I'm stuck at home sick tonight, while my husband and the PIE team (well one other person) goes out and shares the Good news in R-Side. We have been gone for almost two months and not being able to go out tonight just makes me sick. I cried when I told Chad I couldn't go (I can hardly walk standing upright).
Last week during PIE I was asked by a friend how many tracts I had passed out so far. When I told her the number, she was a bit taken back. She is nervous to hand out tracts and struggled to understand how I could have passed out so many already. I wanted to both challenge her and encourage her at the same time so I shared with her about my uncle who passed away suddenly a few years ago. I was pulled out of my classroom (I was teaching then) and informed of his passing. That was one of the hardest experiences of my life, especially because my uncle was not a believer. I still hold guilt knowing that I never shared with him. After his passing, I struggled a lot with church and Sunday school. I couldn't understand how people could be so flippant about others eternal destinations. I was tired of "feel good messages" and events that had nothing to do with sharing the gospel. I still struggle with this. There are more people who attend church picnics, fishing trips, beach trips and other fun events rather than ones with eternal value. Where is their passion for the Gospel? Where is their passion for seeing others saved? Millions of people are dying every day, what are you doing about it? OK this was a bit of a side note....back to my uncle. I shared with her that when I'm out during PIE I think of my uncle and how much I loved him. I think about how much I wanted to share with him but was afraid. I think about how excited I would have been if I had found out somebody had shared with him. I told her that everybody has people who love them and care for them. Most people have a loved one they are praying for, hoping that they would come to Faith in Christ. What if we can be the answer to that prayer? One night during PIE, one teammate was talking to a man, during the conversation a friend from church (who happened to be where we were during PIE) came up to me and said "My family and I have been praying for him for a long time and we are so glad you guys are talking to him....thank you." Who's loved ones are you sharing with? I want to encourage you to share with people....not to sound depressing or anything but we never know when our last day will be. We could live to be 102 like Chad's great grandma who is still alive.....or we could live to be 17 like a friend of mine who died three days before high school graduation.
Romans 10:13-14
"...for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?"
Out of every person I talked with last night not one person could answer the question/challenge "can you tell me what the gospel is?". We also had several people who had never heard John 3:16 which never happened the first few years we did Friday night evangelism. I have noticed more and more people who are ignorant of important scriptures that are less famous than they used to be like John 3:16, Romans 5:8, and John 14:6.
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