“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” ( Romans 5:10, KJV)
My husband has to accompany me everywhere for now, so that I may lean on his arm to walk and have his support as needed. And, I have to sit every few minutes to give relief to my back and gain strength and stamina.
We were in a rush, looking at things to fill the ministry home. We are expecting guests from abroad and need to get all in order as soon as possible.
It is an opportunity and also fun to purchase small and discounted items, as we ask the Lord if each item is what He would like for us to place in the home that is His and will serve a purpose. As we looked around, we managed to put together a few useful things to make the place welcoming and comfortable.
We were in a hurry to check out. The young man who was at the cash register was dark- skinned. I noticed that his name tag had part of “Christ” in it, but in a different language. I asked him what his name meant. He said that his mother had given it to him for the name Jesus. It was partially a French name.
I asked him, “Do you know Jesus?”
His quick response as he drew back was “No!” Wagging his head back and forth, he continued, “No! To know Him would be the death of me!” I knew then that he was a French Muslim. I had known these people from the time that I was in France. I thought that perhaps his mother was a Christian and had been praying for her son.
I then stood closer to him and strongly said, “To know Him would be the life of you! He died on the cross for your sins. He loves you!”
He stepped back and again said, “No! To know Him would be the death of me!”
I drew close and asked him, “But do you want to know Him?”
I was surprised when he answered, “Yes, I do. But I can’t.”
I drew closer to him and said, “Well, since you want to know Him, you and I are going to pray that you know Him.”
He changed his disposition. He seemed to come to some sense. He responded, “Yes, I want to know Him!”
I smiled and said, “Alright then, let’s pray.” He stared into my eyes as we prayed. There behind the cashier, while people were coming and going, this young man was confessing Jesus as the Son of God and his Saviour.
After we finished praying, he became very joyful! His countenance changed from dark to light, and he exclaimed with freedom in his voice, “Wow, this is powerful! I want to thank you! I want to thank you! This is powerful!” The Holy Spirit had come to make His home in his heart, and Jesus was now the One living in Him.
I was so drawn to his reaction that I didn’t know what more to say. I asked him if he had a Bible. He said that he did. I was surprised! I thought that surely his mother had given him one. He said, “I will read it!” He was full of joy and excitement!
I would have loved to hear the story about his mother and the Bible that he had, but now customers were lining up, and I had to go. My husband and I walked to the car rejoicing!
“Abba, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, My Father, My Lord, what an experience to hear this young man say that to know You, Jesus, would be his death, and in the next moment, he confesses that he wants to know You. By Your Spirit he could no longer resist Your love for him. I could have cried as I stood there watching You take him out of darkness and into everlasting Light, You, the Light of the World!”