WAS THE ANGRY BANKER WORTH AN HOUR PER WEEK?

  

  Every once in awhile, I hear a story which not only blesses my heart but inspires my soul. When my friend shared this story with me, I knew I had to share it with whomever happened to stumble upon this blog.

     Each week, I have the honor of teaching a team of evangelists in a predominantly Muslim country.  There is a pretty sizable time zone difference, so the class takes place via WhatsApp video, very early on Sunday morning and the teaching is done through an interpreter.  This is one of those outside of the box ministry opportunities I love being a part of.  

    For the safety of the team, I will omit the name of the country and the name of my friend as the main focus of their ministry is in the Muslim community. 

    A couple of years ago, my friend became aware of a man, a Muslim Banker, who was feared by everyone around him as he was a violent man with a mean temper.  God laid a burden, for the Banker, on my friend's heart so, under the guise of wanting to open a bank account, my friend visited the Banker and began to ask questions about banking.  

    After several visits, my friend and the banker became friendly and little by little a genuine friendship developed.  Notice, my friend did not go into the bank and begin proclaiming Jesus right away, first, he developed a relationship.  Through much prayer and patience, my friend was, eventually, able to share with the Banker a little about his faith, not in a proselytizing manner, but in conversation, as friends would normally discuss their personal lives.

    One day, undoubtedly by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, my friend asked the Banker if he would be willing to hold onto his Bible overnight, as my friend walked home through a heavily populated Muslim section of the city and feared harassment for carrying a Bible.  The Banker agreed to hold onto the Bible.

     My friend did not suggest the Banker read the Bible, he simply asked him to hold onto it. Night after night, my friend left his Bible with the Banker and eventually, curiosity got the better of the Banker and he began to read.  Each day my friend would retrieve his Bible and eventually conversations about the Banker's nightly readings took place. 

    Over a period of time, the Banker became a believer in Christ and is now involved with the evangelism team.  A soul was rescued from the clutches of hell because a brave man cared enough to invest time in making a disciple instead of trying to make a convert.

    Jesus commanded us to make disciples.  Making disciples requires an investment of time in the life of another.  This may be the single biggest problem with the modern church today:  we are not committed to spending time making disciples.  

    Jesus invested three years in the lives of His disciples, Paul invested time in Timothy, Priscilla and Aquilla invested in Apollos, the list goes on and on.  True legacy is investing in the the spiritual growth and maturity of others. 

    "I just don't have time," you may say.  When I consider the time I waste pursuing worthless things, it truly puts me to shame.  Who in your life is God prompting you to invest some time? Is this person's soul worth an hour or two per week?  

    My friend is a regular person, just like you, just like me, yet he knew God could do something amazing through him. 

Matthew 28:19-20 - Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus commanded us to make disciples, but, He also promised to be with us. What are you waiting for, my friend? Let's be disciple makers!

Now, go live as Christ... and give the devil hell!

DID I JUST MEET A TIME TRAVELER??

     

This past weekend, I had the honor of being one of the guest speakers at the Place of Skulls 20th Anniversary concert. 

     We had an amazing event and were blessed to meet some really great people.

                                             

      The trip, itself, was not without incident, but, the strangest encounter, by far was a reunion of sorts:

      As my wife and I pulled up to the venue, Essential Church in Huntsville AL, I noticed a guy waiting to cross the street and I thought, "I recognize that guy."  I have never been to Huntsville before, mind you.  

    As we walked up to the door, the guy I had seen in the street was standing there waiting to go in.  I was greeting the attendees and went up to the man and said, "we've met."  And this is where things start to get weird.  The man said, "yep, I remember you, it's been a lot of years!"  Because often I get mistaken for other people, I kind of dismissed the idea, welcomed the guy to the show and went inside.

    As scheduled events often do, there were some last minute changes and I was told I would be opening the show with a message, rather than closing, so I walked to a lighted area to review my notes.  Lo and behold, the same guy is where I was heading and he says, "You still got that same walk, huh?"  So, now, my curiosity is peaked, and I finally asked him, "where did we meet?"  He looked at me for a moment and said, ominously, "Chattanooga", then nodded his head for emphasis.  I thought, "no way, I haven't been to Chattanooga since 1986!"

   Dubious of the whole encounter, I asked, "where in Chattanooga?" and the answer was certainly not at all what I was expecting!  You see, in 1986, at the age of 18, I was in a tiny little bar outside of Chattanooga getting my first tattoo.  This guy, apparently, remembered me from that bar!  How? I can not even begin to guess.

    As we talked out the details, neither one of us looking anything like we did in 1986, it was clear, this guy knew stuff he could not have made up. My wife postulated an explanation as good as any other - This guy was a time traveler who came back in time to mess with my head!

    My wife mused, "what if he was you from the future having a good laugh."  I thought that would be something, maybe because of the Mandela Effect, time travelers are afraid to alter history so they only use the technology to mess with themselves and loved ones! 

    Because the man is 65, for my wife's theory to be true, we would have to master time travel in the next 13 years. Since the guy was a few inches taller than me, I thought, maybe it was my son Daniel, 48 years from now.  Daniel is the only person I know who would use time travel technology to go back in time just to mess with someone's head (my head in particular) and have a good laugh about it!

    Obviously, neither I, nor my wife, actually believe in time travel, but, what if...

    The point of this story is, there are plenty of events and situations we find ourselves in which defy explanation.  There is a whole unseen realm governed by the One who transcends time and space. We are mostly  unaware of what is happening in the spirit realm.  

    God is not unaware: 1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

    For us, what seems like chance encounters are often divine appointments. Followers of Jesus should expect the unexpected and realize, what we call supernatural is God's natural.  

    If your spiritual life is a little stale, a little stagnant you probably need to spend some time in prayer seeking God's power and direction. God has so much more for you than a mundane boring existence.  

    Learn to expect the unexpected and be prepared to go wherever God leads... you probably won't be meeting time travelers, but scripture says you may entertain angels! 

    I hope you are up for the challenge! 

Now, go live as Christ... and give the devil hell!