Deeper Devotional

Read 1 Timothy 6:18-19 (NASB)

The past couple of weeks we have been asking you to do three things. One is to pray that the Lord will give you a heart, broken for the lost. Two, that you would ask someone the question, “How could I pray that God would bless you today?” And finally, to make a list of three people that you would commit to pray for each day that the Lord would bring them to a saving knowledge of Himself.

Some of you have been gracious enough to share your experiences. Joy Gray, our KPC receptionist gives this account:

When Pastor Nate encouraged us during the service last Sunday to ask God to reveal someone close to us we could reach out to with the Gospel, I heard one name loud and clear. It was “John,” the US postal worker who drops off mail at the reception desk three to four times a week. I’ve dubbed him “Happy John,” because about 90% of the time when he walks through the front door he cheerfully blurts: “Hey … It’s just another day in paradise!”

I’ve tested the waters a few times with John to see where he might be spiritually, and he’s just one of those folks I’m not quite sure about.

While I was getting ready for work today, God brought “Happy John” to mind. I asked God to help me come up with a way to reach out to him when he comes in again. Immediately, God reminded me of some extraneous materials I received from Turning Point Ministries (Dr. David Jeremiah) when I recently ordered a teaching series on the subject of heaven. I’m doing a series on heaven right now with women at the Virginia Beach Correctional Center. I go there every week and talk with women about Jesus and the hope of heaven. The subject of heaven has simply been my angle at the jail to share the Gospel with broken women.

At God’s prompting this morning, I went digging for those extraneous materials and laughed when I discovered a colorful gift book entitled: Discover Paradise: A Guidebook to Heaven, Your True Home. I had totally forgotten about receiving that gift book when I ordered the teaching series. The gift book is put together like something you might get through a travel agency trying to entice you to make reservations at some exotic location. The book is full of scriptures about heaven, presents the Gospel, and includes an invitation.

I knew immediately that God answered my prayer this morning as to how I could initially reach out to Happy John.

Happy John just dropped off the mail, and I had a chance to give him the book, tell him how I was praying for him this morning, and God led me straight to that book to give him. He was appreciative of the book and told me how much it meant to him to know someone had been praying for him.

I was really excited for God to “come through” in such a specific and personalized way concerning the name He dropped on me during the service last Sunday.

I bet God is doing that with others this week also.

What happens time after time is that when we step out in faith, God is always there. When we are obedient to become a part of what God is already doing in the life of another person, then we get the blessing. As our reading indicates today, we “begin to take hold of life indeed.” This is living life at its fullest.