"Sometimes we are asked what is Outside Light all about, what are its aims, what are we trying to do? I am hoping that today's blog will give a flavour of the impact we think God makes in people's lives and our aims as a group.
I work for an organisation called Avanti Ministries and one of my friends there has written a book about his life and his journey to finding God and the dramatic way in which that changed his life. I gave a copy of this book to a young lad we have been speaking to on Monday nights. Imagine my surprise when this morning I received an email from the author of the book who didn't know I knew this lad, read on....
"dear tony my name is xxxxx. I am 15 and your book was giving to me by a man called george prehaps in the hope of changing me. Although im young god has been playing a key part of my life even if untill now i have not noticed or believed in him i have proberly abused the greatest gift from god the gift of life.Beer Vodka smoking and drugs had been a key part of my life i had allways looked for love from girls and never found any i thought by replacing them with these killers i would be satisfied untill i was told maybe the love i needed was from jesus. I have liead cheated sworn used the lords name in vane i have never seeked god for guidence and have only blamed him when ive had difficult times.
Thanks to your book i now know how mistaken i have been i understand jesus christ diead for me and am very! greatfull. i thank you agian for writing your book as your book told me about your youth i can understand the anger and rage and i can relate alot to that my younger life was full of anger rage and evil. i also have grown on a sport like you have but i truly belieave god has blessed me with talent as he blessed my idol ricardo kaka threw listening to how gratefull ricardo is and of how in a matter of 2 days that i read all your book i now allways feel that there is a presance with me and that i am now i different person that god has touched me i have not felt the need to somke drink or smoke canibis since and for that tony i am truly thankfull and greatfull ......"
I am not sure where you stand on whether you believe there is a God, I know for me I turned away from that notion for many years, I also can now testify to God being very real and dramatically changing my life but more than that to saving me. Our prayer is that God would change many more lives so that his name may be praised. We really need to reach more people and for that we need more people, will you join us?
Thanks John
George"
I hope you read George's previous blog first, because you'll detect from that, perhaps, that George had been feeling a slight disappointment that the fish keep moving away from the bait. I was a very poor fisherman when I was a kid and I remember watching my float bobble around, and constantly pulling it out of the water with nothing on the hook. This led me to my new strategy of ignoring the float bobbling because I didn't believe it - I just enjoyed the sunshine and my egg and tomato sandwiches. And when I was ready to go home pulling out a half-dead tiddler that had probably hung there for hours. Fishing for fish isn't easy, there's real skill in it. But fishing for men is a different ball-game. All we have to do as Christians is put the ground bait out there, it's for Him to reel in the catch - we don't have to do any arm-twisting/beating people over the head. We just need to tell.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I shed a tear this morning when George read the email to me - George admitted to doing as much too. I know you'll join my in praying for this lad that what he's discovered will continue to grow in him and that what he's feeling right now will become a positive force in the rest of his life. But please add to that a reinforcing prayer that if/when he starts to fall by the wayside again, the Holy Spirit will catch him and pull him back up.
Much love to you all
John
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