Day 3 of my fast and although I am coping with no food I am amazed at how much the call of telly and books is making itself felt . I have always said I dont watch much telly and I know that is true but I do like to settle down about 9ish and watch an episode of CSI type of programmes. I also realise just how much time I give to reading novels.
God is showing me that the choices I have been making arent "wrong " in themselves but not always what He wants me to be doing.In making the decision to fast from these very worldy pleasures and give myself to reading Gods word...prayer...and worshipping I am beginning to take back some ground that I have given to the enemy.I said before I feel "wide awake" in my spirit and this is continuing to grow within me,and hearing God speak to me afresh is so worth it.
Last night at the prayer time we were looking at the scripture from Matthew ch.9 v 35-38 where Jesus is talking about the harvest being ready and the workers are few...."ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers." We prayed that God would raise up workers BUT more than that we prayed that God would give us boldness to believe in the harvest and to be ready at all times to lead people to salvation. We prayed that we would lead someone to Christ this year...to name them and claim them.!!!
This led me today to look back at my salvation record... when was the last time I talked to someone about salvation and then led them through repentance into faith??
I am embarrassed to say that it has been years...I remember the person but it must be over 12 years ago .!!! I have spent this afternoon asking God to bring back some of the enthusiasm I had in those early years of my own salvation.
In the first few years of my walk with God I can honestly say I was praying salvation prayers with at least one person a year and sometimes more. One year I did a course called Contagious Christian and I had to write the names of 5 people I would like to see saved.I can look back at that list now and know within two years they had all become Christians. The ministries I was involved in all saw people saved and added on a fairly regular basis throughout the year. I wrote a personal tract and kept it with me at all times ,giving them to people I was involved with. I was always ready to step up front and pray with people who had responded to one of the messages on a Sunday.
My question is WHY do I no longer have this same enthusiasm?? I know I have lost the passion and maybe even lost the compassion that I used to have. We heard from someone at the meeting that perhaps we have lost the "vision of people actually going to hell"..have we got too complacent about the judgment waiting for our family...friends and neighbours? I think this is partly the reason but I also realise again that my circle of friends is mainly ALL church people,so I have very few contacts to actually share the gospel with.
As I walked the dog this afternoon I began to pray for a renewal of faith to believe that I can make a difference,that I will have the faith to believe for just one person this year,that the passion and enthusiasm I once had would again be real to me.I asked God to restore in me a compassion for the lost , the weary,the confused,the poor. The scripture in Matthew says that "Jesus had compassion on them because they were harrassed and helpless , like sheep without a shepherd " I look around at peoples lives and I see sometimes they are harrassed and helpless and most of the time I ignore the clear call to have compassion on them.May God forgive me my complacency, and change my heart so that it beats as one with His for the lost.
Walk with me on this faith journey and lets believe that God can use each of us to bring just one person to salvation this year.
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