There are some things that are worth knowing, and some that don't make much difference I believe that first and foremost is a personal relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ. If you don't have that the second will not have the power that we so need. What can change my life and help me to have power?
I love personal testimonies: stories about real people in a real world. I recently listened to the testimony of a man named Jim Wolsey, who was a missionary in Peru.
It was early in the morning, and one of the townspeople was coming home from a night of drinking. As he was walking along he found a piece of paper laying on the ground. He picked it up and put it into his pocket. The people of this town were garden farmers. They would take the produce to the city and sell it, come home and get drunk. The whole town was suffering the effects of alcoholism. They didn't have food to eat, clothes, shoes, everything that people need to live, because they spent their money on alcohol. Wives and children were getting abused, murders were being committed; it was a Godless town.
The next day as the man was digging through his pocket, he found the piece of paper, it wasn't a whole sheet just a scrap. He later said that he almost threw it away, but he noticed that there was something written on it. Through his hungover eyes he read, "If My people, which are called by My Name (Believers), shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and forgive their sin, and will heal their land." He had never heard this before so he read it again. So he decided to do what it said! That evening when it was time to go drinking, he decided to stay home with his family. The next day one of his friends came over wondering what had happened to him the previous night. So he took the scrap of paper out of his pocket, and gave it to his friend to read. After his friend read the scrap, the man said, " I did that! I prayed to God for help and he answered!"
Now this man who found the scrap of paper wasn't just a regular guy. He was the meanest person in town. He had influence, bad influence, and for him to miss a night of drinking was a big deal. The men of the town started to watch him and wondered what had happened. And his friend that had read the scrap, was more than happy to share, " Oh, he found God!" and they would laugh and drink some more. " It will only be a short time and he'll be back." Time went on and he didn't come back. Soon others came to him and he would read the scrap to them, and they would pray with him. It only took a matter of time and the whole town found God.
As I had mentioned they were garden farmers and they used to take cart loads of produce to the city. Now they were taking truck loads! The local church that previously had only women and children, was now filled with families, all because a man found a scrap of paper. They had food, clothing, and the abuses stopped.
Where did it come from, and what was that scrap? It came from II CHRONICLES 7:14 a book in the Bible. If a scrap of paper that has a Scripture on it has that kind of power, how much more power does the whole Bible have. I have always said if the sermon doesn't preach to the preacher first it's probably not from God, and this has spoken to my heart. First I challenge myself to read the Bible from cover to cover. I have read a lot of it but some books aren't as interesting as others. As God has been working in my life, it will be interesting to see how that has changed. The word never changes, but how it ministers changes as we mature in The Lord. The Bible: it's a challenge you might want to consider.
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