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"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the Gospel to the poor. . ."
(Luke 4:18)
A couple of weeks ago I traveled to beautiful Knoxville, Tennessee. My good friends Tony and Edie Buchanan picked me up from the airport, took me to Litton's Restaurant in Knoxville, and all three of us had rib-eye steaks. If you are ever near the University of Tennessee, go to Litton's; you will thank me! On Saturday morning, Tony and I ran three miles and then hung out watching football and enjoying our time together. On Sunday, I preached a message entitled "For the One", encouraging Manley Baptist Church on the importance of sharing Jesus with the ones God places in our paths. God has greatly blessed Tony and Manley Baptist Church. They are growing and making disciples, and I am so proud of them.
While traveling to TN and back to TX, the Lord gave me some opportunities to share Him with others and put into practice what I had been teaching. I kid you not, while on this quick trip, I was able to meet and share with an agnostic, a homosexual, an atheist, and a New Age coach. Each person I spoke with was very cordial, and though we had major differences in beliefs, worldviews, and ideas, we were able to amicably speak to one another. With each person, I sought to understand them before trying to be understood. What an honor to share the good news of Jesus with those who need Him.
As for the agnostic (someone who believes there may be a God but there is no way of knowing Him personally), he had grown up in a SBC church, was baptized, and walked away never to return. He is an engineer, very educated, and his dad actually flew Air Force One for President LBJ. I thought that was so cool! He told me he did not like the intolerant nature of Southern Baptists. I shared with him that I believe in Jesus and the Bible, and though our views are different, we can still get along and be respectful, and he seemed to resonate with that.
When I asked the homosexual man about his spiritual beliefs, he just said he and his partner and their friends are doing great. I shared Jesus with him, and he really did not want to talk about the Lord, however, he was very nice and engaging, and I enjoyed speaking to him. St. Augustine, the early church father and Bishop in Hippo, Africa, said every person has a hole in their heart that only Jesus can fill. I have met so many who are attempting to fill that God-shaped void or vacuum inside them with other things when it can only be satisfied with a relationship with Christ.
Jesus came to share the good news with the poor. Those who are poor in spirit are humble, and they receive the message of salvation unto eternal life. The proud and unbelieving will not be saved. We cannot convict or convert anyone. That is the Holy Spirit's work; however, God does command us to share.
To find out about the next two interesting conversations I had, read tomorrow's devotion.
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