Give ‘em a dose of Jesus
For quite a while, my co-workers and I have been contemplating holding a church service at our workplace. The purpose was never to compete with other churches. We had no desire to take anyone from the church they belong to or attend. Our only reason for doing it was because we felt led to do so. If there was a holdout, it was me.
After a bout with the shingles, and a discussion with a dear friend who got a less than favorable medical diagnosis, I joined my friends in doing what I knew was the right thing. In no way am I saying the Lord gave me the shingles or my friend a bad diagnosis. I am saying the combination of the two got my attention. They reminded me of the brevity of life and the importance of trying to do better.
We often think of sin as the bad things we do. And we would be right. But it is equally sinful to fail to do what we know we should. Those sins may be harder to wrap our heads around. It doesn’t matter. They are just a wrong as the things we do that we know we shouldn’t. Nevertheless, there was a time I would have just accepted the punishment and hid in the house. I couldn’t do it this time. Not because I’m good. I am anything but. During the devil we call Covid, God did something for me I have no ability to ever repay Him for.
In the Bible, King David was a complicated man. He was referred to as “A man after God’s own heart.” Jesus was even called, “The Son of David.” King David did many great things during his life. He also did some terrible things. He made a few mistakes which would make some criminals shake their heads in disbelief. Yet, God forgave his sins and blessed his life. David is credited with writing many of the Psalms. It is there I found something during the lonely days of Covid. In Psalms 51:12 David prayed, “Restore unto me the joy of my salvation.”
The greatest moment in my life was when God saved my soul. I left the altar that night with nothing but love in my heart. There was no anger or ill will in my heart toward anyone. As years passed, so did the ability to disregard the negativity which cripples so many of us. Sometimes we get so far away from God, we lose the joy of our salvation. During Covid, I spent more time alone than I ever have in my life. It gave me plenty of time to think, read, and pray. I never prayed the same prayer David did in Psalm 51. Something miraculous happened anyway. God restored the joy of my salvation.
As we prepared for our Easter Service, the devil reminded me some may not think it appropriate. I guess we would never do anything if we let worries like that stop us. During the week prior, I received a call from Pastor Charles Davis of Canton Community Church. He is often referred to as Canton’s Pastor. Pastor Davis called because he heard we were having a service. Not only did he offer encouragement on the phone, but he also said he wanted to pray. Right then. Right there. On the phone. He amazes me.
On Sunday morning before the service, I received a message from Pastor Gary Lamb of Action Church. He just wanted to tell me he was thinking about us and encourage us to give ‘em a dose of Jesus. Pastor Lamb sent a follow-up message
Sunday night asking how it went. He also amazes me.
Two pastors. They couldn’t be more different. In other ways, they couldn’t be more alike. This column is about them. Both men knew we weren’t trying to compete with them. We couldn’t have if that would have been our goal. It wasn’t our goal. The only goal was to provide a service for some who might not have a place to go on Easter Sunday. Nothing more. Nothing less. They wanted God to bless our service. These two men who seem so different on the surface, have many similarities. They have dedicated their lives to preaching Jesus. Better yet, their callings have been to preach Jesus to the folks in our community. We should give thanks for this blessing.
My life will never be compared to the lives of Pastor Davis and Pastor Lamb. Nor should it. God blessed our service. So much, we may have more. With two men like Charles Davis and Gary Lamb praying for us, we were blessed before the service started.