A testimony of God’s timing
This
is a season of new directions for many of God’s children and we are
finding ourselves in new places, filling new roles, and even renewed focus
to callings we thought would never happen. We are discovering that God is
guiding us with His eye and when we press in, He backs us up!
GUEST COMMENT
Evangelism
is not comfortable to many, and we are sometimes suspicious of large events.
And yet God can take something we never imagined for our region, such
as this Billy Graham Mission and use it as the catalyst to “gel”
things that have been developing for some time. Pastor’s prayer groups.
Youth workers building the Kingdom together. Children’s workers developing
new passion for their service for Jesus. Churches working side by side.
Kids praying for their schoolmates. Youth inviting their friends and teachers.
Ordinary people discovering that they can share their extraordinary faith
with those who have yet to
believe.
Don’t
be surprised if God asks you to lay down some things you thought were important,
to take up some things you didn’t expect to be involved in, and to
fight for the His eternal stuff with all that is in you!
(That
is what has been happening in my life for the last year, it’s been
hard, but it also has been really refreshing!)
Please
read the wonderful testimony that follows and be encouraged! Your prayers
are changing the atmosphere of a region.
+ + +
A Mother’s Day Testimony
from Marilyn F.
“I
have to be honest, I was truly hesitant to go to the Billy Graham Mission.
We had invited people to attend with us, but no one could, and I kept feeling
like I would be taking a seat from a person who did not know Jesus as their
personal Lord and Savior. However, we have an ‘adopted family’
here as we have no family in the area, and the mother wanted us to go (her
real daughter, son-in-law, niece and us) on a picnic and to the Mission
for Mother’s Day. Well, that put me in a position where I felt God
was saying honor her wish. She had already been Thursday and Friday night
and knows Jesus as her Savior and so does her daughter and husband. So I
said, since I was the only one without a child, I would prepare a special
meal and we would go.
“The
short version is, that I keep thinking I was taking up a seat for someone
who did not have the relationship I do, and I continued to struggle, even
once the service had started. I felt privileged to hear Dr. Graham’s
message, and those of others, and of course the music was uplifting.
“When
Dr. Graham began his call, my adopted 10-year-old niece, who was sitting
between her mother and I, stood up and said, ‘I need to go down there.’
We looked at her and said, what and she repeated herself. I picked her up
and put her on my lap, between my husband and I, and we began to question
her as to what she wanted to go down on the field for (she had been to the
kids event on Saturday as well). She very firmly told us, that she wanted
to accept Jesus into her heart and make Him a part of her life. Her mother
looked at me, I began to cry and said take her, she is ready.
“When
she got down the field, and the counselor approached her, she answered all
the questions, read the statements and was so confident that she was a different
little girl. I thank God for allowing me to be a part of this special moment.
“Please
lift her in prayer, so that she continues to grow in His light, and that
we might be strong witnesses for her. It was such an awesome moment, and
I know now that the God knew all along who we were bringing to the Mission
to learn more about Him.”
Liese
Smith lives in San Diego with her husband Craig. They have been involved
in various local prayer initiatives since joining San Diego First Assembly
in 1998. Some of their favorite things to do are fly fishing, traveling,
reading books, visiting with family and encouraging people of all ages to
pray.