Witnessing to the Lost

Today in church we were learning about being witnesses here and now to people that are lost and in grave danger of eternal hell.  I know that isn't "politically correct" these days but it is the truth.  The whole Bible, from beginning to end, is true and God's word never falters.  All that it says has happened or will happen.  How could we refute what it says?  We are just mere mortals, mere humans who don't know the first thing about life and the divine nature of God.  Witnessing to those we don't know is hard but I feel witnessing to those we know and love can be harder.  For some reason, you get comfortable with your friendship and don't want to rock the boat.  You want your friendship to not be filled with uncomfortable moments.  But there are times when you just can't help it.  You may not be ministering to them directly but indirectly as I do with many of my friends.  I am not an "in your face" sort of person.  My outlet and way to get the Word of the Lord out there is by writing.  It is what I love to do and what I feel comfortable doing.  But persecution can happen when you least expect it.  Just this last week, I fell under attack for doing what I love to do.  My views, sayings, and personal witnessing on my Facebook page made someone decide after 8 years of being friends, that they didn't want a friendship anymore.  The reasoning was that they haven't changed and don't want me to make them change.  They felt that I was hanging out and too involved with my "churchy friends" and family.  The cutting out of our friendship happened literally overnight.  It wasn't even a personal, face to face encounter but rather one that involved no words at all.  It hurt to the very core of my being.  It hurt so much that my eyes were puffy from crying last night and I didn't know what to do except call my mom.  (Moms are good for that.)  My mom said now I feel just an inkling of what Jesus felt after Peter denied him.  Or just a microscopic portion of how God feels when we turn our back on Him or sin.  We are in essence rejecting Him.  That really put things into perspective for me.  I know that my friend, in rejecting me, is also rejecting my Lord and Savior.  That really makes me sad and want to all the more pray for her and her family that their hearts will soften towards the Lord and that whatever seed that was planted the years we were friends didn't land on hard rocks but rather fertile land waiting to sprout in His time.  It is so hard to witness because you know that you could be rejected.  But you know it is the most important thing we need to do as believers.  Make sure that no one is left behind at the end of days.  God doesn't want anyone to perish and I pray in my heart of hearts that my friend turns to the light rather than the darkness.  Materialism is their God and I hope and pray everyday that love of Jesus Christ will overcome her and they will be saved.  So it is our duty to witness to everyone.   Just hope that one day you will see faces in Heaven that you touched long ago.  How glorious that day will be.  The smiles will be everlasting!  Praise God!

I Need Patience NOW!!

My day started out pretty well and then I went to the gas station.  That pump was the bane of my existence!    It hurts enough to fill my car with gas but to have a gas pump laugh at you while you are pumping is not my idea of a sense of humor.  I tried and tried to lock the handle of the pump but it wouldn't lock.  Mind you, it was cold and windy and I didn't much want to stay standing out there in the elements.  But unfortunately I had to stand there and baby this pump through gallons and gallons of gas.  Okay, I hate to admit it but I talked to the pump.  Yes, I thought I lost it too.  A lady on the other side looked at me and told her friends that I was talking to the pump.  A teensy bit embarrassing.  I was just out of patience and by the time I hit the "help" button to let the attendant know that their pump didn't work right, I was finished with pumping the gas.  By the way, the button to call the attendant didn't work.  I could have gone in but I had the kids and the dog in the car.  I just couldn't leave them in the car.  Needless to say my patience was thinner than paper, thinner than air, thinner than thin!  I was angry and I needed to be filled with Patience and quickly.  I bowed my head and prayed a short prayer and knew that God would fill me as long as I let Him.  (He was most likely laughing too at my behavior or crying.)  Whichever, I knew that only my Father in Heaven above could give me Patience through the Spirit He so freely gives me.  I have the Spirit in me. Why don't I rely on the Spirit I already have in me that I received after I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior?  We think that we can do things on our own.  How ridiculous this illustration is on patience, it made me think about all the things in life that I think are not important, really are to Him.  He loves me no matter how small I think my situation is in life.  He is our biggest cheerleader, cheering us on to the finish line in the race of life.  He wants us to work on our endurance, our perseverance and our maturity.  Like a good running coach, He is one that makes sure we train through our trials.  Yes, I may not be fast or able to leap tall buildings on my own but with Him on the sidelines, watching my every move, I can do anything.  That hurdle down the straight away looks daunting but all I have to do is run, set myself up for it and go over it when He says. Yes, He could easily move the obstacles out of my life but He doesn't always.  It is for us to go through it with His direction.  As long as we see Him out there saying "I am here.  I am.", our race is successful even if there are some stones and holes on the path to get there.  I am looking forward to the day that all that I went through reveals His glory ultimately and I can look on His face in Heaven and know that His love and direction was what got me to where I am forever.  Think of the ending of the great race of life.  How glorious it will be to go through the ribbon at the finish line with our Heavenly Father waiting on the other side with open arms and words of love.  I can't wait for that day. Yes, life on Earth is hard and it will get harder but my eyes are firmly planted on my coach, my creator, my Father in Heaven.  My hope lies with Him.  May you find that Hope in your life and may His light shine on your situation.  Give it all to Him.  God bless.....