When I was a kid, my favorite part of Christmas wasn’t opening presents. Don’t get me wrong, I love to open presents, but what was more fun for me took place later in the afternoon.
We’ve all heard statements like these as we grew up, statements attributing behavior, or looks, or even attitudes, to our parents or some relative we’ve never met.
“Forty years after the Church of the Nazarene came to my hometown of Greeneville, Tennessee, a holiness preacher came to the hospital and prayed over my parents’ firstborn. The church had given my teenage parents a baby shower, and despite my parents’ resistance toward salvation, the church did not give up on my family.
When it was brought up by the Board that we, the Board members, should share with the church what our vision for the church is, I was not thrilled! Not that I thought it was a bad idea, but that I am not a good speaker, and that I am really not a visionary person. I can see in hindsight and I can see today, I think. So I prayed — Dear Jesus, give me YOUR vision for the church, not mine!
“Evangelism for Quiet People” was a fascinating and helpful time we had this weekend [April 20-21]. Jason Willoughby did a wonderful job helping us to see many ways we can share Jesus with others. Here are a few thoughts:
How often do we say? “I was wrong. Please forgive me.” How can we have a clear conscience before God and one another?
In 1 John 1:9 we read, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”