I burry my head in the couch, weeping as Nancy shuts my apartment door behind her. Weeping and crying out to God to save my unbelieving friend. Remove the veil, I pray, from her eyes so that she may know the truth. So that she can know you, Jesus, our Savior and Lord. I beg you Father, have mercy on her! Speak to her heart Holy Spirit. Convict her of her sins and reveal to her her desperate need for you Jesus! Nothing I can do or say can save her or transform her heart into a heart of repentance and trust in you. You alone are able to do that. And so, God, I beg you! I beg you to call her to yourself and to adopt her as your daughter through your Son, Jesus Christ, as you have done for me!
This is my cry. This is my plead. As I sit here in agony, knowing that my friend will spend eternity in hell if God does not bring her out of darkness and into light, I try to recall any other time that I have cried out to God on behalf of someone else’s salvation. And I cannot. Oh God, make us a people that intercedes on behalf of the unsaved! Help us to grasp the reality of their state and where their eternal future lies, I pray! Nancy and I just spent the last 127 minutes reflecting on Jesus’ life, death and resurrection through the 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ. As I watched those almost unbearable images, that I feel have been best portrayed by media, of our Savior and King being betrayed, tortured, condemned, and crucified, tears streamed down my face. Tears of hurt, sorrow, guilt, pain, shame, regret, love, repentance and thankfulness. And as I sat here sobbing into a dishtowel next to my unsaved friend, I was once again reminded of my own sin. My sin that my Jesus was beaten for. My sin that my Jesus was scourged and tortured for. My sin that my Jesus was crucified for. And I sob. I sob knowing that it is only by His gruesome obedience to death on a cross that I have life. It is only by His grace and love that I am able to call Him “Abba” and be called his daughter. It is only by His mercy that He has predestined me for adoption into the family of God.
It was after all of the beating, scourging, and torturing, when the Roman guards began nailing Jesus to the cross that Nancy asked me this question; “He did all of this for me and you?” With confused teary eyes looking at me, choked up, I answered, “Yes, He did ALL of this for you and for me.” And right then, my discouragement left me. Every doubt and sense of hopelessness in my ministry and purpose here left me. The Holy Spirit showed me ever so clearly, that it is HE who convicts, speaks to, saves and sanctifies lives. Not me. Not my efforts. But Him alone. And so, I sit here and I cry out and weep on behalf of Nancy and on behalf of my unsaved friends here in Tanzania. I beg you, Holy Spirit, to save Nancy, Anna, Esiah, Mary, Mahaddia, Majwuma, Frank, Mama Elizabeth, Joana, Ochu, Elius, Emahny, Muhammad, Atia, Gertrude, every child at the school and every single other Tanzanian that you have given me the opportunity to share life with in my time here. I beg you for salvation for each one of these people Father! I cannot even fathom being separated from you for eternity and so I plead for what they do not know they need. I pray for a miracle. I pray for you to save them for your glory God!
I am learning more and more that God chooses to use His Spirit to speak to us through a variety of different ways. Sometimes through His Word, sometimes through people, sometimes through lyrics of a song, sometimes through the message of a Pastor or mentor, and other times through a struggle or hardship. Today he used this film and my discouragement in my ministry here to speak to me. To speak so loud and clear to me! It is now how we respond to these convictions that matter. Paul’s words in his second letter to the church at Corinth is ringing in my ears as I type this…
“Behold, now is the favorable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.”
2 Corinthians 6:2
If we believe the Word of God is true and infallible like we say we do, then we will take heed to this declaration of Paul’s. We will realize and come to terms with the urgency of salvation in Jesus Christ, knowing that NOW is the day of salvation! And so, no matter where you are or what you are doing at this very moment, I ask that you stop. Stop and take a few minutes to pray for Nancy and Anna and all of the people that I have listed above. Pray for your unsaved friends, coworkers and neighbors. Pray that God by His grace and mercy would call them to Himself so that they may know the joy and life we experience through His Son, Jesus Christ! “Now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
I am absolutely overwhelmed right now. Overwhelmed by Jesus’ love, His obedience to His Father, and His grace over me. I have never wept like this before in my life. I have never cried out to God in absolute sincerity begging Him for the salvation of another individual. I praise God for giving me this conviction and desire to intercede on behalf of others that don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I pray that He would continue to burden my heart for the unsaved and I pray that He would also lay that conviction upon all of your hearts. Please take a moment to watch this short “music video” and as you listen to the words of this song and watch the images taken from the Passion of Christ film, I pray that the Holy Spirit would stir your heart for the unreached as He has stirred mine….
Here are just a few of my unsaved friends.... these are not just pictures, these are real people. Real souls that will spend eternity in Hell if God does not save them. We have a responsibility in all of this.... please join in my efforts here by praying that God would use me to minister to these people.
children
Anna
Mary
Ochu and his son, Lukkman
Ochu's wife
"I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God
that was given you in Christ Jesus..."
1 Corinthians 1:4