I started out this morning writing a completely different blog. Spending almost an hour writing, I came to that place where I just knew it was not what the Lord wanted me to share. You know, I really hate when he does that. I mean, here I had this story I so wanted to tell, over 500 words written and nothing else would come. That happens almost every time I do not seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance before writing. In the end I know that if I am writing just to share John’s thoughts, well, there isn’t much I can inspire you with today or any day for that matter. So here are the thoughts He has given me.
Have you ever had one of those weeks where it is almost like a ‘theme week’? You open a book and there it is the very thing you had just studied in the Bible. You decide to listen to a sermon, which I do often when I am driving alone, and there it is again. Well, that has been my week. In fact, it was so intense around Wednesday I wrote my blog about it. Some of you might have read about the faithful fish. The story from back in the day was brought to mind because the whole idea of faith has been in just about everything I have done this week.
I think the most interesting part of this is that the question has been posed from several different sources, “If faith is so important, then why do we as a people and me as an individual not be able to share it and its meaning with the world?” I have to tell you that this has caused some consternation and contemplation in the past couple of days.
I think the thing that set it off happened as I was listening to a sermon where the speaker shared his ideas of how we could and should share what faith means to us with atheists. As I listened, I thought, yeah, this guy has got some good points, but as a former atheist I would have laughed at the points he made. Don’t get me wrong, they had all the bells and whistles of doctrinal believe. Lots of theological and truly Biblical evidence that should convince the most skeptical. But the speaker only grazed over the one thing I think could and did stop even this (myself) confirmed atheist, a life changed by faith. That by believing anyone could be transformed.
This morning RuthAnn was re-reading my Wednesday blog, in all honesty because she was looking for one of my many grammatical errors. Being a teacher, she is my editor, when I let her. But as she read, she said, “You need to write more about this subject.” Meaning faith. But as I thought of that, all the things God has laid before me this week ran through my mind and in the end the only thing, I could come up with was this simple statement: “I once was a drunk and a drug addict and now I am not.” That is my faith statement. Yeah, I can embellish it and tell you how it happened, but the truth is that if I was talking to an atheist today, that would be it. Jesus Christ has changed me from being who I was, and he does it time and time again. One person at a time.
I have talked about how I came to the Bible and yes as I read it, I knew my life was going to be changed. But I am going to tell you, I needed something more to break through the hard-hearted man I was. It came in the testimony of one woman, her name is Cheri Peters. Abused, abandoned to the streets so young. Drugs, prostitution. The depth of degradation ready to commit suicide, yet the love of Jesus Christ reached her even there. When I heard that testimony for the first-time faith became real. If you have not heard her story just google her. It will amaze you how God has used this one woman. It did me and I knew from that point I must share my simple testimony. All the glory to God!
I bet there are some of you out there saying, “Well, I have never been a drunk. I have never used drugs. I have been in the church all my life. What is my faith based on?” My friends, that is a question you need to answer. And you need to answer it today. Every one of us has a “God story” and it is what this dying world needs to hear. Pray today. Seek God with all your heart.
This week God has answered my prayer for how I can draw closer to him. Recognizing again that it was “…by his stripes we are healed.” That my testimony should be on display every day and this blog is not about my stories but how he saved me from my stories. It is a good way to end this week. Knowing I don’t need 1000 words to express my belief, my faith, it is that simple statement: “I was lost and now I am found!”
Blessings and Happy Sabbath,
John
3/8/19
