Lost............

I sit here this morning, heavy hearted.  The events of last night have been drawing me into much prayer with the Lord.  I bring this burden, that I have shared and will continue to cry out to God about,  to YOU my fellow prayer warriors. 

Let me explain.........

On Tuesday evenings, my local church holds a program called Master Clubs.  It is a wonderful program that teaches and trains young people in important biblical principles, as well as helping them understand their ability to serve the Lord, and impact those around them.  I help in the older group, the 4th -6th grades.  Typically, we have a small group, maybe 6 or 7 kids.  Typically, they are the children that are a part of our church family, many, if not all have made a decision for Christ already. We have been praying that God would bring new children to Master Clubs.  We want other children to hear the hope of the Gospel.

Last night we had 4 new children. Three girls, and a boy.  One was invited by a child that was already attending, the other three, the girls....just... came.

I think as leaders we were a little surprised to see new faces.
I don't know why we were so surprised that God answered our prayer.....
But we were.

As we moved through the evening I was privileged to begin to walk them through what we call the Membership Booklet.  It is an introduction to Master Clubs and there are some verses in there for them to memorize.  The biggest and most important part of that booklet is the presentation of the Gospel. I was nervous. I have never really presented the Gospel before.

Crazy I know,  a Christian for 32 years... and never presented the Gospel to another human being.
Tragic really.

 I knew these girls needed to hear it.  I have been praying to God for boldness to share Him with others.  I figured he got tired of waiting for me to open my mouth in public, so He just dropped these girls in my lap.  I desired to be obedient and let Him do the talking to their hearts, so I fired off a "Ok, Lord... here we go...  Help me out" prayer, and dove right in.

The first section of the booklet asks some questions of the kids.  It gets them thinking, and they help us assess where the child is in their understanding of sin, and their relationship to the Lord.  The questions are:
What do you want to be when you grow up?  What do you think will happen when this life is over?  Do you think you have ever sinned?  Where do you think your soul will spend eternity?  I think there was one more question, but I can't remember it right now.....  As the girls filled out their questions, I was just listening, there to help if they didn't understand a question.  One girl mentioned to her friend she had never been to church before...
Ever.
No Pressure Julie.... none at all. (gulp)

Another girl, she had brought the other two, seemed to have been in church a few times, maybe she was from another church in town.  She said she was a Christian, she wrote that she was going to heaven.
The girl who had never been to church, she wrote that she didn't know where she would spend eternity. (ok.. I make a mental note about that.... and gulp a few more times...  "Ok Lord," I say in my head..." gonna really need your help here tonight...You remember I have never done this right?")
The third girl, she is the one who tugs at my heart.  She sat infront of me, with her pretty pink Bible.  Angry at the world.  She had on enough eyeliner to feel like she was hiding in plain sight.  She is in the 6th grade.  She wrote on her paper that she has committed so many sins.... she is beyond saving.  She wrote, that because of those sins, she will go to Hell.  She is convinced of it.  She has no hope.

I can barely write now what I saw on her page.  My heart breaks for her.  Tears stream down my face.  The pain of her life, the ache in her soul.... ah.... it overtakes me, I weep for her, I plead to my heavenly Father, to never let her go..... to hold her close.  I pray for her to let Him in.

So there I sit, in front of three girls, two of which I know need to hear how much Jesus loved them.  No pressure. (gulp)...  I fire off another prayer, "Lord, may your Word be heard."

As we walk through our condition as humans, our condition as sinners before a Holy God, and how because of our sin, the Bible says we deserve death.
She tells me she now doesn't like the Bible anymore because it says she will die.
I ask her to wait.... there is hope in my story.
She tells me that being here is dumb. Asks what time we are finished with the night, she tells me she is never coming back.

She is a tough cookie.
It's ok.  She can be a tough cookie.  God is in the room.  He is working.  He is in control.

We move on to the part where Christ died.  He is the substitute, He paid the wages for my sin.  He died so that I can live.  I look straight at my tough cookie.  I softly say, " So that you can live...."  She just stared at me..................

So suddenly the time to share with them was over.  We need to move to our "council time" and hear a devotion presented by one of our leaders.  I said to God, " Wait!  I wasn't done, I didn't get through it all."  He quietly replied, " She has heard what she needs for today."
"Ok, Lord..... ok."      ....sigh

Have you ever seen spiritual warfare?  I mean really seen it?  Have you seen someone interested in the Truth they are hearing, only to suddenly wall off their heart, and you can see it written all over their face?  This little, precious gift of God, was in the midst of a fight.... and she didn't even know it.  I would watch her soften, and be engaged in the devotion..... and in the next second be angry and tell me how stupid it was to be here, and how she was never coming back.  All I could do was smile and pray.  I prayed so hard I was nearly crying.  Thinking of her now, makes me cry.

I don't know all of the details of her life.  She shared bits and pieces of her pain, though the night.  Just enough to let us know how badly she needs a Savior, and how broken and bruised she has been by life.  (By the 6th grade!!) .....How desperate she is for HOPE.

The Bible tells me that it is my job to tell.
God will do the rest.

Pray with me, will you?  Pray that these three girls return so they can hear more about Jesus who died and rose again for them.
Pray for this little broken child.  She needs the Lord so desperately.
Pray for me, that I will continue to be obedient, and tell.
She is just a taste, a glimpse, that was brought right to a chair across the table from me, of a whole world out there that is broken, bruised, hurting...... and in need of healing.

All we need to do is tell.


*** if you do not know Jesus as your Savior.  If you do not have HOPE in eternal life.  Please message me.  I would love to share my Hope, my reason for living with you.****