know what is! It took me about 30 minutes to muster up the courage to speak to her as I imagined a number of ways the conversation could go. I simply prayed that God would speak through me and embolden me to talk to her. Finally, I asked, "so how is it so far?" - inquiring about The Shack. She said it was a great book so far and asked if I had read it. I kindly told her I had not but have read of it, and that led us into a discussion about the book. She told me what she thought about the God in the book and how The Shack was helping her overcome preconceived notions and was changing how she thought about God in general. As you might imagine, this was the perfect door to walk through and share Jesus Christ with her.
And what a conversation we had! We must have talked for an hour! She shared with us that her father had passed away several years ago and was very involved in his church. She had no doubt that he was a born again Christian and was in heaven now. Having been brought up in church as a child, she had bad experiences with people being judgmental and hypocritical, so she has not pursued God since. But her father's testimony stood out to her, and I wanted her to know that she could see him again one day.
Cathy was very receptive in going through the Law to see if she was a good person, and she really seemed to grasp the consequence of sin and how Jesus paid our debt once and for all - she thought that purgatory might exist and was in the Bible. I explained to her how we need to repent of our sins and place our complete trust in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. We also talked about the endtimes a bit and she agreed that we are near the end of something. We covered a lot of ground on faith and it was so comforting to know that the Holy Spirit was guiding our conversation.
While Cathy admitted to understanding everything we talked about, she conceded that she had a difficult time in trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. I happened to have a copy of Mark Cahill's book, One Heartbeat Away, and gave it to her along with my Urgent Message tract. She was so excited that I was giving her a free book and couldn't wait to start reading it. She said she just might start reading it right then, perhaps putting down The Shack. In any case, I'm confident the Lord will take the seeds planted today and water them in His perfect timing.
This was one of the most rewarding conversations I've ever had. Truth be told, witnessing to strangers face to face is new to me. Mark Cahill has been a great testimony and encouragement to me, especially in his other book, One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven. God has used him to break down the walls of fear I have in being bold in sharing my faith. And who isn't nervous about these sort of things? Knowing that I can do all things in Christ because He is my strength gives me great comfort, and since He is for me, who can be against me?
Cathy could have rejected any conversation or the message I shared with her and that would have been ok - because my reward is in heaven when people reject me for His name's sake. But thank God that His perfect will was fulfilled yesterday and I rejoice in the faith He gave me to share His Son Jesus Christ with a stranger.
I hope this short post has been an encouragement to someone to step out on faith and let God take it from there. As the Holy Spirit continues to work in me, I am beginning to understand what it means to walk out on the water. Keep your eyes and ears sensitive to situations that will enable you to share Jesus Christ with someone. Pray that God will appoint you to speak with someone and prepare their hearts before hand. Let the greatest desire of your heart be to share the Way, the Truth, and the Life with the lost, and I promise you your prayer will be answered. When we pray that God's will be done, you can bet it will be and He will be honored and glorified!
Please take a moment to pray for Cathy that God will continue to draw her to His Son. I got the feeling yesterday that He has been drawing her for a little while now. Pray that these seeds will be watered and that she will come to know the Peace that passes all understanding. May the Lover of her soul draw her to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And Cathy, if you're reading this, thanks again for the conversation and I'm confident many will be praying for you to become a child of God. May His perfect will be done in your life, and we hope to hear from you soon.
Ephesians 1:3-14
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he[c] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
11In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.
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