God's Not Dead!

 

GOD'S NOT DEAD!

 

We recently took our family to the theater to see the new movie, “God’s Not Dead.”  It was a real treat for us.  We usually wait until the movies come to the dollar theater before we go and see them.  But I sensed this was a worthwhile movie to pay for!  We packed up the family and went to the theater.  It really was a movie that delivered all that it promised!

Later that night, my 15 year old son, Chad, said, “Mom, I feel so inspired after seeing that movie.”  I gave him a hug and it was off to bed.  Little did I know, this was just the beginning of God’s work in my son.  The next week, as Chad and I drove in the car, he told me, “Mom, after watching “God’s Not Dead,” I’ve decided I’m ready to live for Christ. I’m done living for myself.”   I continued driving in utter amazement at what he was telling me.   He continued on with fervor,  “You know what else, Mom?  All day long at school, all I can think of are ways that I can defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how I can be a light to the people at my school.”  I have to say I was speechless.  I thought to myself, “Do I sit around all day and think of ways I can defend my faith?  Do I look for opportunities to be a light?”  My whole purpose in life is to share Christ with whoever comes into my path.   But when was the last time I had shared Christ with a stranger?  You know, those God appointments that just happen from out of nowhere?   When had I actually slowed down to look for God’s opportunity to share?  How many hours of my day had I spent thinking about how I might be able to slip away to get some “me” time.  I reasoned in my heart that some days I had spent more time thinking about what to make for dinner than thinking about a soul who needed to know Christ loved them and died for them.

I looming feeling of conviction came over my heart.  Not a feeling of condemnation, but a gentle conviction from the Lord.  Was I truly living with a passion for Christ and His glorious Gospel of forgiveness?  Through Chad’s excitement and passion to defend his faith, I had been inspired myself!   I needed to prayerfully and purposefully walk in that same light that Chad was learning to walk in.   The next chance I had to be a lone with the Lord, I said a simple prayer in my heart, “Lord, I know I am called to evangelize, so please, open doors for me and I will walk in the light of my calling.  I was compelled to go back to my first love and to live with a passion for the Gospel of Christ.    

Today I was so blessed to spend the morning with my beautiful friend, Crystal.  She really is a gem.  She loves the Lord and has a passion to walk with Him.  We met at my favorite nail place for a pedicure.  She had desperately tried to make an appointment at another salon because she had coupons for free pedicures.  Over and over, she tried to make the appointment until she became so frustrated that she threw her hands up and said, “Lord, obviously, this is not where you want us to go so this is in your hands and I am going to make an appointment somewhere else.”

As we sat with our feet in the hot water, we basked in God’s great faithfulness and love for us.  Back and forth we shared and testified of the work He was doing in our hearts and in our families.  We didn’t think we were bothering the man and the woman who were making our toes beautiful.  In fact, we weren’t even sure they spoke English.  Neither of the nail techs had said one word as they massaged our feet.  We went about our time glorifying God and assumed we were as good as alone since they weren’t understanding what we were saying. 

 

 

After the last stroke of polish was put on our toes and we sat back in our massage chairs, the woman who was painting Crystal’s toes looked at us inquisitively and in PERFECT English said, “So how do you know what path to take when there are so many choices?  How do you know when God is leading you? “ We were stunned and totally unprepared for the question.  We were unaware that she had been listening intently the whole time. 

To our amazement, God had set this appointment.  The woman shared that her name was Anne and she had been just introduced to Christianity from her boyfriend of nine months.  She said she had a lot of questions and she was just learning about who God was.  In the moment, I knew the Lord wanted us to share with her.  As she finished up our toes, we shared with her the greatest gift of all, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We could see the utter excitement on her face as we shared that the Lord loved her desperately and that she could be forgiven and given new life.  When we asked if we could pray with her to receive Christ, we thought she may be reluctant since all of her coworkers were there and other people were around.  We knew the fruit was ripe when she didn’t hesitate for a second to pray with us to invite Jesus Christ into her life. 

What a blessed morning to be a part of God’s greatest work.  What an amazing experience to walk in the light of Christ and to see His purpose.  He truly is our exceedingly great reward and we were greatly blessed to see someone go from this life into eternity.  As we shared with her, she said, “There’s a reason you are here.”  She knew there was a purpose in our meeting and it was Christ and His greatest sacrifice.  I shared that if God never did another thing for us now until the time we died, He has done absolutely everything He ever could have in the death and resurrection of Christ.  When we really think about it, we realize that when everything else is stripped away, the only thing left is God’s perfect love for us and His ultimate sacrifice.  God truly is always working.  He is always answering prayer.  He is always bringing glory to Himself because He deserves all the fame.  He is all He says He is and I am here to declare with passion in my heart, “GOD’S NOT DEAD!  HE IS TRULY ALIVE!”

 

PS  If you feel led, I'd love to hear your personal story of how God has made Himself ALIVE in your life.  Feel free to post a comment  to share your testimony!  I'd love to be blessed by hearing how God is working in your life!