Final Thoughts

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

As I was driving around yesterday reflecting on the trip I could have sworn I heard the whisper.  You ask, the whisper?  Yes, that whisper that you come to recognize is God when He wants to speak something important to you.

What did He say?

First the context.

Remember Parvati and her condition?  In a nutshell, I firmly believe as she does, that God sent us to her.  I say this because we were able to encourage her through prayer, ultimately provide the resources necessary for her to have a cow which will give her a much needed income as well as secure a place for her 11 year old daughter should she succumb to the Aids virus and die.  Not only this but we were also able to serve as a visual reminder that God does not forget one of His own and can send people from the other side of the world to do His business.

Ok, so after all of this happens we are ready to leave, we put down our empty Coke bottles and then appears another woman.  She announces that she too has Aids and is expected to die soon.  She also in taking medicines but has lost her appetite.  Something though is different about her and so instead of just saying a quick prayer and getting out of there, I think maybe I should ask a few questions and it turns out this woman doesn’t know Jesus, which shouldn’t comes as a surprise but what was a surprise was her willingness to hear about him and ultimately her desire to know him.

After about 10 minutes this young woman, she probably wasn’t yet 30 was repeating a prayer after me asking Jesus to come into her life, forgive her of her sins and prepare a place for her in heaven.  After saying Amen, I asked her where Jesus was right at this moment in time and she looked at me and said, “in my heart” and with that she had that all important assurance of salvation.

Why is it that many don’t have this?  It amazes me how many people I speak with in conversation claim or believe to be Christians yet have no assurance of their salvation.  Could it be that they never asked?  Could it be that we have reduced Christianity to just doing good and going to church or being baptized as an infant?  All of these things are good but won’t get one into God’s presence when death calls.  The only assurance of eternal life is Jesus and he is the only gate or door keeper to heaven.  Peter, Paul or Mary isn’t the answer; God’s answer was clearly evident in and through his son, Jesus.

I share all of this because I want each of you to take a quick inventory, do you know where you are going to be when you die?  If there is even a hesitancy or a question, if the words that come to mind are “I think” then why not change that “I think” to “I know and I know because I asked Jesus to come into my heart and to forgive me of my sins.”  When this takes place, then there is an assurance of salvation and a confidence knowing that no matter what happens in this short life here on earth, your eternity is settled in heaven with God.

Now back to India, this young woman prayed and her eternity is now secure and even better, Jesus is walking with her right now in her terminal condition with Aids.  He will be there through it all and she will know his presence and I bet her final days will be more bearable than if she hadn’t prayed with me.

Now on to the whisper, as I was driving recounting the trip I heard the whisper and it was to the effect, “why don’t you want to be used like that here at home?”  With that I should have slammed on the brakes because in my mind that is what happened.

Why is it that I believe and come to expect God to use me in tremendous ways while in India but once the plane lands in the US the expectation leaves?  I don’t know, but what I do know is that God wants me to be the same person regardless of where I am at on the globe.

Why then the whisper?  Maybe because when I come home I become too comfortable and too conscious of those around me and I don’t want to offend.  A defensive posture is something typically taken when Jesus, church, prayer come up in a conversation with a non-believer, why I ask is this the case?  Multiple reasons I know but again the whisper, “why don’t you believe that I can use you and want to use you here in America?”

The only thing I can respond to that whisper is “I’m sorry, forgive me Lord, and please use me.”  With that being said I need to approach every person and every conversation like I did in India with Parvati’s friend, stop, take a breath and ask the Lord if he is sending me to this person for a reason and then wait, listen, and respond accordingly. 

Truth is God does want to use each of us every day and He wants to do it here at home.  Too many of us jump onto planes and go overseas to be used by God and that’s great but if it stops there and were not willing to be used at home then were essentially hypocrites.

My challenge to you and more so for me is to be the same person at home as we are abroad.  To be Jesus to the lost no matter where they exist, to take the offensive each and every day by starting out our day with a simple prayer, “Lord take me to those you want me to be with and touch with your touch.”  I bet that if we do this, our lives will be a lot richer and we will have a lot more stories to tell of God’s incredible touch and reach.

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Video of Pavarti

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Here is a link to a video highlighting Pavarti, who is or will soon be a recipient of a cow.

Thank you to those who so generously gave to make this woman’s dream a reality.  The cow will provide much needed income, thereby allowing Pavarti and her daughter a chance of survival as long as Pavarti lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apao1SSahxA

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