Planting a Seed of Hope

Yesterday, we looked at Romans 12:13, which dealt with saints ministering to saints.  But, I submit to you that the last two words of that verse are a "bridge" between the first part of 13 and also of 14.  Look at verse 14:

14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse.

In other words, we are not only to be open-handed to the saints (Christians, the Church), but also to those who not only disagree with us, even actively persecute us.  I find that oftentimes, a picture is worth a thousand words.  So, please watch this 2-min. YouTube vid:

https://youtu.be/bNj3HZCSzTU

In this video, Dave Sterrett (a man I'd never heard of) blessed Cecile Richards.  How did he do that?

1.  He did not ignore the urging of the Holy Spirit, odd as that urging seemed at the time.  He was prepared and ready with a copy of his book, his witnessing tool, in his carry-on bag.
2.  He obeyed the Holy Spirit's nudge to approach her.
3.  He was not confrontational.
4.  He did not back away from the truth.
5.  He believed that our God is bigger than anyone's past, anyone's present and anyone's sin.
6.  He blessed her by planting a seed.

Are you, like me, just going, "WOW!"?

Sometimes, I believe we Christians think that some people and some situations should just be set aside as "impossible".  How counterintuitive is it to bless those who persecute us, after all?  But, you know, if we as Christians truly believe that God can overcome any sin and turn around every sinner, if we truly believe that, we will change our behavior toward those who are diametrically opposed to our beliefs.  We will begin to reach out and bless them.

This video and Dave's example were both convicting and inspiring to me.  I pray they were for you as well.  Is God urging your heart to reach out to bless someone in "the Enemy's camp" today?  Do it! You never know what fruit the Lord Jesus will harvest from that one seed, that one act of your obedience!

I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused it to grow.

1 Corinthians 3:6

Feel free to comment in the comments section of today's post.

Father, I want to pray right now for Cecile Richards.  Specifically, I pray that Dave's book will haunt her until she reads it and in its pages comes face-to-face with testimonies about Jesus, my living God. I pray for her salvation, that Your Holy Spirit will pursue her and gloriously save her soul.  And, I pray that her transformation will be akin to that of the Apostle Paul who, as Saul before his conversion, was actively pursuing and murdering followers of Jesus Christ.  You can do all things, magnificent Lord!  And, I pray that You will glorify Your name in all the Earth.  In Jesus I ask this, amen.