If God Kills You, He Can't Use You Anymore

     I was baptized at the Church of the Cross in Coral Springs, Florida.  To say the least, I was pretty nervous.  I was still rather timid, and shy.  Baptism was a huge event for me.  I was going to stand before the entire church and they were all going to watch.  All eyes were going to be on me.  I was so afraid that I would have to give some kind of speech, and I would do something that would embarrass myself for life.  I really had a lot of fear issues back then.  I may even had been afraid of my own shadow in those days.  Just kidding. 

     The Sunday had finally come, and my baptism was about to start.  My heart was racing, my breath was short, and I just knew I was going to die.  You may be thinking, that's just a little dramatic.  Well maybe it was.  On top of all the other fears I had about being a public spectacle, it was storming as well.  Storms shouldn't be a problem, unless you are getting baptized at the Church of the Cross.  Their Baptismal is outside.  The entire congregation gets to sit in the safety of the indoors, while the guy getting baptized has to go outside. 

     Behind the pulpit was a large set of sliding glass doors.  Behind those doors was the outside.  That is where the baptismal was located.  As the pastor was preparing me for what to expect, all I could hear was loud, earth shaking rumbles of thunder.  The lighting was so intense you could see the flashes from inside the church, behind closed doors.  You would have thought the battle of Armageddon had started.  I was shy and timid and hardly ever spoke much.  But this was insane, my life was at stake.  you don't ever, I repeat ever stand in a body of water when lightning is striking the ground all around you.  God granted me the strength and courage to speak.  With a cracked up voice that was fluttering because of the pounding inside my chest I asked the pastor, "Is this a good idea since the lighting is so close and intense?"  without hesitation he replied, "Son, If God kills you, He can't use you anymore.  I don't think He is finished with you yet, lets go." 

     Before I knew it we were in the baptismal, and the sky's had parted.  I am serious the storm broke up like there was some kind of intermission going on.  I was dunked as a dead man, and then I was raised to life out of the water, symbolizing the cleansing of my sin. 

     I shared this story for two reasons.  One baptism is a command from God.  Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  If we have truly given our lives to Christ, Then we need to be obedient to Him.  Baptism in itself is nothing magical and it does not save you.  But it is a celebration and testimony of your new found faith in Christ.  If you have accepted God's gift of eternal life through His son, then you will want to get baptized.  The second reason I shared this story was for what my pastor said to me, "Son, If God kills you, He can't use you anymore.  I don't think He is finished with you yet, lets go."  That statement has always stuck in my head.  Although I had a lot of fear, I always hoped it was true.  I had no idea of the magnitude of what God was going to do through a nobody like me.  God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called. 

I Corinthians 1:26-31 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 

This is a bad picture of me preaching in Nicaragua for the first time.

My interpreter is David.  What an amazing young man he is.

Who would have thought 20+ years ago I would be preaching in Nicaragua?

     My plan is to continue sharing how God has not just changed my life, but how He has brought me to where He has me today.  It gets sweeter and sweeter as I have learned to surrender even more and more. 

May my life be the proof and evidence of His love