Monday, April 11, 2011

Seeking The Joy of The Kingdom

Seeking God….For The Joy of Liberation

I have a wonderful reflection to tell about the Joy of Liberation:

My parents were divorced when I was away in the Army so when my mother remarried another man (Mel) it didn't seem…real…almost.

In time I realized how this man loved my mother and truly cared for her. I also came to know the Lord a few years later and soon realized he and many other of my family members needed Jesus Christ.

Over the next 10 years I prayed for this man and several other family members to come to know Jesus as Savior. I heard about the "Left Behind" series and knowing my mothers second husband loved to read, I sent him some of these books and began to pray more often that God would use these books to touch his heart. And then the Lord led me to start praying for others to reach out to him from the local church. 

Amazingly enough a few months went by and I heard that my mother and her husband Mel were now attending a small church and soon after he was saved and baptized. I was so thankful to the Lord for answering my prayers and I thought how wonderful the Lord must have felt as Angels were singing on high that this man came to accept Jesus as his Savior.

Things went well for him and my mother until about a year later when he passed away at 49 years old of a massive heart attack. I traveled with my family to the funeral in Kentucky and when asked to say a few words, I promptly stepped up onto the platform at a small country church. (As I was going up to the front of the church I passed a wonderful photo of my moms second husband (Mel) being baptized.) I shared about how I prayed and how the Lord used these people in this small church to bring Mel to know Jesus as Savior. What a wonderful day to share how the Lord brought this man out of spiritual bondage and knowing that he was now in heaven with his Lord and Savior!

Let us not be weary of praying for our lost relatives and neighbors. And as we see the Lords hand in all we do, let's also not forget too soon all the wonderful things He has done for us.

As today’s devotional said, "It is no small thing for even one to come home to God."

Praise the Lord on high for He is so good to us!

Yours in Christ,

Phil Foster

Valley View Baptist Church