Saturday, October 10, 2015

Saturday, October 10, 2015

[by Keesha Sullivan]

I attended the youth group at our church [Grace] when I was in high school. Our youth pastor at the time was incredibly passionate about reaching the lost. He made it his mission to prepare us as believers to put on the shoes of the gospel of peace and share about Jesus. He challenged us often to do different things that would create conversations about Jesus at our high school. His challenge, my junior year of high school, was to begin bringing the bible to school every day. He wanted for me to place it on my desk and carry it with me wherever I would go.

His tactics were bold, and boy, did they work! One day I walked to the library to study. I placed the bible beside me as I began studying for an upcoming test. Students walked by and slowly gaped at my bible. One student finally came to a complete stop. She said, "Hey!" I looked up and smiled. This girl was a well-known drug dealer in our school that was constantly in trouble. She didn't often talk to me, but today was different.

I said, "Hey! How's your day going?" She shifted uneasily from foot to foot. She whispered in a deep low voice, "Not well… Life sucks." She paused and glanced to her left and right before speaking again. She said, "Do you believe in that bible?" I had been waiting for a conversation just like this one. My heart began thumping with excitement as I readily chirped, "Yes!" She chuckled at my over eagerness to begin talking about the bible. She paused thoughtfully again and asked me, "Do you think that Jesus would let a sinner like me into heaven?"

My eyes lit up. I exclaimed that that was who Jesus wanted and that we were all sinners that fell short of the glory of God. All we needed was to accept His gift of salvation and give our lives to Him. She was really listening. She looked deep into my eyes as if to search whether I was being sincere. I believe that she could tell that I truly believed what I was telling her. She told me that she needed Jesus and we spoke for a few more moments. She had come to me down trodden, but she seemed different when she left.

This story reminded me of our scripture for today. In Jeremiah 15: 19 it said, "19 Therefore this is what the Lord says: "If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me..." All God needs us to do is repent and give our lives to Him as Lord, and we get the gift of heaven. We get the gift of spending eternity with our Father. This is a gift we should want to share with the entire lost world.

Lord, please help us to share the gospel with those that do not know you yet. We know that it is Your perfect will for every person to be saved and not to perish. Please help us to go out and complete the commission you have given us. Help us to go out with the shoes of the gospel of peace and spread your light to all those that have yet to know the joy of being connected with their heavenly Father. In Jesus Name, Amen!