If there is any group of people in our country that I greatly admire, it's our military. I recently saw a picture on the internet of an American soldier in Afghanistan carrying his heavy gear and weapon in extreme heat and making his way across the desert. It was on the 4th of July. He was there putting his life on the line for the freedom of our country and the protection of others. I was here enjoying my air-conditioned office and drinking a cold glass of water. Something struck me about that photo of the soldier...struck me deeper than most photos I had seen of our military in quite a while. There was something so obvious yet so fresh to my soul. And it wasn't anything that you could see with your eyes. You had to see it with your heart. Here is what I saw - he didn't have to be there.
I want to tell you about two situations I found myself in recently that were similar in nature but had different outcomes.
Story #1
Not long ago I was driving to a conference a few hours from home and had nearly reached my destination when my vehicle suddenly broke down. So I did what most any non-mechanical person like me would do in this kind of situation - I called for help and found some shade nearby to shield me from the hot sun. And I did one more thing. I prayed and asked God to help me make the most of the situation by allowing me to be a witness for Him. Eventually the towing service arrived, picked up my vehicle and took it to a repair shop about twenty minutes up the road, toward the location of the conference I was still planning to attend. I rode in the tow truck.
In the previous blog we established that God is calling you and me to be faithful "links in the chain" helping bring people into relationship with Him. Sometimes we will be the first link, sometimes the middle, and at times we will be the last. But for us to become effective links, it's important that we try to discern where people are in their spiritual journey. Let's look at four phases people whom God will bring you into contact with for His purposes typically go through.
Please bear in mind that while I do not necessarily believe each phase follows the previous in a neat and tidy sequence over time, I do believe that these are very accurate and observable in the lives of today's lost person.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God "has put eternity into the hearts of men." If I were to explain this verse to someone, I would say that every person on planet earth is on a spiritual journey. They may not realize it and they may not be sure of the destination, but this verse is really clear that no one ever really dies. They just change addresses when their heart stops beating.
As a follow up to my recent blog titled "Happy Assumptions," where I addressed three things we falsely assume when it comes to reaching a lost world with the Gospel, I want to offer another perspective on the second assumption we discussed. We assume that we as Christ followers have more time to reach people for Christ than we really do. I wrote on this point from the perspective of the brevity of life. We often put off having spiritual conversations with people who are lost until it is too late. Fate or circumstance takes them away before we are ready to share.
If there is any group of people in our country that I greatly admire, it's our military. I recently saw a picture on the internet of an American soldier in Afghanistan carrying his heavy gear and weapon in extreme heat and making his way across the desert. It was on the 4th of July. He was there putting his life on the line for the freedom of our country and the protection of others. I was here enjoying my air-conditioned office and drinking a cold glass of water. Something struck me about that photo of the soldier...struck me deeper than most photos I had seen of our military in quite a while. There was something so obvious yet so fresh to my soul. And it wasn't anything that you could see with your eyes. You had to see it with your heart. Here is what I saw - he didn't have to be there.
I want to tell you about two situations I found myself in recently that were similar in nature but had 
In the 
As a follow up to my recent blog titled "
