seeking His presence...


I am often amazed at how the Lord will use us in spite of ourselves. Even in our own lack of attention to detail, He will present Himself.

I was reminded recently of a story one of my students told of an error she had been making in sharing the Gospel.

We had arrived in Huaraz, Peru. A village high in the Andes mountains, where the air was very thin. Anyone who has ever been to Denver...the mile high city...and has experienced shortness of breath, understands what I mean. We were twice that high, and I got out of breath just going to the bathroom.

We were at one of our first ministry sites in Huaraz. The team dispersed to share the Gospel. One of our seasoned young ladies was 'ministry team leader' this day, and was responsible for sharing Christ. She had done this many times before...on many trips...to Peru and to other Latin American countries.

As she was nearing the end of her presentation, after having explained who each person in the drama was and who they represented, she told a woman that "Jesus had died for her sin."

She was moving on to her next statement, when the woman interrupted her. "Pecado, not pescado," the woman said.

Puzzled by the interruption, it took her a moment to figure out what was being communicated.

My student had been telling this woman that "Jesus died for her fish," not her sin.

Embarrassed, she tried to continue. While the tint of her face sped from white to red, she realized the woman spoke English, and that was how she knew she had misspoken. They finished their conversation in English.

Needless to say, she never made this mistake again.

However, in spite of not having a full command of their language, the Lord used her willing heart to lead countless people to Himself. Any confusion that may have been caused along the way by the difference between 'fish and sin' was cleared up by the Holy Spirit, who brings understanding to each of us!

We do not have to be perfect. We do not need to be fluent or even good at speaking the language of the culture we happen to be in (even our own).

God takes our obedience and uses it for His glory. We get to learn from our mistakes along the way. What an awesome God we serve!

Remember, Jesus told the man, "Go and sin no more."

It's okay to fish.

Especially for men.

dad