Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Not Just Another Walk In The Park

Today I went to a park right outside of Mt. Hermon in Felton, CA. I grabbed by backpack with my bible in it and took off to find the perfect place to get alone with Jesus. As I walked around someone was sitting in every place that I would have liked to sit. So I just kept walking.

As I kept walking, I came across this huge wooden bridge that looked like a barn. So, of course, I walked across it. As I walked I had this sense of God trying to get my attention. With some transitions happening in the next generation ministry at church I knew it was time to listen. As I kept walking, I felt like God began to speak to me on that bridge and asked, "Are you ready to cross over to what I have planned?" Oh dang! I started to walk slower. I felt like getting to the other side was me accepting what's next for the next generation at PFB. So I slowed down a bit and kept listening. As I listened, the thought came up again - "Are you ready to cross over to what's next?" So, I kept walking and crossed over to the other side.

But it wasn't over. I then felt like Jesus was asking, "Are you really about people coming to know me or are you about teaching them about me?" Some may look at that and think that it is the same thing. Not really. If my life is about me teaching, I will be content with people showing up to a worship service to hear me teach. However, if I'm about people coming to know Jesus, I will never be content with how many are showing up to a worship service. I answered: "I want people to know you, Jesus." And then I felt (and I know that this may sound weird) like God said to me, "Then knee down." It took a little bit for me to do this. What would people think if they saw me kneeling down in the middle of the dirt? But, I knelt down. I stayed down there for about 10 seconds and got up.

I walked across the bridge looking for a quiet place to continue my time with Jesus. However, every place was taken. So, I started to walk and came across a bench with a man sitting there. Realize this, I never share a bench. I like my space. However, when I walked past this man I noticed he had a journal. Then the commitment that I made on the other side of the bridge came back to my mind. So, I walked up to him and said, "Do you mind if I share this bench with you?" He motioned me to sit and I did. We started chatting about his journaling and what he likes. I introduced myself to him and he told me his name (Mike). He told me how he had moved to this area and moved in with his homosexual brother and his boyfriend. I told him that I was from out of town. He asked me where I was from and why I was up here. I started into sharing about where I'm from and what I was here for, and he interrupted me and had to leave because his brother showed up. I was bummed because I missed that opportunity.

I kept sitting there. All of a sudden a woman named Tommy sat right next to me, watching her daughter playing on the playground. We just started chatting. I don't even know how we got on the topic but spirituality came up. I shared with her about Jesus. I asked her, "Have you ever met one of those jerky Christians?" She said, "Yes. In fact that's what kind of pushed me away from Christianity." That hurt my heart. I asked if she had any questions about Jesus and she said no. So I asked if it was okay for me to share the core of the gospel. She sat and listened to me as I explained the gospel to her. She then shared with me how she had moved out from Colorado in the past 5 days with her daughter. She told me that while she was driving here, all of a sudden it started to rain when there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Then all of a sudden a song played on the radio (which she thought was on a Christian station) talking about how "he would be here for you." She told me that she had to pull the car over so she could cry. I heard enough. I looked at her and said, "Are you worried about the future?" She told me that she was - that everyone was. I told her, "I feel like God has given me this verse to give to you." I then told her Jeremiah 29:11. I asked her if she had a Bible. She said that she did not. I reached in my bag and pulled out a Bible and made her promise that if I gave it to her that she would read the book of Mark. She took it and promised to read it.

After a few minutes, I asked her if I could tell her about the core of the gospel. She listened as I explained. She was wiping tears away as I told her. She then got up, apologized for having to leave after our chat, and left. She did not surrender to Christ when I was talking to her, but I believe that she is on the road to salvation. I looked at her and said, "Tommy realize this: God is wooing you."

Please be praying for Tommy to come to Jesus. And PFB, be prepared because the best is yet come.

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