January 12 I Thursday

Genesis 29-30

Matthew 9:1-17

“Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.”    —Ephesians 6:19

I remember coming home and my wife told me, “You know that couple that lives at the end of our street?” I did not know them, but knew who they were. My wife continued, “The wife died last night from a heart attack.” I responded, “I’m so sorry. I should go speak to her husband and offer my condolences.” But there were always excuses and I forgot.

       Some months later, I was sitting at a restaurant on a Saturday morning and saw a man sitting on his own at the next table. I recognized him as the man whose wife died. I said, “Excuse me. I think I’ve seen you before.” He answered, “I’ve seen you before too.” I went, “I believe your wife died recently.” He responded, “She did.” I said, “I’m sorry. How are you coping?” He replied, “Not well. I come here for a nice cooked breakfast on Sunday mornings because I don’t know how to cook.” I said, “I’m free Saturday morning. Would you mind if I joined you sometime?” He said, “I’d love you to.”

       We knew nothing about each other, but as we got to meet, I discovered his interest in a man named Nostradamus, who was a prophet in the 16th century. Then he asked me about my interests and I told him I am interested in a Prophet too, but I think my Prophet is better than his prophet. “Who’s your Prophet?” he asked. “Jesus Christ,” I answered. He goes, “Oh. Are you one of those?” I replied, “Yes, I’m a Christian.” After a week, we made an agreement to read a chapter from a book about each other’s prophets and talk about it.

       One day, the man said, “I knew there was going to be a catch.” I questioned, “What’s the catch?” He goes, “I got to the chapter, where it says you’ve got to do something.” I asked, “Are you willing to do that?” He answered, “I don’t think so.” I said, “That’s fine. Only when you are ready.” A few weeks later, he became ready and we prayed to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. We spent months talking about the Christian life and reading the Bible. Then one night, my wife told me that the man passed away. I got to speak at his funeral and shared how he gave his life to Christ.

       The reason I share this story is because I almost missed it. I felt God prompting my heart to speak to the man when his wife passed away, but I did not. God gave me a second chance. May we be obedient to God’s prompting and share Christ with others.

Prayer: Precious Lord, help me to be obedient to Your promptings to speak to others about You. Give me the boldness to share Your good news. Thank You, Lord.