For all my fellow evangelists out there, whoever you may be, this story is for you -
From Tony Miano's blog, The Lawman Chronicles
To the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him alone, goes all of the praise, honor, and glory for what you are about to read.
I lead a Bible Discussion Group at my church, on Wednesday evenings. By the time I get home from Living Waters, there is usually just enough time to sit and relax for a bit, and then have dinner with the family, before heading to church.
Last night, I had about thirty minutes between dinner and leaving for church. I thought about taking out my cross, but there wasn't enough time to get to one of my usual spots and back again. So, I decided to take my cross and walk to the end of our street. I've carried the cross on that corner before, and I've had a few opportunities to share the gospel with people there.
As I walked to the corner, I realized I didn't have any tracts with me. Time was so short. I didn't bother to walk back to the house to get some. A few motorists waved in support. And one man yelled from his car, "Why don't you go kill yourself!"
About fifteen minutes after I arrived on the corner, a young man rode a bike from the opposite side of the street to where I stood.
"Hello, Mr. Miano." The young man said with a smile.
"Hey! How are you doin'?" I asked, shaking his hand.
The young man, by now a few years out of high school, had participated in a Way of the Master Basic Training Class I taught about four years ago, for a group of high school students in our home school association.
We spent a few minutes catching up. We said our good-byes, and I asked him to say hello to his family for me.
That was it--a nice contact with a nice young man. In fact, it was so uneventful, I forgot to mention to Mahria or the girls that I saw him.
I turned on my cell phone at 5 AM this morning. I opened my email before making breakfast. The first email was from the young man I saw on the corner the night before.
As I read the email, I began to weep tears of joy--loud enough for all three of my daughters to get out of bed, thinking there was something wrong with daddy.
I assured them I was all right and apologized for waking them. And then I read them the following email.
Dear Mr. Miano,
After our meeting this evening, I surrendered my life to Jesus, and prayed, asking God for forgiveness of my sins through Christ's substitute punishment. I placed my faith in this grace as my only hope for eternal life.
Growing up I have always believed in Jesus, and have seen (and acknowledged) God's hand in my life. However, I'm not certain that I really understood that I needed to surrender my life and place my faith in Him alone. I feel that there has been a tug-of-war in my life for some time, during which time I have realized my need to go beyond mere belief to faith in Jesus and acceptance of grace and grace alone.
I'm sharing this with you because seeing you bearing your cross stirred in me a need to cry out to God, and I believe with my whole heart that He heard. Another reason is that your class planted a seed in my heart that has finally sprouted.
I have shared this with my parents. If possible, I'd also like to share this with you in person.
My girls and I rejoiced and praised God. I was overwhelmed with God's goodness and my utter unworthiness to be saved by Him and to serve Him.
I shared this story this morning with a few of my brothers at Living Waters, including our Executive Vice President, Emeal ("E.Z.") Zwayne. E.Z. said something that sent positive chills down my spine and motivated me all the more to carry the cross, serve Christ, and persevere. He said (and I'm paraphrasing), "One moment we might consider ordinary might be extraordinary in that God uses it to revolutionize a person's life. An encounter like the one you had, God can use eight to ten years later to raise up a Whitefield, Spurgeon, or Moody."
Many of you who read my blog have led Way of the Master Basic Training Classes. Many of you have built your own "Are You Ready" crosses and have taken to the streets in your communities. And many of you in both groups are left at times wondering if the work you are doing for the Lord is bearing any fruit.
Don't quit! God is working! He's moving on the hearts of people! God is not obligated to show us how He is working. And we do not need to see God working to obediently answer His call to serve Him. But isn't it wonderful when He allows us the precious gift and great privilege of seeing Him work in someone else's life?
I hope this brief blog post has been an encouragement to you, the reader. Please join me in thanking and praising God for what it appears he has done in this young man's life. And pray this young man will bring forth great fruit in keeping with repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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To echo Tony's words..... Don't Quit!!
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