Watching the walls come down

Hello everyone, it is just a couple of days until Ashlee and I take 12 days for a Christmas break! I just finished writing my last exam and soon we are off to do some Christmas shopping. But before we do I wanted to share with you about last Thursdays small group...

Thursday night we meet with a group from the church and I am teaching the basics of Christian doctrine. So far we have talked about the Bible, God the Father, Jesus Christ and Salvation. Each topic has taken two evenings and there is lots more to come. Last Thursday we were in our second session about Salvation and as we began discussing our security in Christ one of the members of the group, I will call him Frank, interrupted the conversation and began to share. Normally such an interruption could be seen as disrespectful but I could tell that it the reason was good.

You see Frank rarely talks in group and when he does he is either slightly off topic or his wife Maggy (also not her real name) cuts him off and/or disagrees with him. But he has a lot of questions and it is taking time for things to sink in because his past there are a lot of false teachers and lies. So this is our ninth evening together and Frank butts in and his eyes are shining light Christmas lights, his smile is peeled like a Christmas orange, and his voice is ringing like jingle bells. It looks like he is about declare world peace, and instead from his excited voice rings the words..."I am a sinner!"

I was a little taken aback, not expecting such a declaration, but then he continued and explained how after our previous study he had been thinking and going over the handouts and he came to the realization that sin is not merely what we do, but it is part of who we are. The truth of the unregenerate and unsanctified human condition hit him square between the eyes and as he explained I saw the Berlin Wall of lies and misunderstanding, the might walls of Jericho fall under the wonder working power of the precious blood of the lamb. God is good.

Maturity is a process. It takes time. One year is probably not enough time to see a lot of explosive growthy, but victories like Frank's are precious. The mission is accomplishing its goals.

Thank you for your prayers

Jeff