Friday, January 22, 2016
Revive
FLORIDA
Today
at Revive was bitter-sweet.
Part
of it was exhilarating and wonderful!
The
other part was heart-breaking. -- I cried!
Let's
start with the wonderful part:
Today
I met Zack!
Zack is a fearless soul-winner -- totally on fire for God
-- complete with a smile that will melt the hardest of hearts!
Everyone needs a "Zack" in their
quiver of friends.
When
we squared off into teams this afternoon, Zack joined me as the driver.
There was also a praying woman (whose name slips my mind at the moment)
and Old John -- whom I like to refer to as "The Secret Weapon."
BAM!
As
we pulled up to the new church, I noticed the old church signage still attached
to the building. Apparently the old congregation wasn't leaving til the
following week and then my friend's church would move in. I shared with Zack
that I was a little hesitant because I thought the name might represent a cult
of sorts.
"All the more reason we have to go in and talk with
them!" He responded with
exuberance.
Before
I could think of an excuse, Zack was out the door and heading towards the
church. I grabbed the Bible bag at my feet and quickly caught up with
him. It turned out that no one was home, but I couldn't help but stare at
this radical young man, out to win the world for Christ.
How enlivening! -- inspiriting!
We
all gathered together in prayer for my friend's church and then headed out.
It was already getting late and I was disappointed that my team hadn't
had a live encounter yet.
"Pull over at this Starbucks!" I announced.
"Let's see if we can find someone in there who wants prayer."
Three of us hopped out of the
vehicle while our sister remained in the car to pray. We all stepped up
to the counter and purchased something with caffeine in it. Old John and
Zack prayed with several guys who came in for coffee. Meanwhile, I sat
down and doctored up my hot tea.
Next
to me was a young woman in her late twenties typing away on her computer. After
awhile, the girl took off her headphones and I started up a conversation with
her. We talked about art and writing -- something we both had in common.
Somehow that led up to her confiding in me that her birth mother
recently "found" her and wanted to establish a relationship. WOW!
That's heavy duty.
At
this point I told my new friend that I was out in the community with a group
called Revive FLORIDA and that we were praying for people. Perhaps we
could pray about that?
Her
response was interesting. She wondered if she had some sort of sign on
her head because we were the third group of Christians in the last week that
had approached her about Jesus. She was beginning to wonder why -- like a
magnet -- religious people were drawn to her specifically.
I
chucked and tried to keep things light so she wouldn't be uncomfortable, but I
also revealed to her the obvious:
God was
trying to connect with her!
I
remembered myself at her age -- how God had relentlessly pursued me. She
was very kind at letting me share my story and revealed that she had gone to
Christian school as a child. At that very moment, Zack and Old John came
over and joined us. Zack had also gone to Christian school, but it was
clear that door of conversation was closed.
Right when we were at a loss for words,
the Holy Spirit began to speak.
God
began to show Zack how He felt about the girl. Like a father desiring to
connect with his child, so is Our Father -- always eager to secure a
relationship with His creation. Very gently -- and with that kind smile
of his -- Zack began to reiterate to the girl what the Father was telling him.
"Your so special to Him and He loves you so much.
I can see Him pulling out His wallet and your picture is in it." He said.
"He's bragging on you!"
I
don't know about the girl, but I was blown away by what Zack was saying. He
wasn't privy to any of the conversation the girl and I had earlier about her
being adopted, but God was -- and He knew exactly the condition of the girl's
heart. He merely used Zack's voice to express His love for her and touch her in
the most profound way.
While the baristas were serving up coffee,
God was pouring out His wonderful love
--
right there in Starbucks!
"I don't believe any of that." she said.
"Not God -- not the Bible -- none of it!
I believe in science."
Zack
lovingly smiled, knowing it was his time to exit. Before I knew it, only
Old John and I remained.
"Being the old man, can I just share something before we go? John requested.
Respectful
of John's old age, the girl and I turned our attention to him and politely
listened. He smiled back and shared, almost whispering. At first I
was a little concerned. She had just blatantly expressed that she was
anti-religion and Old John started off by saying he believed in the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit whole-heartedly. (Yikes!) But it got better
-- really better.
God had a Secret Weapon.
Who knew it was this old man's personal
testimony?
Years
ago, as a younger man, John was found dead at his job after toxic gasses
accidentally filled the room in which he was working. The paramedics came
and took him away. While all that was transpiring, John had a near death
experience. He told us he found himself in a long dark tunnel and headed
towards a bright, white light. When he arrived at the end of the tunnel,
he was met by Jesus, Himself.
"He's real! I tell you. I saw Him. He's real!"
With
that, he looked the girl straight in her eyes.
"Science will tell you that
when you die,
it's over -- there's nothing else.
But no! That's not how it works!
There is something beyond this life --
It's God! I saw Him! He's real!"
I was so captivated by this man's story that I had almost completely forgotten about the girl. My eyes were glued on Old John and I think my mouth was hanging open in astonishment! WOW! There's was nothing left to say.
We
thanked our friend for the time she had generously given us and said our
goodbyes. Before going out the door, I went back to the table and slipped
the girl my telephone number -- inviting her to call me anytime if she wanted
to chat about anything at all. I don't know, I guess it was the motherly
instinct in me that moved me to do that. I walked out to the car and
joined my friends.
"Let's just wait a minute before we take off." I said. "I need a moment."
I
was so overwhelmed. How could someone so easily -- so blatantly -- turn
down a relationship with such a wonderful God? It was so evident that He
was attempting to reach her heart! I had to cry a few tears and
pray a few prayers before we left that parking lot. It's okay. I'm consoled in this:
I know Daddy will touch her again and
again
and again, if need be. He's like
that!
He never gives up in His personal quest
to be re-united with his beloved creation.
and goes after the 1 who is lost --
stuck somewhere in the briars of life. (Luke 15:4-7)
We
headed back to the church for supper, delayed in Friday traffic. As we
stopped at a major traffic light, Zack rolled down his window, handed a
homeless man carrying a sign some cash, and asked if he could buy three
minutes of his time.
Out of his mouth poured the most wonderful words of
love and encouragement. He even laid hands on the man's sore leg and
asked him to walk back and forth to see if it was better. He affirmed
that it was. The light turned green and off we went.
Another
good day doing the work of the LORD!
Gail
Wow, thanks for sharing this it was awesome
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