The Phone Call Update #4 and #5

It's been over a week since we met with our new friend from the restaurant...if you haven't followed the story, read The Phone Call.

My wife Dany went with me since we were already in town together and had just left the Colorado Springs Pridefest 2007.

The restaurant was not very busy (3pm), while we were waiting for him to finish some work Dany had a great opportunity to share the Gospel with our waitress. I know I keep saying this, but it is truly amazing (tears in my eyes as I type this), how receptive and open people are when you bring them the Gospel with love, compassion, logic, science and patience - and when you carefully walk them through sin and judgment. It just makes SENSE!

She even asked for more million tracts...and walked back to the back of the restaurant where other servers were taking a break and gave them each a million dollar tract. Imagine that...a lost person handing out tracts? God is amazing.

So our friend finished up his shift work...we sat down and talked to him for nearly an hour and a half...right there in the restaurant as he was on break between shifts. He poured out his life story to us, pretty much complete and total strangers. He's pretty convinced that he is saved, I'm not to judge that, it's only between him and God - but we did point him to some key scriptures about salvation, "the test"...working out our salvation with fear and trembling, repentance and faith, etc.

He has some deep anger issues and some dark thoughts on revenge and hatred, so we talked about the fruits of salvation and called him dead nuts square on those. He was SO appreciative that someone would take the time to just sit and talk through this stuff with him. To not judge him and all the "bones in his closet".

If you've read through to this point...I want to be so careful in relating these stories. I don't do it to build myself up, and I do have to check my motivation regularly, I DO wrestle with pride. I honestly want to assure you that my primary motivation here is to encourage people to focus on OTHERS, to witness at every opportunity, to serve God in outward, bold ways to the lost.

Would these stories be possible if I/we never spoke up with our mouths for the Gospel? God gives you the strength, the compassion and the words to do it. I guarantee there is no way I could even begin to do this on my own.

Call #5...he called me yesterday just to update me on things...and to thank me again. He's been pounding through scripture over the last week, he wants a solid understanding of salvation and how he is supposed to "look" and "be" as a Follower of Jesus Christ. I kept telling him and pointing him to God, because if it was just ME, I wouldn't have had enough care, love and concern to even have spoken to him in the first place.

He asked me if I would mind if he called me from time to time to keep working through this stuff and to keep me posted. I told him if he didn't, I'd be down there at the restaurant tracking him down to see what more we could do for him...