Don't Erase That Number

Don't Erase That Number

“I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of his lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near, says the Lord, and I will heal him.” Isaiah 58:18-19(ESV)

I have had a few cell phones since they became “The Thing” to own. I have had many phone numbers transferred and deleted during those phone transitions. But during the most recent changing of the phones, I had gotten rid of one number that I thought I was done with. I hadn’t heard from this brother in awhile so when the option came to delete it, I did. And guess what? That’s right, God had other plans.

About six months after I deleted this brother’s phone number from my cell phone, he called me. “Just wanted to say, hi and see how you are doing…etc..etc..etc.” When we ended our conversation I decided it was one of those numbers I should have held on to. Just in case. Well one Saturday morning, “just in case” happened. When I saw his name on my cell phone’s front cover, I knew something was up; this brother needed to talk to someone.

The following day I picked him up at his house for the long drive to our “Home, Sweet Home,” the Colony of Mercy. I wasn’t too sure if I was doing the right thing since it was a Sunday afternoon but I was sure that this brother needed to be restored. Our conversation up and back was something I even needed. He might have been struggling with an old idol that crept back into his heart but I needed to say out loud that I too struggle and I am no different than him. Be careful where you stand lest you fall, right?

Here’s what I want to convey to all of you this day. As much as we need to be in fellowship with our Lord and Savior, we need to be in fellowship with each other. We are Biblically told to share “one another’s” burden and what winds up happening is we go to our men’s breakfasts or Bible studies and we dance around what bothers us. That is not good for our spiritual growth, as a matter of fact, not sharing what our struggles are stunts our growth as spiritual heads of our families. If we don’t “clean our closets” once in awhile, not only does the dirt build up but our guilt of knowing about that dirt begins to consume us. Then it robs us of our fellowship with Him and allows old idols to creep back in. Just figured that out this past weekend. SANTO!!

I don’t care if you think you are “Tony the Tiger” or “Waldo”, you need to vent. I praise God that He (and Bill Welte) allows me to share with you my adventures while I clean out my closet. Do you need to do the same? -- Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a frequent Freedom Fighter contributor

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 23; 2 Samuel 16018; Luke 17:20-37

Great Quote:Job's friends chose the right time to visit him, but took not the right course of improving their visit; had they spent the time in praying for him which they did in hot disputes with him, they would have profited him, and pleased God more. William Gurnall