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audrak79 · 8 years ago

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Now or never....

I don’t really know where to begin. There are so many things I want to share but it seems that maybe each “thing” should be it’s own blog, however the point of this blog is to share what’s on my heart right now… the gospel, and why it is THAT important. I’m not really sure how to do that. You see, I’m still learning but I know God has things he wants me to share. So many great things have happened in my life, too many to count. There are so many amazing relationships started or that have grown, sickness healed, hearts mended, and I MUST give all glory to God for that. I could go into so many details about how I know God made those things happen, but that is another blog. I think I should start a blog simply called “my God winks”. You know those moments that some might call “coincidence”, but I know it is God giving me a little wink, telling me, “I’ve got this!”

What sticks out right now is this, I have so many family members and friends that are “non-believers”, they either don’t believe or aren’t familiar with who Jesus is and what He did for them. This is hard for me to swallow. God’s word tells us in Romans 10:13 “for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” That’s awesome, right? But there is a second part. The part that many forget. Verse 14 says, “How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Yup, that part that makes so many of us Christians nervous, the part that makes us feel uncomfortable. That part being SHARING the good news, preaching the gospel. It’s not an easy topic to start, especially if you are new to really growing in your relationship with God. Like, all I can think of is a meme of “excuse me, do you have a moment to talk about Jesus Christ?” You know, the one with like a zoo safari animal sticking it’s head in the car window at the 2 year old who is totally freaked out. Or the one with the dog sticking it’s head through the dog door. Hysterical, but seriously…. I was always what I would call a “blind faith” believer. There was never a reason I shouldn’t believe. I mean let’s face it, how many people did you encounter in your youth, or even in your lifetime, that didn’t celebrate Christmas. Or Easter! If that many are celebrating those holidays, there must be some sort of truth to it. So, I lived the bulk of my life just knowing that there was an Almighty God, a Creator and that He sent His Son to die for me and anyone who would accept Him and believe. I didn’t really think I needed to know more than that. I prayed, sometimes (or told people I would thinking that the thought was enough). We are really good at that, “please pray for ______” or “keep my family in your prayer”, to which we reply, “Got it” or “done!”, yet did we really or was it just the thing to say?

As my daughter approached toddlerhood, I realized that I wasn’t equipped to teach her about Christmas and Easter etc. I could tell you amazing stories of how we started going to church, how God lead us to our current church, how we met the current pastor of our church, how my family decided to get baptized together, and the way the dots connect…. it’s NOT coincidence. It was a perfect plan by a perfect God to get us where He wanted us and when He wanted us there.

So here it is. It’s real simple. To my family and friends who don’t know anything about God, Jesus, faith, or being a Christian: Let me tell you about a man named Jesus who was born unto a virgin and came to save the world. He died for YOU! He took upon Himself the most brutal death, the weight of EVERY sin EVER committed and that would EVER BE committed, he took all that pain so you wouldn’t have to suffer for all eternity. He was buried. He laid in a sealed tomb 3 days and then got up! That’s right. He walked out of tomb, alive, and many witnessed that it was really Him. They had dinner with Him. Could you imagine?! I know it sounds crazy, right? Like, “DUDE, YOU WERE DEAD!” I don’t know that anyone denies that Jesus was a man that walked on the earth during the time and era the bible says He did (I can’t back that up, I’m sure someone out does). Many will doubt my statements above about why Jesus died and that He flat out conquered death. But here is my challenge and my prayer (not just for the ones who don’t know who Jesus is, but also those who have heard of him but chose to ignore the possibility that what the bible says is true) READ ABOUT IT. Don’t just google it. Don’t be “that guy” who googles “proof God does not exist”. Read the bible. I am. Well, I listen to it mostly because I HATE READING! Like for real, can’t stand to read a book. I know how pitiful that is. But here are just a few things I have realized by reading/listening to God’s word:

1. There are WAY to many connections from one book to the next, from how the geneology is laid out, explanations of how and why things happen etc. There is no way someone could just make this up. I mean come on! If they are just stories complied together, than why and how are they all connected the way they are? You won’t understand the detail until you actually start diving into it. Also, if it were designed just to make us feel good, why would ALL that genealogy be in there and how and where tribes went and all the other stuff that makes our heads spin. Or all the brutal death stories. It was not easy to get through some of it, BUT trust me, there is so much information in there and you won’t realize it’s importance until you ACTUALLY KEEP READING. It’s like the infomercial, “But wait! There’s more!”

2. God’s timing is mind blowing. It is no coincidence that I am telling you all this RIGHT NOW. It is God’s way of reaching you right now at this exact moment. I have seen his timing at work so many times, and the more I dive in, the more aware I am of it. For example: my church isn’t preaching through Old Testament, I’m not going through it at any of my bible studies, and I have attempted to read through the Old Testament with a a reading plan (”Read the Bible in 1 Year!”) for the past 3 years. Yes, I said 3 years for the 1 year plan. (Hey, I said I hate reading and I am by no means a perfect follower of Christ. I am, however determined not to give up. I can do all things through Christ… Philippians 4:13) But here’s the funny part, I have been working on this 1 year plan for like 3 years and guess what? I’m only in like the 10th book out of 66. Right now I have been going through how the Israelites (God’s peeps) are delivered out of slavery but keep messing up. Yet in all their screw ups, God is faithful to His promise with them. But instead of looking to Him as their ruler, king, leader, they decide to lean on their own understanding and do what they saw was right in their own eyes. Hmmmmm, sound familiar? And the shit keeps getting deeper. It’s like what happens today. Even crazier, God used some pretty jacked up people to carry out His will (Just read the book of Judges). He needed to defeat these nasty and morally corrupt people to allow the Israelites a way to live apart from them and be the example but he didn’t have perfect people to do that with. God will use who He wants, when He wants, to carry out His will. Guess what, this all made sense during this election season. I had my fav candidate, but I knew it ultimately did not matter. We may have a president, but Jesus is King. He will use whoever is president to do His will. So relax. God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the ones He calls.

3. The bible is like a big bar fight wrapped into the most amazing love story. Weird right? I know. But if you read through it, you’ll see what I mean. There are talking serpents, violent war stories, love stories, stories better than any blockbuster movie. Give it a chance. Do it prayerfully.

So, I don’t have all the answers. I don’t even have a lot of answers. Actually, I may not have a single answer to a single question. But if I don’t know the answer, I can find it and I know where to find it. Life on this earth could end at any second. We never know how much time we have. If you aren’t a believer, think for a second that “what if this Jesus, Christianity, heaven and hell thing are real?” Do you want to take the chance of not entering heaven when your earthly time is up when there is the greatest escape plan EVER? If that is your only reason alone for reading and checking it out, so be it. My heart aches knowing that if Jesus came today, many of the people I love so dear would be left behind. I CANNOT force someone to believe. I CAN share the gospel in hopes they would be receptive to it.

So that’s it. I pray this: Lord Jesus, thank you for giving me the courage, wisdom, and ability to write this blog. Thank you for bringing into my life so many people. Lord, I know it is your desire for ALL to know you and that you have provided a way for them to do that. Lord use me. Guide me. Go before me as I continue my journey doing Your work. Lord, I pray that just one person that would read this would consider the idea of looking into what you have to offer, eternal life. Lord, I pray that each one reading this is reading with an open mind and heart. Lord, I ask for your blessing upon each person this blog reaches, that they may feel that little tug at their heart and recognize that it’s not indigestion or coincidence or any other thing they try to imagine. That they would recognize the Holy Spirit upon them. Lord, thank you for doing what I could not. For dying for me. Thank you Lord for living in me and allowing me to be used for Your Kingdom. IN YOUR NAME I PRAY. AMEN.

November, 2016

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