...
So in my fearful and shaky voice I share a glimpse of the character of God through Exodus 34:6-7. As I finished I looked up at the man and his wife eagerly waiting for their response. Let me tell you, that half second felt like 8 million years.
"Wow. Thanks for sharing that verse" the man replied. "Would you like to hear it repeated in Hebrew?"
I think my jaw dropped all the way down to my knees. That was certainly not the reaction I was expecting!
"Yeah!" I eagerly answered.
And as this stranger was reciting Hebrew to me at Einstein's I just kept thinking This can not be real. Seriously, this is not happening to me right now. No way is this really happening.
Curious, I asked how he learned that verse in Hebrew and he shared that he was Jewish and learned it as a boy. So then he asked me a hard question: "Why did you share that with me today?"
Seriously God? I kept thinking. This is so dang awesome!
"Well, actually," I explained, "today at Palm Sunday service at my church we went over that verse and I just really thought God wanted you to hear it."
Then something crazy happened. (as if the first part wasn't crazy enough!)
He looked at me a little confused and said:
"Today we went to church for the first time ever"SERIOUSLY?? OH MY GOSH. You are so neat God!!
My mind was just racing. I couldn't even think what to say next. Actually I'm not really sure what I did say next.
Somehow we got to talking about how the God of the Jews is the same God of the Bible. And that Jesus was descended from Abraham and that he fulfilled many Old Testament prophesies.
I knew that I had another appointment to get to so I just wanted to thank them again for letting me, some weirdo random stranger, share with them. So as I wrapped up our amazing conversation I asked them if there was anything that I could be praying for them for.
The husband and wife locked eyes and looked at each other, then at me, then back at each other. After a few seconds, the husband broke the silence and said
"Actually, yeah there is something you can pray for"
"Sure, anything" I replied eager and confused.
"Could you pray that we get a new life?"
ARE YOU STINKING KIDDING ME GOD?? THIS IS UNREAL. YOU ARE SO NEAT!!!!!
I am still in shock over that answer.
For God to orchestrate a church sermon, my schedule, and meeting at a bagel shop on the same day that the couple went to church for the very first time is completely nuts. And to top it all off, it was the week of Easter a whole day dedicated to celebrating that we get new life through Jesus' Resurrection!
I often need to remind myself of God's faithful character by telling this story. I often need to remember that God works to draw all to himself. I need to remember that his character is true and hasn't changed and we can see part of it in Exodus 34:6-7. And mostly I share this story because it shows that God always gets the glory!
On my way to 1000 gifts:
27. A faithful God and getting to share Jesus in a way I didn't expect.
28. 1100 college students "Tebowing" to get into spiritual conversations
29. Good life-giving conflict resolution
30. Spending great fellowship time with the amazing staff of our ministry
31. Seeing students take steps of faith to do ministry full-time
32. Hearing stories from students of what God did this weekend
33. Dance parties with some of my favorite girls
34. Community for when things get hard and you need accountability and encouragement.
35. Truth speaking sermons.
36. Jumping joyful worship on New Year's Eve
37. An amazing amazing time focusing on Jesus at Denver Christmas Conference :)
Linking up with:
What an amazing story. But then again, with God, all things are possible. Amen.
ReplyDeleteOh, my. God is so neat. Love this story, Angi. Love Him and how He moves.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treasured story for you to tuck away to remember our Awesome God. The experience must have been amazing. It was a blessing to read this.
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