The church service was over yesterday, and some folks wanted to talk or ask questions, and I always plan to just hang out for a bit to get to talk to each one. The last two were a dad and a young boy about early grammar school age. They had been coming for a few weeks, and I’d not yet been able to make it out in time to get to meet them. He introduced himself as Bob and his son as Billy. I told them that I had seen them before but was really glad to get to meet them both. Dad said, “You talked about how to ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior and Billy said he wanted you to help him do that”. I told him that was great and Billy and Dad and I talked and I led him in a prayer asking for forgiveness and that the Jesus of the Bible would come into his heart and life. He did great and I told them both that the next step would be for Billy t o be baptized and that we could do that next Sunday. We headed out to our luncheon going on and I thought what a wonderful but unusual thing to be able to do. To have someone who has just started coming to church to want to make that commitment at that age so quickly. I was pretty jazzed about that and later went to the hospital to check in on an old friend who I had also led in that same prayer just before Christmas. He was just the opposite of Billy. Dick was pretty much the oldest in our church and now was being cared for in the hospital until his body shut down. He wasn’t conscious when I went to pray with him and his family. I went home and shortly after I got notification that
Dick had died not too long after I left. I got to thinking about what I had experienced…one who had made that commitment at the sunset of his life and on this day another who made that commitment pretty much at the dawn of his life. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church the words “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold the new has come. I told Billy that in God’s eyes he was now forgiven for all his sin. That the old had passed away…and the new has come. But when I found out about Dick later in the day, I couldn’t help but see that verse differently. Here were two guys, both in Christ by their decisions. But the old had passed away…and there before me, the new had come. Maybe the lesson is that there is no wrong time to choose to come to God…but we only have this lifetime to do it. I will miss my old friend…but I will enjoy watching this new young life grow and blossom right in front of me. The old has passed away…Behold the new has come! Here’s our Bible verse for today….
2 Corinthians 5:17 BSB Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ
Dick had died not too long after I left. I got to thinking about what I had experienced…one who had made that commitment at the sunset of his life and on this day another who made that commitment pretty much at the dawn of his life. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church the words “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold the new has come. I told Billy that in God’s eyes he was now forgiven for all his sin. That the old had passed away…and the new has come. But when I found out about Dick later in the day, I couldn’t help but see that verse differently. Here were two guys, both in Christ by their decisions. But the old had passed away…and there before me, the new had come. Maybe the lesson is that there is no wrong time to choose to come to God…but we only have this lifetime to do it. I will miss my old friend…but I will enjoy watching this new young life grow and blossom right in front of me. The old has passed away…Behold the new has come! Here’s our Bible verse for today….
2 Corinthians 5:17 BSB Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ