I don't celebrate this as often as it happens, but we had
another Sunday where, we had the privilege of witnessing God's amazing grace as
one of our friends placed their trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. In a world
that often feels dark and discouraging, moments like these remind us that our
God is still drawing people to himself through the power of the Gospel.
Your work, prayer, and support matters. I want to especially
thank our faithful prayer team who has been interceding week after week, often
without seeing immediate fruit. Your prayers matter more than you know. You've
been preparing the spiritual ground, asking God to open hearts and remove obstacles
to faith. A new believer is a testimony to your faithful partnership with the
Lord in his redemptive work.
Jesus promised in John 12:32 that when he is lifted up, he
will draw all people to himself. Our role is to exalt Christ through our
worship, our preaching, our community life, and our love for one another. God's
role is to do what only he can do - open blind eyes and give new life.
Would you join me in praying that as we faithfully lift up
our Savior, God would continue to draw seeking hearts to himself? Here are
three specific ways to pray for God to change hearts:
Pray for spiritual sight. Ask God to open the eyes of
those who are spiritually blind, that they might see the beauty and truth of
Christ. Pray that the lies and deceptions that keep people from faith would be
exposed and broken.
Pray for convicted hearts. Ask the Holy Spirit to
convict people of their need for salvation - not in a condemning way, but in a
way that leads them to see Jesus as their hope and rescue.
Pray for courage to respond. Many people sense God's
call but struggle with fear or pride. Pray that God would give seeking hearts
the courage to take that step of faith and surrender to Christ.
Pray for divine appointments in your neighborhoods and
workplaces. (I talked to another new church attender who started coming to
BBCC because his neighbor was walking around with a Christian t-shirt and he
started asking questions – that matters.) Pray for receptive hearts among those who are
spiritually curious. And pray that our church would be a place where the beauty
of Christ is clearly seen.
God is faithful and kind – thanks for being a part of His
work at BBCC,
--Pastor Sam
