October 25, 2016
This past Friday, my wife and I got to travel to Nashville, TN to give a ten-minute testimony of my salvation experience at the National Gideon’s convention. The Gideons wanted me to come because when I trusted Christ as my Savior I was reading from my New Testament which was given to me by one of their members as I was being inducted into the United States Marine Corps in Minneapolis St. Paul. 
As an elementary student, I was also presented a Bible from the Gideons outside my school. I still remember the experience. I thought it strange a complete stranger would be willing to hand me a Bible. Unfortunately, as a child I did not take advantage of the gift and read it. But in the fullness of time, at the right time, in the right place, under the ripe circumstances of a troubled heart I was willing to open up the second little gift they gave to me. While reading through the gospel of John, God turned the lights on for me and I repented of my sin and trusted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
Now I do not have a clue who those two men were who cared enough to give me a Bible. God knows. I’m sure they do not remember me for both encounters were brief, like a drive through encounter at McDonalds. Yet instead of giving out temporal bread, they were handing out the eternal Bread of Life. They cast out the seed of the Word of God by faith and it bore fruit.
We do not always get to see instant oatmeal results of our ministry attempts. But you can mark it down, God is fully aware of what is going on and how He wants to use you in ministry to your fellow man, to your family, to your church and to your country. A smile, a fitting word spoken in a timely manner, a helping hand, a Bible tract given, a Bible shared, an invitation to church, and we could imagine a host of other ways God can use us to help to grease the wheels of somebody else’s life in this world of heated friction and trouble.
I was given the privilege to say thank you to the organization who has the faith to believe giving a Bible to somebody can change another person’s life. I pray it was an encouragement to them as it certainly was a blessing to me. Now then, if we have been the recipients of an “Oh So Great Salvation” then how are we going to live? Should not a big part of our life out a sense of thanksgiving be to share Jesus with others?
You may feel like you do not have much to offer to Jesus and His church. But if you have Christ in your heart, you can share the greatest gift in all the universe. Remember what Jesus says: “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.” (Mark 9:41 KJV).
May God bless you as you live for and serve Him,
Pastor John Schofield,
Calvary Baptist Church Granada, MN
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