Romans 10:13 tells us, "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." There is no magic formula, no special prayer, no ritual to perform, no great feat to perform and no great price for us to pay. Everyone - That includes...well...everyone. Color doesn't matter. Age doesn't matter. Socio-economic standing doesn't matter. Height doesn't matter. Body type doesn't matter. Morality doesn't matter. The Bible lets us know that EVERYONE who sees his/her need for forgiveness and calls out to Jesus WILL be saved. Not might, or probably or possible, but WILL be saved. Too many in the church have exalted a thing called "The sinner's prayer" and think there is a specific prayer someone must pray to experience salvation. God knows out heart and the words often come out in the midst of tears or just a burst of trust. This passage in Romans is a reminder that salvation is free and available to everyone who would like to have it. The greatest joy we can have in life is seeing someone take that step of faith. Last Sunday, we celebrated Thaddeus making that step with his baptism.
This is a great reminder as we begin TOUCH this Wednesday night at 6:30. TOUCH stands for Telling Others Urgently of Christ and Heaven. We will meet for thirty minutes of preparation and prayer, then go to visit those who visited us at the Fair. The purpose of our going is to give these friends an opportunity to call upon the Lord. If you are able, I pray you will make it to TOUCH each Wednesday night. If you are unable to be here, I ask that you pray for us as we go out to visit. Our greatest calling as the church is to give people an opportunity to experience God's great gift of grace through Jesus. I know that many consider Jesus a myth or think the church is meaningless or think that whatever religion you believe will lead you to Heaven or think being a good person will merit Heaven. However, the Holy Spirit is the One who will convince those we visit of the need to make the life-changing step to call upon the Lord. I truly believe that we have divine appointments with people who are just waiting for someone to share THE good news with them. Several of our trained "witnessers" are not able to participate in TOUCH or no longer in the community. So now some new servants need to step up and be trained to witness. Will you be one of them?
For those of you who are a part of Hillcrest Baptist Church: Please know that there are going to be spiritual battles going on in our homes this week. They already started last week and some of you might have lost the battle (But not the war). Be prepared to pray while we are in the midst of TOUCH. Once the Church decides to go out into the community with the purpose of sharing Christ, Satan will get active against that church. There will be spiritual battles in our homes, schools, jobs and neighborhoods. Let me remind you to pray before you act. Let prayer be a focal point as we seek to tell others about Jesus, not just about the church. I'm looking forward to the next five weeks and seeing what will happen during this season of outreach. Will you join us?
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