Time is Short

Yesterday was a day dedicated to service. First, I went to pick up a month of food and a Thanksgiving Dinner from a fantastic Christian Ministry - Common Heart. (Great ministry to support: http://www.thecommonplace.org/#/common-heart)  I then drove the bounty to the family of one of my abortion mill "saves" who chose life and whose baby is now 2 months old. I have been very involved with this family for several months now. I have come to love all of them. I don't agree with many of their choices, but they are truly wonderful people with good hearts. The young mama prayed with me to receive Jesus a couple of months ago, so I try to send her daily Bible verses to keep her focused on God.

Anyway, I delivered the food and had a wonderful time visiting with L and her mom. I could only stay half an hour because out of the blue, L's sister had called me a few weeks ago. She was also pregnant, single mom, had also considered abortion, and had also in the end let her child live. She was due in January. She has little money, and nothing for the baby. Through donations from friends and my sister, I cobbled together a good bit of baby supplies including a crib, which I was to drive to her yesterday afternoon. She had a rare afternoon off from work, so she could go to her doctor appointment. I offered to take her there after dropping the supplies, thus saving her an hour bus ride.

As soon as I brought all the supplies into her apartment, I felt compelled to speak about God. It literally seized me with an urgency that seems to grow more and more as I get older. Charles Spurgeon once said, "Do you desire to speak for Jesus--how can you unless the Holy Ghost touch your tongue?" That is how it felt...like the Holy Spirit grabbed control. Charles Spurgeon also said, "If the Holy Spirit be indeed so mighty, let us attempt nothing without him; let us begin no project, and carry on no enterprise, and conclude no transaction, without imploring his blessing. Let us do him the due homage of feeling our entire weakness apart from him, and then depending alone upon him, having this for our prayer, "Open thou my heart and my whole being to thine incoming, and uphold me with thy free Spirit when I shall have received that Spirit in my inward parts."

I'd prayed on the drive over, feeling this was an important "divine appointment." Don't let me blow it, Lord, and may you speak through me. This was the first time I'd met her. I unloaded all her new baby supplies, and within moments, we were discussing where she was spiritually. That led to a discussion of who Jesus is. She didn't have a clear answer. She believed in Him, but couldn't really say why. She didn't seem to know much about Him, or the Bible, or faith, or salvation. Long story short, I talked with her about who Jesus was, what He did, and the story of salvation. She was very receptive. At the end, I asked if she wanted to pray with me to ask him into her life. She did! After we prayed, with time very short now, I talked about life style choices and God's laws that are meant to protect us (with special emphasis on purity and marriage before sex and children.) I know many will be disgusted with me, but I believe with all my heart that without the gospel and without a message of purity and following God's commands, a culture of single parenthood and abortion on demand will not change. We talked about how she couldn't change the past, but she could change the future.

She listened and then said, "I agree with you." That doesn't mean her life will change necessarily, but it is a start. And I trust God will work on her heart, because yesterday she became one of His children. Her sweet sister, L, promised me that from now on, each Bible verse I text to L, she will forward on to her sister. One by one perhaps a culture can change...

But time is short. I think we should all feel a sense of urgency.
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Matthew 9:37-38 

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

1 Corinthians 9:22 

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.

Isaiah 6:8 

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

Matthew 24:6 

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

2 Timothy 3:1-4 

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

Luke 21:25 

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,

Revelation 3:3 

Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

Matthew 24:36 

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

2 Timothy 3:1-17 

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.