JUST A VESSEL

Just to recap, I recently posted the story of a man who has cancer and there's nothing more anyone could do. (**SEE MR TOMMY'S STORY). I went to help care for his dogs and while I was there I felt led to thank him and his wife for allowing me to help out because it is through helping others that I can allowed God's love to show through me. Mr. Tommy replied, "you should know I'm not a Christian". Normally I may have dropped the conversation right there, but the Holy Spirit took over and I shared my testimony of God having healed me.

I drove home crying and praying out loud to God asking for Mr. Tommy to be healed and that he should come to know Jesus. Many of you responded to a FB post asking for prayer. Well, the prayers worked. Today, I got an email that Mr. Tommy had asked Jesus into his heart and had asked him for forgiveness. I shed tears of joy and prayed prayers of thanksgiving upon hearing of this. So, my message in this post is that our prayers have been answered. However, there's something else.

I'm not the type to go into conversations about religion at every turn, but I don't hide my faith either. I was led to share my story by divine inspiration. The fact is that as Christians we must always act as if someone were watching because they are. You may never know the lives you can touch on any given day and that influence can be positive or negative. I didn't go to see Mr. Tommy in order to change his heart. I didn't know his heart, but God did and he used me as a vessel to show (not just tell) how powerful God is and can be.

I take no credit for the change in Mr Tommy. Perhaps something I shared helped bring him to believe but just as a vessel can't take credit for how pure the water is, neither can I take credit. How often have I felt this tug on my heart that a stranger needs a kind hello or needs to get ahead of me in the grocery line. I'm sorry to say that I haven't always heeded these messages. I have asked God many times why he healed me, what was left for me to do here on earth. The fact is I may not know until I see Jesus face to face exactly what my true purpose was. But I have learned my lesson. When God says be a prayer warrior, I'll stop what I'm doing and I will pray. When the Holy Spirit nudges me to tell my testimony I'd better do it no matter if I know the person or not.

I'm not perfect. I struggle with questions some days and all I can do is pray for discernment. I now fully understand that God has a plan for all of us and we may influence others positively or negatively depending upon our actions and our words. We should all pray each day that God use us for his glory. We should graciously become a vessel for God's love.

God Bless

DATING OUTSIDE OF YOUR FAITH

Twenty years + ago, I didn't think about not dating outside of my faith. Granted I was not living my life with Christ at the center. I thought it didn't matter if I dated someone who was of a different religion or even if they were non-believers. I actually married a man who was an atheist. I had been raised in the Baptist church. Church twice on Sunday and prayer meetings on Wednesdays. I was active in the youth group, but as often happens, during college my church attendance was non-existent and my leading a Christian lifestyle kind of fell by the wayside. I thought I could make it in the world all on my own.

So I did marry a non-believer and it didn't matter at first. Then, I became a mother. I began attending the Episcopal church and found it a much better fit for my beliefs than the strict Baptist upbringing I'd had when I was younger. I had my daughter baptized and she and I attended church regularly. My ex-husband didn't mind since I wasn't trying to convert him. It was hard for me as my faith grew, not to have a partner to share my beliefs with. Eventually, he felt it would be better for my daughter if we went to church as a family. The surprising thing is that after I left and my daughter was away in college, he continued to attend church on his own. Maybe God used me to reach a non-believer, but now I make it a rule to abide by what the Bible says about the subject. It tells us not to be "unequally yoked".

Recently, I met someone nice online. We talked for several weeks and eventually met for dinner. Two days later I realized that I couldn't remember what his profile said as far as religious preference. I went online and looked only to find that he listed himself as non-religious. I had to call him, hoping all the while it was a mistake. I really liked him. But I knew that it would not be fair to him or to myself if I kept seeing him. When I spoke with him he said that he was an agnostic.

That set off a Biblical debate. The same arg;aments I've heard my whole life when people try to argue science vs. religion. I'm not a religious scholar but I do study the Bible and pray for discernment that I understand the word as God would have me do. For his every point against Christianity I had a counter-point. What it all boiled down to was that I told him I have experienced God moving in my life and everything comes to a matter of faith. We agreed it best that we not continue seeing one another.

This may seem harsh and judgmental, but in reality I'm doing as God commanded. It's hard enough for a couple to stay together these days if you complicate things by marrying a non-believer the cards are stacked against you from the start. I want a companion and partner in my life who shares my faith who understands that I lean on God and pray for his guidance. So, now, one of the first things I ask when I meet someone new is what is their religious affiliation. I trust that God will bring to me the partner he has planned for me to meet. I have faith that he knows my needs greater than I even know. I will definitely not date a non-believer ever again.