Acts 11:23 NLT
When he
arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he
encouraged the believers to stay
true to the Lord.
Thank you for
spending some time with today’s devotion, but I am going to take some time
today sharing personal moments from Easter weekend. I am calling them “happy moments” because I
saw the hand of God that also brought big encouragement my way.
Soon time after
worship ended on Easter Sunday one of our children’s teachers came up to see me
with one of our young guys. What I heard
next was worth more than you may know.
Logan had accepted Jesus as his Savior in our children’s worship. That made our Easter celebration
incredible.
A few minutes later
I was talking with two ladies. They are
the same age, and when we moved to Virginia, almost 13 years ago, both helped
baby sit our girls. They have grown in
to two beautiful ladies with kids of their own. I am proud of the Christ followers they
continue to be.
Before our Easter
worship began I was talking with several people visiting our church. One of our men introduced me to a friend that
he had been praying for and sharing with for some time. The friend took steps to follow Jesus that
day. Several others introduced me to
friends they invited and brought to church as well. That’s a happy moment!
The weekend began
with some conversations that aren’t very easy for parents to have with their
kids, yet this conversation in particular took a turn in a better
direction. Let me say that I am proud of
my children. Proud of their
decisions. Proud of their hearts. Proud of the people and Jesus followers they
are becoming. I pray they will see in
their mother and I vision for God’s best for them and for our family.
You might think
that I am always up, joyful and full of nice things to say, but that is not
always the case. Late last week I got a
note from someone that I rarely hear from, and it was not very nice. But my desire is always to turn things from
negative to positive, to be kind when others are seeking to do harm. The choice I had was either to hand back
harshness or to be kind. I chose the
later, and I have spent time praying for a difficult situation and those in
it. Haven’t seen any change as of yet,
but I am believing God for lives to be turned toward Him.
On Friday morning I
got an email from one of Raceway Ministry leaders about our friends Ron and
Jackie Pegram whose son, Pat, had seen missing for several days. Since then I have gotten a report each day
from Ron, and his son has yet to be found.
My heart breaks for this precious family. I have watched Ron over the years minister to
lots of people in the racing community and through our friends at Samaritan
Feet. Jackie is gifted in sharing Jesus
with kids. My life and ministry is
stronger because of what they have poured in to my life. Pray for this special family and that their
son would be found.
Turning in another
direction that is much more positive I was so excited to hear how God worked in
so many churches over the weekend. Some
of those churches are local and some are a long way off. I heard about hundreds of people who gave
their lives to Jesus. I also heard of
some new churches that kicked off this weekend that I pray will do great things
leading and serving people in Jesus’ name.
I close with
something that rings in my mind that makes me more excited than anything
else. It is about men who are seeking
Jesus and allowing their lives to shine for Jesus. I talked to a man whose dad died last week,
and his biggest concern is family members who do not know Jesus. I was touched and am praying for their
salvation. I watched one of our young
leaders at church step up to serve, and what came to my mind was the time I
watched him begin to follow Jesus. In
another direction I see a lady who began serving with one of our outreach
ministries and is now passionate about helping people meet Jesus. Those stories don’t end.
God’s love is not
tied up in what we own. God’s love is
tied up in us. He loves people. He loves us.
He loves you and me. We must be
the same in loving people more than we love anything else. It ought to make our day when we see someone
begin to walk with Jesus. Those really
are the happiest of all moments.
May God bring more
happy moments our way!
Psalm 69:32 NLT
The humble
will see their God at work and be glad.
Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.
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