Crossing Paths With Terry ~ The 'I Can' Man

This morning I found myself in a car situation that required me to sit and wait at a local repair shop. I was intrigued by a black man sitting near me who was talking to someone about "shoeing" horses. When he got off the phone we exchanged greetings. I told him I couldn't help but overhear that he worked with horses. He told me he was a blacksmith and was enroute to a local horse farm to work on some horses. He was one of those kinds of folk that you could have sat and listened to all day. It didn't take long for us to realize that we were both Christians. What a delight he was to listen to.

God had placed us in each other's path and I believe that it was for my greater benefit. Christians need encouraging and I think one of the most effective ways to do that is through a "vessel" that is on fire and sold out for God. And for me, it was just what the Great Physician ordered. This man, Terry, talked about how he shares his faith in the horse farms across the country ~ from Lexington, Kentucky to Sacaremento, California. He said, "I always get around to sharing the Lord ~ I have to. " He shared how he and other horse farm workers would make there way to the interior walkway of the horse barns ~ around noontime ~ and pray and study God's Word. My heart was warmed that this man of God ~ a man named Terry ~ is moving in and out of the presence of folk who race horses for a living.

We talked about his church and I asked him if it was only African American or were there people of other races that attended. He has gotten me so excited about his church that I have to visit. He did say that he doesn't call himself "African American." He said, "I am black and that is not an incorrect term." I told him how my best friend in high school was black and that back in the 70's it was in no way disrespectful to refer to blacks as black. It was considered respectful. He agreed and then he said something that really impressed me. He said, "What I like about African American is that they both end in "I Can" ~ I can do whatever I set my mind to ~ I can live for the Lord ~ "I can" ~ that is what I like about those two words."

God sent Terry to encourage me in a time when I really needed it ~ I've surely had a hard week ~ some very large decisions loom on the horizon for me ~ and I seem preoccupied with searching out what God's will is in this matter. Visiting with my brother in Christ, I was reminded that I can do what God sets before me ~ I can discern His will and proceed toward that end ~ I can.

~You can meet some of the sweetest people in the strangest of places~

Stand Up For Jesus

Have you ever been in one of those situations where you knew you were going to "major-ly" kick yourself later if you didn’t speak up right then and there? Have you also found out there are going to be some folk ~ relatives included ~ that have made it quite clear that they don’t believe what you believe, they don’t want to believe what you believe, and would you please stop talking about what you believe?

This Thanksgiving weekend brought such a time for me. I was visiting with family and was half-way listening to a relative talk about something she had been reading on the internet in respect to land that the Jews are fighting for ~ something about Mesopotamia ~ wars ~ fighting over land was mentioned again ~ Abraham ~ and so on. (I really started listening at this point). She concluded by saying "They say the wars will continue until the end of time ~ and no one will really win the war over this disputed land. Everyone is just going to blow up anyway and no one will win."

I sat there for a moment and contemplated whether I should speak up or not. And then I quietly spoke and told her of God’s covenant with Abraham and how the land did belong to the Jews ~ how the battle would ultimately be won ~ and that everyone was not going to blow up. She was quiet for a moment and then said "I don’t believe that." I told her that it was clearly written about in God’s Word. She then said something that hurt my heart ~ "I don’t believe in the Bible completely ~ just parts of it are true ~ it is not literal." Now this is not "just" any relative ~ this is a relative that knows better. She was raised in the church ~ made a profession of faith at the age of 12 ~ she once professed that she believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Years ago a "new age" colleague drew her away from the truth. Oh how far from the Lord she has come.

It’s possible that had this conversation taken place last Thanksgiving I might have not said a word. But this Thanksgiving was so different for me ~ I am tremendously thankful for God’s Word ~ more so than I have ever been in my life. It has been that light unto my path and a lamp unto my feet this past year. To hear someone I love ~ someone I know who knows the truth deep down in her heart ~ dispute the Word of God ~ to proclaim that it is not inspired but rather "written by a whole bunch of different men" ~ to say that portions are not real ~ that was hard for me. I told her to say that even one small part of the Bible was untrue meant that we could not proclaim that any of it was true. I tried to explain to her that it was inspired by God ~ that it has withstood the test of time ~ and for me to sit back and say nothing to her statements against the Holy Bible would be a tragedy against God. She looked at me and said, "Cathy, you’ll be alright" to which I replied "Yes, I know I will." And she concluded by saying "Hey, I know I’ll be alright."

I walked away from the conversation feeling so inadequate ~ as if I had failed. Yet God promises in His Word that He will give us what to say when we need it. Matthew 10:16 says Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Verses 19-20 say But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

I know this ~ excluding my family ~ God’s Word is the GREATEST earthly treasure to me. I can’t live without it ~ now that I know what it is like to live with it. I had to stand up for it. Did my feelings of inadequacy and failure come from satan? I think so. Did I let the Holy Spirit speak through me? I pray so. People have died standing up for their faith ~ standing up for His Word ~ should we do any less? It isn't easy to take a stand. Plenty of times I have quietly stood by. I pray I will always speak up when God wants me to ~ and that I will say what the Holy Spirit gives me to say.