I am currently in Ohio for the 328 mile bike ride for the American Cancer Society. This ride is to raise money to help families going through the difficulties of cancer as well as to raise awareness about cancer.
I will have very limited access to email until 7-30-13. As a special treat while I am away, I would like to send out some message my sixteen year old daughter, Sarah, has recently written. Sarah is passionate about the Gospel and I believe you will enjoy her thoughts about this all-important part of the Christian faith. Please try to read all the messages in the order they are sent.
The Gospel, Part 3 – In My Lap
God is always amazing me. If God is always amazing me, why do I get so surprised every time He does it again?
Did you know that sharing the Gospel actually takes very little effort at all on our part? Though it seems like one of the most daunting tasks, it’s actually not a task at all. It is a gift that is dropped right in our laps.
A week ago today, I was on a bumpy dirt road in the back of the van that ever increased the bumps. In my lap was a nine-year-old boy who kept shooting up and down like a pencil through my arms. I had to tighten the grip of my arms far too much before they came to a close around his waist. It was like hugging myself.
This fact alone flashed me back to two years ago when the boy was seven. Twenty kids were sitting in a circle on concrete, he sat soaking wet in my lap, and all I could think about was how much I loved him, this boy named Koletrin.
There are always sentences which we think would be incredible to hear but never expect to, such as “Son, we are getting you a pet lemur,” or “I am you fairy-godmother, and I am turning you into Rapunzel for a day.” A few more in this category would be “Who is God?”, “Can you tell me more about Jesus?”, and “I want to read more in my Bible now; can you help me?” All of these I had heard uttered from this boy’s lips over the week.
It was the first day of our mission trip VBS stations, and that morning I had read the story of Philip and the Ethiopian which had greatly changed my outlook on sharing the Gospel. After trying and failing to converse with several unresponsive faces, I was uselessly sitting with the kids during the lesson about God, when a lanky little boy asked, “Who is God?” I inwardly looked to God and chuckled. Of course You give me the opportunity in which I had no initiation. My friend Hannah and I took Koletrin outside, sat on a rock, and began to tell him some news that he clearly had little knowledge of but was authentically interested in. I was astonished when, after we had the interruption of receiving a cup of Goldfish snacks, he asked, “Can you tell me more about Jesus now?” It kept getting better.
The next day we gave Koletrin a Bible. He took it shyly and unenthusiastically at first, but then scampered over to his mom to show her, his face becoming more animated every moment, and then circled around to hold it before each of his friends. Minutes later, I find myself sitting against a wall, not reading to an empty face but one of overly-matured curiosity.
“…one and only son, that whoever believes in Him…”
“That’s me! I believe in Him!”
Seven years old. Next I am leading VBS music.
“…for the Bible tells me so…”
A thin face in the front stares at a book in his hands with a question in the lines between his eyebrows. The lines smooth out in comprehension, enthusiasm takes its place, and the hand lift the book in the air.
Later I am right in the middle of teaching a lesson when I feel a tug on my shirt from behind. Who is interrupting me?
“Hey, I want to read more in my Bible now.”
I smile and Hannah takes him outside to read, as I continue the lesson.
Another day I am preparing a craft when he comes up to me and points at the paper.
“Do those words say ‘God loves Koletrin?'”
Thursday I am trying to branch out further by sharing the Gospel with an older boy, maybe ten or so, with thick eyebrows.
“I don’t want to go to heaven,” he says.
There appears a convenient Koletrin by my side.
“Heaven?! I’m going to heaven. God is there. You should go too!”
The older boy decides to stand up and leave, yet Koletrin tells me, “Go tell him more about Jesus!”
I never thought a human coming to know Christ could look this perfect and beautiful. I always doubted the process had the potential to be so genuine and feel so fulfilling.
My entire continued relationship with Koletrin and his whole family has been one of the most satisfying things in my life, and I can’t wait to tell you more about our story together. We have written letters, connected over the phone, and I visited his home once in the blustery winter. And this summer, two years later, I got to hold him once again and praise God for this gift he had dropped right in my lap.
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I pray that one of the truths you receive from Sarah’s messages is that if we will open our eyes and look to see how God is working and leading, we will find Him to be actively and lovingly guiding us into a better understanding of Himself. He will use all situations to draw us closer to His side.
I don’t usually send out messages on Friday but I have scheduled a special message from Sarah that you won’t want to miss.
Have a Christ Centered Day!
Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries
**** Reading Plan ****
Jul 25 2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14; Romans 9:1-24; Psalm 19:1-14; Proverbs 20:1
Jul 26 2 Chronicles 17:1-18:34; Romans 9:25-10:12; Psalm 20:1-9; Proverbs 20:2-3
Jul 27 2 Chronicles 19:1-20:37; Romans 10:13-11:12; Psalm 21:1-13; Proverbs 20:4-6
Jul 28 2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21; Romans 11:13-36; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 20:7
757.98 Run Miles in 2013 : Goal 1509 miles
1244.13 Bike Miles in 2013 : Goal 3000 miles
