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Recently I was
reading a story that Billy Graham told about an incident
that happened in the early days of his ministry. He was
in a small town in South Carolina holding a revival
service and needed to mail a letter. He went out of his
hotel to the street looking for the Post Office when he
saw a young boy standing looking in a store window. He
asked the boy for directions to the Post Office. The boy
gave him directions; he thanked him and told him to come
to the Baptist church that night and he would tell him
how to get to heaven. The young boy politely declined
the invitation this way, “No thanks mister, you don’t
even know how to get to the Post Office.”
I thought about this and wondered how many times our
(my) witness falls on deaf ears because my actions show
no indication that I have the slightest idea who God is
or where he might be found. I believe the reason we
don’t know how to lead people to Christ is because we
have lost focus of the cross. We have become comfortable
where we are and self-assured in our own abilities. We
don’t need the cross any longer; we can do it on our
own. This is “our” church, this is “our” new building,
and this is “our” ministry.
We are entering the season of Lent.
Lent is a journey that we need to take
occasionally because it is a time that we can refocus on
the things that are essential. The thing for Christians
that is absolutely essential is the recognition that we
are all sinners and we desperately need the cross.
“But God forbid that I should
boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . .
.”
My hope is that we may journey together to the cross
this season. Love, Fred |
