When Someone Says 'I Don't Go To Church'

Every week at the end of our Sunday evening service, our church family prays for boldness and opportunity in the coming week. We want to be ready, willing and able whenever God puts a witnessing moment in our paths. It's a deep desire to be aware of the needs around us on a daily basis.

Recently I stopped at the grocery store early on a Sunday morning, which I rarely do. But on this day I needed some fresh produce that I didn't want to get the day before. I would hate to arrive at our noon fellowship with stale food. (shudder)

As I took my fruit tray and creme cake to the checkout, several young clerks were gathered around the checker's station. They were all young women, and they were talking and laughing like they didn't have a care in the world. This wouldn't have been memorable if one of them hadn't loudly announced, "I wouldn't know...I don't go to church."

This one statement threw me for a loop. What do you say when you'd rather be at church than most anywhere? What do you say without drawing attention or seeming holier-than-thou? What do you say that won't drive them farther away from Christians than they apparently already are?

Looking back, I have rehearsed a dozen different conversations in my head. What I did was check out and walk away, but there must have been something I could have said that would have shown this woman Jesus for the first time that day. I have no idea who she was, and I'm not even sure if I would recognize her again. My opportunity for boldness has passed, and that has really affected my heart.

When you pray for opportunities to show Jesus Christ to even just one person this week, also pray for the boldness to follow through. Silence and fear are tools of the devil, especially designed to keep us from spreading the gospel. Don't let him win, even for one moment. Ask the Lord for everything you need to be an effectual witness in the days to come. That's how we'll help change the lives and hearts of those around us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet...
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee...
Read more

Crafts For Teen Girls To Make

Image
In our teen girls Bible study, we're studying our way through the Proverbs 31 woman and it's been such a blessing to me, as I hope it's been to them. Every month we spend an afternoon or an evening together studying Scripture, making something amazing in the kitchen and creating something that corresponds to the verse we're in. Choosing the crafts each time can be a challenge for several reasons. It needs to be something they can completely finish (or do most of) because once they leave they're probably not going to work on it themselves - that's just the nature of teenagers. Remember? It also needs to be a project that keeps they're attention, is age-appropriate and is cool enough that they'll want to keep it or give it to someone special. But hey, no pressure on the Bible study leader, right? Here are just a few of the projects we've done together in the year we've been meeting. * This month's craft will be the adorable cross stit...
Read more