We want to share a story about a woman in our church named “Mary.” She started coming to church because her 9-year old son had a friend that was a regular at our church, and he really wanted to come. Recognizing that she couldn’t just drop off her son and leave, she would send him to the kids’ area and would go sit in the back of the church and, according to her, would “play” on her phone. Mary’s husband had been raised in a denomination-based church and had absolutely rejected God along the way. He probably knew more about the Bible and could quote verses better than most of us, but he was done with it. And she came from a house that was totally unchurched. Six months after she started coming and sitting in the back, Mary thought that since she was there, she might as well turn off her phone and listen. One day, on the way home from church, she felt overwhelmed by what we know to be the presence of the Holy Spirit and had to pull off the side of the road to regain her composure. She decided to contact us, so I set up a meeting with her, not knowing what to expect. So, she’s a very matter-of-fact woman, in her 30s, master’s degree in social work, very smart. She walked in and said, “I just think you guys have something I don’t have.” I decided to be direct with her and simply asked, “Have you ever surrendered your life to Jesus?” She, of course, said no. So I said, “Would you like to?” She said yes. Just, “Yes.” So I walked her through a prayer of repentance, and she looked up at me with very little expression on her face. I wasn’t even sure the prayer registered. I asked her if she felt any different, and she said, “Yes, I feel peaceful.” And that was that. I’ll admit, I walked away feeling pretty skeptical about the whole encounter. But since that time, we’ve watched her grow and embrace her faith. It has led to the absolute destruction of her marriage. Her husband really got angry with her because of his own personal struggle and rejection of faith, unfortunately to the point of domestic issues that needed police intervention at one point. But she pressed on and keeps pressing into Jesus. She bought a Bible and asked me what she should read, so I told her to start with the book of John. The next morning, she emailed me to say she was finished with John, and what was next? So she really moved into this. She has become a voracious reader of the Word at extreme personal cost to herself. There is no one else in our church that has had to pay such a dear price to follow Jesus, and she continues to be an example to us when we’re feeling low or abandoned or hurt or rejected. Joe and Janice Wood, Pastors, Vineyard Community Church of Richmond, Kentucky
Posted on: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 06:57:20 +0000
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