(Joshua 24:15)
“But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
A lawyer named Charles Finney regularly preached in New York churches in the 1830s. A lot of fellow lawyers came to hear him speak, including, one night, the Chief Justice of New York. As the Chief Justice listened silently from way up in the gallery, he concluded that everything Finney said about Christ, based on the evidence presented, was true. The Chief Justice felt a stirring in his heart to take positive action rather than passively doing nothing. He left his seat and went to the back of the stage.
While Finney was still preaching, the Chief Justice tapped him on the shoulder and whispered to Finney. When he finished, Finney turned back and looked at the faces staring at him, saying, “The Chief Justice says that if I call people forward, he will come, too. I ask you to come forward now if you would like to receive Christ into your heart.” The Chief Justice then went forward, as did almost every lawyer in Rochester, New York. It has been said that one-hundred thousand people discovered Christ in the next twelve months in that area.
Life is full of choices. They really matter and sometimes, like with the Chief Justice, they have life-affirming consequences for other people as well.
At age eight, I asked Jesus into my heart. After high school, I recommitted my life to Christ – a scary choice to make at the time – but the best decisions are always a little bit like that at first. That decision has influenced every part of me from that moment forward – for the stronger; for the better. I know now where I stand. Joshua 24:15 hangs over the door of our house.
Christ’s blessings to you,
Pastor John