The other day I had a, "thank You God for growing me" moment. I (for some odd reason or another) remembered about a day back in NY when an acquaintance of mine (Stephanie) had come to the church service I had invited her to. She had a son who was a baby at the time. I remember I was watching the kids down in the nursery that morning. I had showed her the nursery (thinking she was going to leave Patrick down there and go listen to the preaching). She stayed in the nursery with me and visited the entire time. I remember thinking to myself, "That was a waste. She didn't even get to hear the preaching."
My how I've grown over the years. God has (very graciously) opened my eyes to a big spiritual truth that I was completely lacking back then. He opened my eyes about this back when Israella was a baby, but this memory just reaffirmed how far I've come by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
I look back and realize that she was there so I could share the Gospel with her. It was my task to go and make a disciple, not the preacher's task to make a disciple for me. It was my turn to share the Gospel, not some stranger-she-had-never-met-before's turn. It was not a waste of time for her to be hanging out with me in the nursery. It was my opportunity to be either a hand, or a foot, or a mouth (or an elbow or whatever part I am to comprise) of the body of Christ. Jesus' command to go and make disciples was directed to all His disciples. It was directed to me. It was not directed to just the preachers or evangelists. Making a disciple is not inviting a person to a church meeting. Making a disciple is not telling someone the simple facts. Making a disciple is not telling someone to pray a generic prayer. Making a disciple is about telling someone who Christ is, what He did for all of us, what He is going to do and then teaching them what I have learned and experienced on my journey with Christ. It is walking beside someone and helping her to crawl, then walk and then run on her own journey with Christ.
It is very much relational and very much not impersonal! It very much requires me to work. But isn't that what Jesus said to pray for? "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
A lesson in Turkish rugs
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Last week we got the opportunity to see how handmade Turkish rugs are made.
I never knew how labor intensive making a quality rug can be.
While visiting th...
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