Hey y’all! I had an amazing day today! My family (My mom, my dad, Germano and Dani (the Brazilians who live with us), and their baby daughter) and I joined a group of friends from up here on a Gospel-sharing endeavor to Blue Ridge, Georgia, which is about an hour away from me. We went up to the Walmart and hoisted a sign up in the air which read “Jesus Loves You!” on one side and “Do You Need Prayer?” on the other.
Soon after arriving, we found a small road leading out from Walmart’s parking lot, which happened to be the only entrance and exit to Walmart. It was at a small intersection of the exit to the main road and the Walmart road. It also happened to be right in front of a Murphy’s, which is Walmart’s gas station. That said, it was a perfect place to be, because we were right in front of a place where people could stop if they needed to pray, and people were forced to stop at a stop sign. We also were able to “double-dip” a lot of the people, as we saw them go in Walmart and back out.
Some of the people driving by on Walmart’s “driveway” slowed their cars down at the small intersection and yelled out their prayer needs.
One man told us to be intentional and pray for everything that moves because they need it and we need the practice. Well put, sir.
Others would acknowledge that they knew Jesus and they didn’t think they needed prayer.
Most of the people would nod and smile when they saw the first side of the sign, but when we flipped the sign over, it would be like an unacknowledging stone soldier at the wheel.
One reaction that is very memorable for me is when a man read the “Do You Need Prayer?” side, and shrugged. Another was that a woman looked at the “Jesus Loves You!” side and sadly shook her head. It is these that are sad for me because the people don’t think they can be loved by Jesus. They don’t know if they would want to pray with a stranger about their life, if it would work, or if anyone would be listening.
At one occasion, I was just out alone and the people we were with had left and the dudes were over praying for people who had gotten in an accident and the ladies were in the van, and a man saw the sign. I saw a look of sympathy flash across his face and I realized he thought I was begging. He began reaching, looking for his wallet, when he examined the sign a little closer and realized it didn’t have anything to do with begging. It was hilarious!
One guy leaned in to examine the sign, and although I couldn’t hear him, I could see him mouthing, “What?!?” as he read the sign. He stopped dead in his tire-tracks. But then, he too read the big, black letters printed on the sign and gave me a huge, pulsating thumbs-up.
We also got to pray for a man who came over to us after seeing our signs at the gas station we were standing in front of. It was an amazing time of prayer, one that was worth the drive and the cold.
Oh, the weather. It was pretty cold. And the devil tried to stop us through the weather as much as he could. When I was out alone, the devil sent some hail that battered me in the face, but I kept lifting the sign up high and yelling the Good News. When we were all out together, the devil sent wind to knock the sign out of our hands, but we kept on. And for most of the time, it was snowing in our eyes. And we kinda liked that. Afterward, I realized my hands had frostbitten in the snowy weather. But it didn’t stop me!
After our amazing experience, we got to head into nearby Home Depot and pray for several employees and customers, who were very blessed.
Overall, it was an amazing day, and one I am honored to have been a part of.
I encourage you to start spreading the Gospel in your community 24/7, not just every once in a while to the inner city or a food pantry! Jesus loved these people enough to die for them, and it grieves him when he sees people dying and going to hell every day. But you know what grieves him even more? Seeing us do nothing about it.
These people have a choice between life and death, but they don’t know what the consequences of each choice are. They don’t know that no answer is a “no” answer. Jesus told us to tell others about him, and we feel justified because we go to a four-walled building once or twice a week! Something’s wrong!!
They need to know Jesus loves them and died for them and that they don’t have to go to hell. They need the answers, and we have them. Church ain’t cuttin’ it. Telling people about church ain’t cuttin’ it. We need to tell others about our Savior, not our church or our pastor or our creed or our lifelong membership or our denomination. We need to tell others about God’s love for them, not their problems or their issues or their lack of qualifications or any other thing. GO and preach the Gospel, not SIT and listen to the Gospel!!
I can’t stress enough how much we need to tell others about His sacrifice and His love for us. So I won’t. Please take what I’ve written to heart, and start acting on it. We love y’all!
Elle's Everyday 