Occasionally someone has a lapse of judgment and lets me grab a microphone. Tonight I'll have a few minutes to share the gospel with the guests of our local food and clothing pantry.
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Admittedly, I'm a little nervous. I always am, even though I love to take the platform, even though I'm an extrovert. I have thought about what to say, scripted it, practiced it, but the results I'm hoping for are not a pat on the back, but converted souls.
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Having said that, the pressure should be off, because that's God's job. But I still think it's a big deal to be able to present this message. I know it's not up to me to convert anyone, and God can work past my flaws.
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Please pray for the audience, that God would bring some who need to hear the message, and that he would open their eyes and ears to hear His message. Pray for me also. Please pray.
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18 comments:
Prayers for you, brother. May God open the eyes, ears, hearts, and minds of those who listen.
Yes, I'll pray for them... and for you too, that your heart is touched in the sharing.
Hey Craver, Im peeking out of the closet!
Thanks for your prayers, folks. I'll tell you tomorrow how it turns out.
Ah, a freshman blogger. Welcome for now... You're safe; we don't throw pennies here.
I read today and the comment didn't get posted. Prayer that God fills you with his words and his spirit.
It's always encouraging, for me, to know that God outlined today and sits at the end of it and knows how these things turn out.
Did I hear someone say freshman blogger?
DOGPILE ON "FOR NOW"
Don't worry, if your feelings get hurt, Craver will call the, the, the waa........
Hey for now..., he's referring to a waambulance. Don't let him see you cry.
Whew! Sitting at home and done for the night... I’m wiped!
Overall, I’m very happy with how things turned out. We had more people show up to help than what we expected. The food was taster than I thought it might be. The decorations were pretty. The musical talent was good, but the acoustics of the gymnasium was not. There were a few helpers who entertained the kids, which was nice, because when it came time to preach, we had fewer distractions.
We had about fifty families show up to the event. I did the English gospel presentation straight through and my buddy did the Spanish one straight through. Last year, we tried a simultaneous translation and we liked this year’s method better.
Both messages were pretty similar; there was some overlap, but I tried to convey the meaning of Christmas from Heaven’s perspective. My buddy Paul stressed the need to be rescued. Both messages were good; no easy-believism or prosperity trash.
They turned in 40 response cards, and here’s the breakdown:
25 people said that they believed and for the first time asked Jesus into their heart.
13 people said they didn’t ask God to come into their lives tonight, but want to talk more about it.
2 of them had prayer requests.
When the musical program was going on, I looked down from the mixer and saw church people spread through the crowd, talking to the guests and eating with them.
Bottom line is that whether one-on-one, through the program, or preaching, the message of the cross landed in all of their ears. God is sovereign. I pray that He caused the message to find a home in some hearts this evening.
Praise the Lord! Glory to God!
(more) Blessings to you, friend of God and friend of mine...
I'm weeping (no joke)...
Don't worry Craver no crying, right. There's no crying in blogging? Oh, wait, that's baseball, there's no crying in baseball. But weeping, there's weeping in blogging. I see Even So is weeping. Do you need the wambulance?
No seriously, glad to hear that last night went well! Praise God!
So glad to hear this... thanks for letting us know! (is there anything that doesn't get blogged these days? :)
To "For Now"
(enter Darth Vader voice)
oooohhhh, hhhhaaaaaa
Impressive, young padawan learner
(/Darth)
You guys are so fun!
Yeah LL, originally I was expecting the blog to be more of an outreach, but it has mostly served selfish (though not profoundly selfish) purposes thus far. That's okay, I am really getting a lot from my brothers and sisters here. For example, last night I was quite appreciative of your prayers.
I won't be sneaky about it; I still strongly desire to find someone who needs to hear about Jesus. I want to honor my Lord in the role of ambassador.
You are a blessing.
grace. peace. wisdom. strength. joy. abundant, overflowing joy.
Ooohhh...this blog looks like fun! Can I play? I'm another newbie blogger...and friend of "for now" (who is nothing but trouble, I might add)!
..alright mamma llama ..or is it llama momma ..what are you talking about ...me??....trouble??...c'mon ...what do you think craver???....you don't mind us picking on each other on your site do you????.....
..hey....and by the way craver if you were hoping on spreading the Word you can start posting on an atheist's blog ..they're out there too ..that would get the Word out there ...and start some very interesting blogging....
Friend of for now..., I never met a llama I didn't like. Plus, I see you have the gift of discernment. Welcome aboard.
Atheist blogs? An interesting idea, but tricky. I don't do degenerating confrontations. We will have to see about that one.
I am with "for now." Going out to other places, developing relationships beyond the "inner circle" can be powerful. I share this right here, right now, because of a comment over on my blog today... it made me weep.
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