Little did I (David) know that when Jesus charged His disciples to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the remotest part of the world that this would include the J.C. Cooper Campground on Kerr Lake in Vance Co., North Carolina. Through the providence of God working in my life, however, He indeed gave me this opportunity to lead a Sunday morning "devotional service" at the campground (i.e. be His witness). Central Baptist Church in Henderson, NC sponsors this ministry which is organized by one of our deacons, Mr. Sam Newton. Knowing he would be unable to lead the service on August 17th, Sam asked that I consider leading in his absence.
Although I shrugged at first and, of course, replied that I would have to "check with Lisa and our family calendar" before making the commitment, my insecurity turned into excitement because for many months now God has been impressing on my mind that the Church of Jesus Christ needs to be more active outside the building walls than inside our church buildings. What a blessing it was handing out fliers on Saturday night, inviting campers to come join us the next morning. Not only was it a great opportunity for Lisa and I to become more comfortable approaching people about spiritual matters, but the Hartman kids also got a taste of doing evangelism out in the world!
We only had one family attend the devotion service the next morning, but we honored God by our efforts and our worship, even though it was just the nine of us. I opened in prayer, Maggie sang "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" a cappella, as Andy did the hand motions. Then I guided us through Psalm 100, emphasizing that the Psalmist (and more importantly God our creator) calls us to praise Him. We are called to praise Him because He is our Creator first and foremost (v. 3b), but also we get to praise Him because of his lovingkindness and faithfulness (v.5). I then closed us in prayer, and we spent a few minutes in fellowship before departing.
It was a great "day in the Lord" Sunday, worshiping the Creator in the surrounding of His creation. I continue to be amazed that God would choose to use such an imperfect person as myself to be His witness in a world that desperately needs to know Him. God could have devised another way to propagate His plan of redemption, but in His Grace, He has chosen to use people like the Hartman's, and many others who will just say "yes".
No comments:
Post a Comment