The above clip is from a WordPictures series called: How God Converts The Human Soul
It is an incredible teaching on the sovereignty of God's electing, amazing grace.
"EVERY CHRISTIAN IS EITHER A MISSIONARY OR AN IMPOSTOR."
~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon ~
With Christmas coming up, we are in the throws of planning our annual Family Christmas Outreach party. This is a party we've had since our oldest was 2 years old...that's 13 years! WoW!
We started this party in order to include entire families in celebrating the real meaning of Christmas. We were new to Phoenix, and didn't know very many people. We invited anyone who had little kids and who would smile back at us! My parents flew to Arizona to help. We had 24 people that first year - mostly children under 5. My dad was a good sport and dressed up as Santa and when we returned home from neighborhood caroling 'Jesus songs', he bound down the stairway and gathered the children around him and explained Christmas is about Jesus. He read aloud The Legend of the Candy Cane. Beautiful memories....
Through the years, we've refined the party to be evangelistic both towards our guests (specifically invite Christians and non-Christians and give the gospel) and towards the neighbors we carol for. During the party, the children are read several Christmas stories like: The Tale of Three Trees, The Legend of the Candy Cane, and The Pine Tree Parable. They make a Christmas tree ornament comprised of three long nails bound with crimson raffia to place on the tree to remind everyone that Christmas means absolutely nothing without Easter. We have the children make extra tree ornaments so we have one to give each family who allows us to sing carols to them. They assemble 'gift bags' for the homes we sing for - a biblical gospel tract, the tree ornament, and a book (last year, it was Lee Strobel's The Case for Christmas).
Each party guest family was given a copy of Mark Cahill's book One Heartbeat Away last year. I was thrilled to be able to purchase an 18 book box of discounted books from Mark Cahill Ministries and they arrived in record time the day before our party. Christian was encouraged to read the book and promise to pass it on to someone who needed Jesus in the months to come. Non-Christian was encouraged to read it. A wonderful book.
This year, just two days ago actually, I got an e-newsletter from Mark Cahill Ministries. He stated he realized times were financially tight this year and wanted to let everyone know he had discounted his One Heartbeat Away box of 18 at an even greater discount. Also, he was offering a box of 42 books for only $200.00 and free shipping. Christmas is a perfect time to share the gift of Jesus! Oh, how I wanted to purchase that box of 42 books!
Had it been last year, I wouldn't have thought twice about making the purchase; but 2008 is different. Our economy is fragile. Our family portfolio is radically different than it was last year. We have two mortgages and have yet to sell our little house on Tee Time. We lost much with the stock market crash over the past months. As much as I wanted to be able to purchase these great evangelism tools, I knew I could not. Not this year.
I was sad. I really wanted to be able to give One Heartbeat Away to each of the homes on our culdesac this year as we carol. Last year it was The Case for Christmas; this year, I had hoped to give out something that presented answers to skeptics as well as a forthrightly biblical gospel. I was sad it looked like this was not to be... "the Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord." I asked God to help me think of something significant to give to our guests and to the homes in our neighborhood.
A few short hours later, our doorbell rang. I went to the door to see the delivery truck pull away. I looked down on the porch to see a large box of, what I assumed to be, medical supplies for our youngest son. I bent down to pick up what I expected to be a light box, and to my surprise, it was incredibly heavy. I turned it over to read the shipping label:
To - Jill Grier
From - Mark Cahill Ministries
"OH MY! THERE HAS BEEN A MISTAKE! I'VE NOT ORDERED ANYTHING FROM MARK CAHILL MINISTIRES! Shipping this box back will cost an arm and a leg. We can't keep this - we can't afford to pay for it."
I set the heavy box on our kitchen table and opened it up. Atop the supplies, was a folded piece of paper with 'My gift to you' printed on the top. I picked it up and set it aside to see what was in the box. It was the box of 42 books I had wanted to purchase earlier that morning. The 42 books plus two of his teaching DVD's valued at an additional $40.00. Lukewarm No More and Pride Goes Before Destruction. I didn't know what to think. I had not ordered this. I hadn't even known about it until that very morning....
I called the boys to the kitchen to show them the box of books and the two DVD's and ask them if they knew how it came to us. Nicholas suggested it might have been Dad who ordered it. I assured him Dad doesn't order books. Dakota suggested I read the folded paper I had set on the table. (Good idea!)
I read the note on the outside aloud: My Gift To You
I opened up the invoice and began to cry. It listed the materials included in the box and had a personal note at the bottom. It read:
"Hey Jill, Please take these as a gift from the ministry. Pray over them and get them into the right hands during the Christmas season.
Lost people all around you. Don't let them get away!
Mark"
You see, about 6 months ago, I woke with a pressing urgency to write Mark Cahill a letter of appreciation for his passion and his ministry. I felt led to share with him how we had used his One Heartbeat Away book for our Family Christmas party outreach last December. I felt like God wanted him to learn how a family was using his book and how much we appreciated his truth-filled writing. I told him I believed his book to be one of the best evangelistic tools I've seen because it combines apologetics and answers to the skeptics and uses the Law to prepare the soil of the heart to hear the good news of the gospel. I told him this book was a perfect blend of Ravi Zacharias, Josh McDowell, and Ray Comfort - all in one.
I mailed the letter with the US Postal service and didn't give it another thought. I didn't really expect him to read it. I just felt like it was a letter God wanted me to write and send.
I think Mark read my letter. I can't imagine why else he would have sent me a box of evangelism books free of charge.
I PRAISE GOD FOR PROMPTING ME TO WRITE THAT LETTER. I PRAISE GOD FOR MARK CAHILL AND FOR HIS OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S PROMPTING HIM TO SEND US BOOKS TO GIVE OUT THIS CHRISTMAS. I am humbled to know God had this in motion even before I knew about this special deal on this larger box of books. Humbled to know God cares about our little Family Christmas party outreach. Humbled He would orchestrate such a surprise to encourage me that He cares and He will provide even our wants. I love God's timing. I was so sad yesterday knowing this year we couldn't afford to do our Christmas party outreach like I wanted.
I am writing this down so I don't forget. So my children will know the praiseworthy deeds of my God. So the children yet to be born will know God's providential and faithful hand in my life.
I LOVE YOU JESUS!
I am so thankful You show yourself to Me. Please help me be faithful! Please help me to walk worthy. Please make sure these truth-filled books make it into the hands of those You want to read it - and be transformed by it. Please Lord, if I may ask, let my children see fruit of these books given as gifts this year. They so need to be encouraged. I so need to be encouraged. Even now, please be preparing the hearts and minds of those who get the gift of this book. Protect us from evil. Protect us from fear. Help us reflect your beauty this Christmastime. Help us love in word and in deed. Help me be winsome. Help me be a sweet aroma. Help me glorify you.
Thank You Jesus!
Thank you Mark Cahill!
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