Foreign Exchange

During the summer months I often go walking in the morning at work. We have a hiking and biking trail right out our back door! As I walk I read, which means I tend to walk a little slower and I sometimes . . . well, I get surprised from time to time. Such was the case this past week.

My morning walks are short. I walk down the trail for 10 minutes and then I walk back. Shortly after I made the turn back towards the office I heard a noise behind me. Kind of surprised me. A jogger! I said "good morning" and they were gone. No big deal. Back in to God's Word.

I was reading from the Book of Exodus that morning. Moses was trying to convince Pharaoh that he should "Let my people go!" But, alas, Pharaoh's heart was hardened and it took many trials and sufferings at the hand of God before Pharaoh finally relented.

Do you have people in your life who simply do NOT want to hear The Gospel? No matter what we might try, what scripture we might quote, we simply cannot convince some people that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

As I continued down the trail I looked up to see how close I was getting to the road I had to cross. Hey, there was that jogger, stretching her muscles on a bench up ahead. An opportunity to share the Gospel? Well, I thought, if she is still there when I arrive on the scene I will ask her if there was anything I could pray for in her life. She was still there and I did ask my question.

"Good morning again! I was just wondering if there was anything I could pray for in your life. I work right over there (pointed to the office down the trail). I usually pray from here to there."

"Sure! You can pray for our foreign exchange student. His name is Bayu. He's from Indonesia. He's going back home next week and he really could use some prayer. Bayu is a Muslim. Funny, Bayou loves to sing. He even sang with our church choir! A Muslim! He told us, "I have a different opinion of Christianity from what I thought it was."

And so I prayed for Bayu and the world view he was going back to. Indonesia is a Muslim country. But Bayu had seen the Gospel in action through the lives of the family he had stayed with. Every day he watched and learned about these Christians he now loved, like family. Next thing they knew he was literally singing praises to their God. Our God.

Are you that kind of Christian? The kind that exudes The Gospel simply in the way a life is lived? I would hope so. I hope I am.

Do you know what the word "holy" means? It means "set apart." Are we set apart? Do we stand out in a crowd. Will people look at us and say, "There's something different about that guy." Will they know who we are by our actions and by our words? Or will we blend into the crowd.

"26 You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own." - Leviticus 20:26

In the Book of Revelation we are told that the name of Jesus will be on our foreheads. Do we wear His name on us as we walk through this world? Is it obvious to others that we have been set apart - by our words, by our actions - will people KNOW we are His? Do you have the light of Christ flowing from you today?

"4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light." - Revelation 22:4-5

Try speaking to someone today about the hope you have in Christ. God WILL provide the opportunities. Will you be ready?

Holy - Nichole Nordeman