The Gospel for *Anna: Part 4 of 4

"But He needed to go through Samaria" John 4:4

I had begun my first prayers for *Anna about five years previous. I want everyone to come to know Jesus as their Savior. Jesus died for Anna also. She needs to hear the Gospel too.

I thought it was a disaster. The whole arrangement collapsed. It wasn't going to be the Outreach ministry I had imagined. I wouldn't be speaking to a group of over 40 women after all. I misunderstood the Activities Committees' plans. Now I was apologizing to all those Facebook friends I invited. How awful. How embarrassing.

I was on my way to pick up Anna at the hospital. Her husband, my sister's husband's brother has Crohn's Disease and was very sick. Anna had taken him to the ER that morning, vomiting blood. Now that he was stabilized and in a room at least overnight, she needed a ride home. Anna can't drive. My sister's husband is deaf, so he can't answer the telephone. My sister was at work, so she asked me if I could pick up Anna .

Yes, I could.

While waiting for Anna to call, I was on Facebook, making my apologies. When Anna called, before I left, I told my husband to pray for me as I wanted an opening to present the Gospel. Driving to the hospital, I was praying, "Please God, don't let me mess it up. Make it the easiest opening I could have. I've got about fifteen minutes to make it happen while I've got her in the car. Be glorified in this, Lord."

In the hospital parking lot, Anna got into the car. Before I'd driven from the lot, Anna said, "Thank you for taking this time from your day to come and get me."
I said, "You're welcome. I was glad for the interruption anyway. I was apologizing to 40 Facebook friends."
Anna asked "Why were you doing that?"

Wow! There it was--God's opening! I silently said, "Thank you, Lord," and proceeded to explain to Anna about the mixed-up mess that was supposed to be my speaking engagement.

Anna asked me what church I attended. I told her about Grace Bible Church, Sangerville, Maine and our Nondenominational status. How we believe the Bible is the infallible word of God. We believe God is fully Three-In-One Persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe Jesus is fully God yet came to earth as a Man, born of a Virgin. He lived a sinless life for 33 and 1/2 years on this earth. He died, crucified on a Roman Cross as God's perfect Sacrifice for all the sins of the world. He was buried in the grave for three days and nights then rose again. He ascended back to heaven to sit down at the right hand of God. And some day Jesus is returning for all those who believe on Him. All who call upon His name.

In a little under twelve miles, I got to tell Anna the Gospel. She had never ever before heard what I had said.

Before she got out of the car, I asked her about what I'd said and she said she'd think about it. I pulled the Bible Tract from my pocket, the one with the church information stamped on the back, and told her to read it. It would say all the things she would need to understand Jesus died for her. Before she closed the door, I told her I prayed for her and I would continue to pray for her.

I had started the day with tears in my eyes thinking everything was ruined. My opportunity to present the Gospel to a large group, with possibly several unsaved ladies in attendance, had collapsed into shambles. It had been a puff of a dream, something I thought I had conjured up that I wanted God to endorse. I thought I had gotten it so wrong.

Now I was crying for joy. There was nothing wrong! Everything was exactly right. It wasn't about my speaking at all. It was all about God answering my prayer to give the Gospel to Anna. The whole episode was just to present the Good News to Anna .

God had planned all of this.

I needed to go through 'Samaria' .

If the Activities Committee hadn't given me the opportunity to speak, I wouldn't have begun making the plans. If someone else had called the restaurant, I personally wouldn't have discovered the mess-up. If I hadn't gotten upset enough to try and right the mistake I'd made, I wouldn't have gone to the restaurant. If I hadn't wanted some church information to give to the restaurant manager, I wouldn't have discovered the Bible Tract in my pocket. If my sister hadn't offered me the exercise machine, I wouldn't have gone to see her that day. If my friend had gone with me to the restaurant, I wouldn't have gone to visit my sister at her office. If I hadn't invited all those women, there wouldn't have been the apology that gave me the opening I needed to start talking about Jesus to Anna.

Anna didn't accept Jesus that day.

I haven't seen Anna since but God has a handle on her because she heard the Gospel for the very first time in her life. God planned all along to answer my prayer but it was in His time.

Never stop praying. Never imagine an old request isn't remembered by God. An Outreach is any time you can tell someone about Jesus.

You can pray for Anna. She still has time to accept Jesus. Her husband too. My sister and her husband also.

*Anna is not her real name.

The Gospel for *+Anna: Another Chapter

"Meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ..." Colossians 4:3

Through a lesson in patience, God opened an opportunity for me, in answer to a prayer I had made five years previous. I wanted a certain woman to hear the Gospel and I asked God to provide the way for her to hear it. I didn't know how God intended to do it, but I knew He wanted her to hear about His freely given Sacrifice for her sins.

I prayed for *Anna to hear the Gospel and she did, in an amazing way, set up by God. (See the four previous posts The Gospel for Anna: Parts 1, 2, 3, & 4)

Here are some details of the speaking engagement that didn't happen.

The Ladies Activities Committee of my church plans several fun things for women, their daughters, and granddaughters to do every weekend. It's usually an open invitation to participate on Saturdays. Game days, carpooling to sporting events, Quilting, Teas, lunches, dinners, scrap-booking, etc. One date scheduled was to eat out at a newly opened restaurant, and I would speak on Biblical-based New Years Resolutions.

We discovered the restaurant was not able to accommodate us. It was too small and not arranged to let us all sit together en-mass. So my Pastor's wife asked another area eatery to let us use their separate dining area. It wouldn't be an outreach ministry as I preferred but only our small group of about fifteeen. Still, I would get to speak in this arrangement.

The plans were made. We had the room at noon for lunch and my presentation. I had scrapped the New Years Resolution theme to tell them about The Gospel for Anna instead. It was a mighty answer to prayer and a wonderful conclusion to the seeming mess we had thought happened. No one as yet but myself, my husband and my best friend knew how God had worked it out.

We arrived at our destination and alas---we didn't have the room! The second shift manager had booked another group at 1:00 o'clock, not knowing the first shift manager had let the room to us for noon. The second shift manger was afraid we wouldn't be done with the room in time, so he wouldn't let us in. We ended up eating amid the lunch crowd, without any opportunity for the presentation.

I was bursting with joy, glorifying God for His work. I was so pleased to discover that the entire episode was truly to get the Gospel to Anna. It was not about me speaking to anyone but her.

Oh, God be gloried! I wait to hear soon that Anna has accepted Jesus! That would be so awesome.

*Anna is not her real name.

+Anna and her husband are now moved into my sister's trailer.

Body Parts

"For in fact the body is not one member but many" 1 Corinthians 12:14.

There's a popluar trite saying "Grow where you're planted." Good advice---for a plant.

God calls the Church a Body. Because we can learn what the physical body does, we should be learning what the Body of Christ can do.

God says His church is a body, with many parts. The human body can preform many things. Physically we can do things with our hands. We walk with our feet. We talk with our mouths. We see with our eyes. We hear with our ears. We think with our brains. We love with our inner heart. We feel pain through nerves. We breath with our lungs. We pump blood through veins with the physical heart. We exert pressure with muscles. We digest with our internal organs.

There are atoms, cells, DNA, RNA, vessels, bones, minerals, water, air, and more that God made into the form that is us. God's design does millions of things, because God wanted it to do all those things. Everything that the body does brings God glory.

Praise the LORD!

It stands to reason, if God's physical design does that for which it was made, then the Body of Christ--His Church--should also do everything He designed it to do for His glory.