SpiritLedEd
Member
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2005
- Messages
- 5,315
This afternoon, as I sat at a bus stop, a young man approached and said, "Excuse me, are you Ed?" I recognized him almost instantly. I'd met him for the first time about twenty years ago at a twelve-step recovery meeting and he had scared me half to death that night, he was so intimidating.
When the Holy Spirit told me to talk to him, I was very reticent. But, the Spirit was insistent. So, at the end of the meeting, I introduced myself to him. I tried to encourage him, give him some belief that he could get off alcohol and drugs. That started a relationship that lasted about five years. I'd speak to him about what Jesus had done and was doing in my life, about my deliverance from alcohol and he really struggled with believing. During this time, I met his mother, a good Christian woman, and we became friends
Then one week he disappeared from my life. His mom told me that he had gone to California to live with his father, a druggie and drug dealer. I told his mom I'd join her holding him up in prayer for salvation. The next time I saw his mom, she told me he was in prison. Next time, she told me he was out of prison living with a girl friend. Next after that, he was back in prison.Against all logic, we kept on praying for him.
I lost track of his mother for months and didn't see him for about fifteen years until this afternoon when a smiling, nicely dressed young man stood before me with a Bible in his hand. He told me he'd gotten saved a couple of months ago and had just been released from prison three weeks ago. The bus stop we were at is in front of our local library. He'd just left the library after doing some Scripture research on the internet.
"Have faith in God," Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea', and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him." (Mk 11:22-23).
SLE
When the Holy Spirit told me to talk to him, I was very reticent. But, the Spirit was insistent. So, at the end of the meeting, I introduced myself to him. I tried to encourage him, give him some belief that he could get off alcohol and drugs. That started a relationship that lasted about five years. I'd speak to him about what Jesus had done and was doing in my life, about my deliverance from alcohol and he really struggled with believing. During this time, I met his mother, a good Christian woman, and we became friends
Then one week he disappeared from my life. His mom told me that he had gone to California to live with his father, a druggie and drug dealer. I told his mom I'd join her holding him up in prayer for salvation. The next time I saw his mom, she told me he was in prison. Next time, she told me he was out of prison living with a girl friend. Next after that, he was back in prison.Against all logic, we kept on praying for him.
I lost track of his mother for months and didn't see him for about fifteen years until this afternoon when a smiling, nicely dressed young man stood before me with a Bible in his hand. He told me he'd gotten saved a couple of months ago and had just been released from prison three weeks ago. The bus stop we were at is in front of our local library. He'd just left the library after doing some Scripture research on the internet.
"Have faith in God," Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea', and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him." (Mk 11:22-23).
SLE
