“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
- Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...
Thanks for joining me today for a little coffee break, and for tuning out the rest of the world and all of its crazy demands upon your life and your time. Grab your coffee and come on in for our monthly WOW, before July is gone!
Last week I was walking the streets of Vegas with two of my girlfriends – we were on our annual getaway for girls. I was amazed at how crowded the streets were, especially for a Tuesday! I mean there were people everywhere! Doesn’t anyone work anymore? :) It’s hard to believe that it’s a vacation destination for so many different people. But because it is, Vegas has got to be one of the top places for people-watching! Talk about a lot of culture!
Speaking of people watching, I must have been doing just that as I was trying to keep up with my girlfriends – I had actually wrenched my back on the ride to Vegas two days prior, thanks to a wasp/fly in our vehicle that landed on me and sent me twisting and turning in ways that I didn’t know I could. And the frapachino I had in my hand, well, that went flying! Anyway, that’s another story but the ending to it was my sweet friend Sherry climbed out of the front seat, into the back with me, stretching her body out as far as she could to reach into the very back and squish the sucker as I sat crouched in the corner, trying not to scream while laughing in fear and disbelief, all the while reeling in pain.
Anyway, back to the streets of Vegas. It’s about 112 out; sweat is trickling down my back as I’m walking behind them, giving up keeping up with them, and suddenly I hear this “Excuse me; excuse me” in an English accent. The voice was rather timid in a strong kind of way. I looked to my left and there was a young boy, probably 12 or 13ish trying desperately to get by and he seemed to be in a hurry, a bit frightened even.
Right after he made his way past me, I heard the reason for the suspected hurry: “YOU’RE A SINNER, CONDEMNED TO DEATH! YOU NEED TO REPENT AND ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR!”
The voice got louder, closer and to tell you the truth, I couldn’t even tell you all of what he was saying. Why? Because I tuned him out! And my two girlfriends, both of whom are believers, didn’t hesitate to add their commentaries, which in no way were positive! In fact, one of them called the guy a freak!
I shook my head in frustrated sadness because I just know in my heart this isn’t what Jesus asks us to do.
Now to avoid finger-pointing, or picking up the gavel, I did explain to my friends that I strongly disagree with this method of so-called evangelism; however, he was doing what he believed to be the right thing. We could only pray that somehow, some way, God’s Spirit would intervene and do damage control while trying to be heard by the heart of this yelling evangelist as well as the young boy he just scared off.
Have you ever encountered a yelling evangelist? What was your first reaction to his/her message?
Join me tomorrow for the conclusion to our WOW for July!
Marveling at the lessons,
Evinda
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