Thursday, April 10, 2008

Stranded in Charlotte

I'm sitting in the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, where my flight has been delayed by at least three hours. I remember the days when I thought that the idea of traveling so much was glamorous. A person gets over that idea quickly once he begins to do it. I love being in churches and speaking to groups in so many places, but have pretty much come to hate airports.

I'm returning from Proctorville, Ohio, where I have been speaking since Sunday morning. Pastor Jeff Black, Pastor Mike Smith and the other staff are really excited about the message. It was great to be with these kindred spirits who are so strong and mature in the message of the grace walk. Churches with pastors who teach the pure grace of God often don't know how blessed they are. If you, like FBC of Proctorville, are blessed with such a pastor, I hope you don't take it for granted. One of the most frequent inquiries we get in our office is, "Where can I find a pastor who is teaching this message?" It isn't as common as you might think to find pastors who don't water down the gospel with legalistic teachings.

I spoke to one lady this week who really blessed and encouraged me. Eloise came up to me after the service two nights ago and described how "the light came on" after she read Grace Walk. She is 78 years old and said, "I can't believe I've gone all my life without knowing this, but I am so glad to know it now!" She continued, "I walked around my house for three days, saying out loud, 'I get it, Lord! I get it! You've done it all!'" She said, "I live alone, except for my little dog. I couldn't stop saying out loud, "I get it!' and every time I would, my dog would look at me like he was thinking, 'I don't know what you're doing. I can tell you're not talking to me, but I don't know what you're doing."

I understand Eloise, don't you? I often tell people that I caught "grace rabies" in 1990 and have never recovered from it. I love sharing this message. I love seeing people like Eloise experience transformation when the Holy Spirit causes the light to come on.

A grace revolution is underway, my friends, and Eloise proves that we're never too old to get in on it!

No comments:

Post a Comment