Josiah Road

Searching

posted by Kaylan Christopher 31Oct

“Set apart the Messiah as Lord in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” 1 Peter 3:15, HCSB

I’ve heard sermons and Bible studies based on this verse more than once in my lifetime. But just recently, it came alive for me in a real-life situation.

A new girl joined our small group this past week. We’ll call her Sarah. A friend of mine introduced her to my roommates and me, so we invited her over.

We all went through the typical introductory questions: Where are you from? What do you do? How long have you lived here? And she seemed like the rest of us—until we started the study.

My roommate asked everyone to open to 1 John 2. Sarah pulled out a brand-new Bible that was still covered in factory stickers and plastic. As she cracked it open for the first time, she looked at my roommate and whispered, “My Bible is new. Can you show me where First John is?”

It wasn’t hard to notice that she was unfamiliar with the book lying on her lap. As we talked about what it meant for a Christ-follower to live a righteous life, Sarah fired off one question after another trying to understand what John was talking about in his letter

It suddenly hit me. This girl didn’t know anything about Jesus. At first, I thought she must have been a new believer. But as we dug deeper into the study, it became apparent she hadn’t even made that decision yet.

Sarah grew up in California. She attended a church for underprivileged people until she was a teen, but really never knew God. In high school, she was told by one of the church members that her family was only worth anything to the church because of the paycheck they gave each week.

Poof! She had been burned by the Church in an instant.

Sick of God and Christianity, Sarah moved to L.A. after high school. From there, she pursued music and tried every religion in the book—Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Catholicism, Scientology, and more. Most recently, she told us she left a New Age church where she had been active for quite a while.

She moved to Nashville to pursue music, but quickly got involved with a wild crowd who partied every weekend and spent most of their days in a drunken stupor. However, on January 1, she decided it was time to make some changes in her life.

Still unsure of God, Sarah has decided to give this “religion” a try for 90 days. Lucky for us, she found us 30 days into her experiment. She explained that she’s searching for truth and believes all religions teach some sort of it, but she wants to give the God she knew as a child another chance.

This girl has had my heart and thoughts in a tangled mess for days now. Her situation has made me realize that I have surrounded myself with only Christians—at my job, at home, the friends I chose—my entire life.

How could I ever share my faith in such a comfortable situation? Why would I need to give a defense to anyone asking for the reason for the hope that is in me? There’s been no point. But there are millions of people just like Sarah right next door who are wandering aimlessly throughout life—trying on a new religion every other month.

This encounter simply intensified the urgency for me to share Jesus with those who are searching for answers. I’m going to make it my goal to seek them out, walk with them through life, and hopefully lead them straight to the truth they’re looking for.

Jesus, bring new people across my path who are searching for You and need to hear Your message of hope. Give me wisdom and courage to share with them the truth. Amen.

Needles and Reflections

posted by Mike Blackaby 30Oct

I have always hated pain, and when it comes to needles, my weak stomach and feeble courage don’t stand a chance! In September of 2003 I found myself in one of the worst places I can think of: the hospital. After a visit to my doctor about some health issues, I was hastily sent to the hospital to find out what was wrong. Waiting in the emergency room gave me many reasons to be miserable. From the unknown state of my health, to the groaning man behind the veiled mystery certain beside me, to the back-less dress they made me wear in exchange for my dignity, things were not going well. I was attached to numerous machines and thought things couldn’t get any worse when suddenly two beautiful nurses entered the room. All thoughts of my previous gloom disappeared in an instant! Then I realized why they were there.

I started to panic when they approached me with an I.V. needle, planning how I would escape this chamber of torture. One of the nurses reached for my arm and slowly brought her weapon to bear on it, but she stopped to ask me a question. “You aren’t scared of needles are you?” I glanced at the object in her hand (which looked like a tool of medieval warfare) and answered as calmly as I could, “Of course not!” I lied, “I want to stay well hydrated! What’s the hold up? Let’s get this show on the road!” To my dismay, both nurses burst into laughter (and not the “you-are-so-brave-and-rugged-you-make-me-nervous” kind of laughter)! Between fits of chortle, she answered, “You can’t lie while you’re hooked up to a heart monitor!” I followed her eyes to the machinery beside my bed and watched as my heartbeat recorded about 100 beats per second! My secret was out because my heart gave me away.

That was not the first time my heart has ratted me out, nor will it be the last. Hard times reveal our true character. If I ever want to know the condition of my heart, all I have to do is watch how I act when life throws me a curve ball. That day I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and started a journey of multiple injections every single day for the rest of my life. That was a major wake up call for me, and I clearly remember God telling me the day before: “Trust me.” I had no idea why, but I would find out less than twenty-four hours later. When God asks me to trust Him today it’s because He knows what I will face tomorrow. He prepared my heart that day so I could face the trials ahead.

Proverbs 27:19 says, “As in water face reflects face, so a man’s heart reveals the man.” When I look at my heart, what do I see? Nothing in life is more important to me than making sure my heart is right with God because only then can I face the obstacles life throws at me.