Born-Again Friend
My best friend during my growing up years was saved from God's wrath at some point in the past year. We can't put our finger on the exact moment, but there's no doubt about it. He was that guy you still prayed for but never dreamed it was possible that he would get saved.
When I get a chance to talk to him & hear what the Spirit is teaching him, & how he is obeying the Lord & walking with Him so boldly, the joy of my own salvation is renewed. For 7 years I witnessed to him through letters, the phone, email, & face to face. At one point it cost us our friendship. We didn't speak for a 14 month period because he was tired of me pleading with him to give his life to Christ. Honestly, I think I was tired of pleading deep down. I wanted God to let me off the hook. And God did - He saved my friend.
An amusing & hopefully encouraging story of his from last week is one I want to share. My friend is a salesman in the southeast, travelling all over Alabama, Georgia, & Tennessee every other week. When we met last, I left him with several Gospel tracts that I think are clear & biblical. My friend went to a convention & as he was giving out information about his company, he was also handing out the tracts. This offended someone, & his Vice President was called. The tract was given to the VP who then emailed my friend to reprimand him about his "inappropriate behavior."
The VP said that they would cover the sales area together the following week, so for a solid work week, my friend didn't shrink back, but boldly shared the Gospel & what God had done in his life over the last year. The VP responded, "you're really into this stuff aren't you?" My friend said, "no - it's my life." If only you knew what a hopeless cause he was, you would rejoice at that response!
But to top it all off, guaging that the VP obviously was not born-again, at the end of the week, in a classic moment that I wish I could have seen, caring less about losing his job or any other repercussions, when he dropped the VP off at the airport, my friend extended his hand with the same Gospel tract & said, "I know you've already seen this, but this is for you & I hope you read over it!"
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. - 3 John v.4
When I get a chance to talk to him & hear what the Spirit is teaching him, & how he is obeying the Lord & walking with Him so boldly, the joy of my own salvation is renewed. For 7 years I witnessed to him through letters, the phone, email, & face to face. At one point it cost us our friendship. We didn't speak for a 14 month period because he was tired of me pleading with him to give his life to Christ. Honestly, I think I was tired of pleading deep down. I wanted God to let me off the hook. And God did - He saved my friend.
An amusing & hopefully encouraging story of his from last week is one I want to share. My friend is a salesman in the southeast, travelling all over Alabama, Georgia, & Tennessee every other week. When we met last, I left him with several Gospel tracts that I think are clear & biblical. My friend went to a convention & as he was giving out information about his company, he was also handing out the tracts. This offended someone, & his Vice President was called. The tract was given to the VP who then emailed my friend to reprimand him about his "inappropriate behavior."
The VP said that they would cover the sales area together the following week, so for a solid work week, my friend didn't shrink back, but boldly shared the Gospel & what God had done in his life over the last year. The VP responded, "you're really into this stuff aren't you?" My friend said, "no - it's my life." If only you knew what a hopeless cause he was, you would rejoice at that response!
But to top it all off, guaging that the VP obviously was not born-again, at the end of the week, in a classic moment that I wish I could have seen, caring less about losing his job or any other repercussions, when he dropped the VP off at the airport, my friend extended his hand with the same Gospel tract & said, "I know you've already seen this, but this is for you & I hope you read over it!"
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. - 3 John v.4
