Stories from the field

This is why I do what I do -- I get to hear stories like this.

Just yesterday, before our Wednesday worship service, we had two gentlemen come into our chapel and sit there talking. Our staff was a little confused as to who these two were, so I went in to talk with them. They were in town for the Christian and Missionary Alliance conference just up the street at the convention center. The first gentleman said "years ago we were friends, but then we had a falling out" they had been angry with each other for a long time, and finally at this Christian conference, they ran into each other and they said "we need to talk" -- they came to our church as a quiet place and one asked the other "How can I make things right" -- after a tearful conversation, they were just about to pray when I walked in. So we prayed together, and thanked God for the reconciliation we have with one another through Christ.

Then, after lunch, I was conversing with a fellow who has been worshipping with us on and off for about two years. He told me about the woman he had been dating -- how she was not really a Christian, but a seeker, and he was concerned about this. He had been praying for her for quite some time. While in the LA Airport, this fellow had a vision of leading her through a gate; he wasn't sure what to do about this vision, but when he returned, he understood. She had attended a worship service at Crossroads church -- at the service, several adults were baptized in a heart gripping ceremony, and she yearned for that personal knowledge of God. As she told my friend what had happened, he simply said "you can know God personally too." and as he talked, he took her to the scriptures: and wound up at John 10 "I tell you the truth, I amd the gate for the sheep....I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved...I have come that they may have life, and have it in full." And there, in a tearful moment, she prayed that Christ would redeem her and turned in trust to Him as her king.

And I could tell other stories from these past few weeks -- the relationships that are being forged through some of our bible study classes, the challenge and encouragement that people are receiving from scripture. God is stirring the pot, and things are indeed happening in our midst. Should we not pray for even more?

In Christ's Grip

Russell-