Stuck on purpose

This past Tuesday was a very special day because it was the day that I met Don. As usual, before work I prayed to God that I would glorify Him in some way. I went to work, got my list and away I went. My first load was about 25 miles away and the weather was a little less than desirable. When I arrived at the location it was nestled in behind a small farm. I had been here before, but not for about two years. another company had been taking care of this location, but due to mistakes they had made I ended up with the work again. I knew that I could pull in and have plenty of room to turn around once I got to the rear of the property. What I didn't count on was that God had other plans. When I tried to turn around I was facing down hill and I lost traction. most of the time in these situations all I have to do is to put the truck in high range and lock in the axles but not this time. I worked the truck back and forth until I was so stuck that there was no way I was getting out without some help. I have to admit I was quite irritated because i knew that the rest of my day was going to be backed up. What happened next carried my concerns about the day right out the window. The owner of the property, Don, was walking out to meet me and I knew at once that he was not very healthy. He was an elderly man in his mid eighties and he walked like he was going to fall down at any second, but he was determined to help me get out. He reminded me of my grandfather because even though he could barely keep his breath, he wasn't going to let that stop him from helping someone. I asked him if he was alright and he then explained to me that he had lung and brain cancer. All at once I knew what I had to do so I didn't waist any time. I asked him if he was a Christian man to which he replied " well I try to pray". He changed the subject so I pressed in a little harder. "Are you born again?" He said that he was pretty sure that things were right between him and God. I said "that's not something you want to be unsure of" He then explained to me that several people have tried to talk to him about these things. I then asked him if he would give me a chance. with his permission I shared the law and the gospel with him. I made it clear to him that no matter how good of a life he has lived that he has still amassed a multitude of sins. He admitted to breaking at least three of the ten commandments and understood that God was just and had to punish sinners. I asked him if he would think about his sin and consider the price that God paid so that he could be forgiven. He said he would. I told him that if he would repent and put his trust in Jesus for his salvation that God would forgive him, save him and give him a new heart. Then he allowed me to pray with him. What he said next really threw me for a loop. Apparently his daughter-in-law ran off from his son 30 years ago. she left without telling anyone where she was going and they had not seen her since. THIRTY YEARS! Recently she bought a plane ticket and flew from Colorado to Ohio with the express purpose of sharing the gospel with him. He said "she told me the exact same thing that you just did"! I was quite taken back by this. Here I thought of my being stuck in his driveway as a sacrifice. This woman flew clear across the country to share the gospel with one man. God had this man in His Crosshairs and He made sure that someone went. Wont you go and share in God's beautiful story of redemption? You don't have to fly to another country, or another state for that matter, just be willing to let God use you right where you are. Even if it's stuck in a driveway... PREACH the gospel! and yes it's necessary to use words!

"How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?" Romans 10:14

The Lost Ring and the Soveriengty of God

I was on my way to Florida for Christmas and as I went through the metal detector, I took off the ring that I was wearing and placed it in the box along with my other items. This was a ring that my mom had given me when I turned 18, and it was very important to me. I’m not even sure why I took it off because it is made of white gold with black Onyx and a diamond in the center, nothing that would set off a metal detector. I don’t wear it very often out of fear of losing it. As a matter of fact I don’t remember the last time that I had it out of its box, tucked away in the drawer of my desk. In my hurriedness to get out of the way, I left it in the container. It was with all of my other stuff, but somehow went overlooked. I was halfway across the airport when I realized it. So I gathered my bags and hoofed it back to the security station. They didn’t know anything about it and told me that they would page over the intercom if it was found. I walked away sad because I figured that it was lost forever. I made it all the way back to gate C20 to hear what I thought was the tail end of a page. All that I heard was “lost….return to the security checkpoint”. So I turned around and made my way back to the metal detectors. As I got there I was greeted by one of the security personnel. She asked me to describe my ring to her, and so I did. She happily handed it to me and I thanked her. What happened next was what I believe to be the whole reason why this happened. In the excitement of everything, I forgot that in my shirt pocket I had a stack of million dollar bill gospel tracts. I try to do this because people will actually ask what you have in your pocket. That makes it very simple to hand them out. Most people will thank you. I always tell them: “there is a Christian message on the back, make sure you read it”. So as I am putting my ring on, the male security guard says, “those look fake” and he pointed to my pocket. So I pulled the tracts out and handed them both one. They thanked me, and then the woman walked over and showed one of the passengers coming through the line and I was able to give him one also. All the commotion must have gotten the attention of the police officer on duty because he was sizing me up as I walked away. (mind you he had seen me four times at this point) So I said merry Christmas and handed him one also. Here is the point to this whole story. God is sovereign, and I believe with all my heart that He knew exactly who was to get the good news of the gospel. Out of all the thousands of people in the airport, these four people were in God's Crosshairs. I have no idea who these people are, but I can tell you this. Besides the officer, this was a completely different group that was on duty when I came through originally and when I went back the first time. Just as the ring that I lost was precious to me, these souls that I crossed paths with today were precious to God. I pray that all who received a tract from my pocket today would repent and come to faith in Christ, and that He would receive all the glory showing that He can use even “[i]the poorest material He has”, me.

[i] From; “Not my will” Francena H. Arnold