Teague Bible Church

The Story I Did Not Want To Tell 7/18/18
When I became a believer I took off like a rocket. I now had the right life of knowing how to live in God’s grace, and things felt like they were moving forward. The one thing I always regretted was my relationship with my dad. He was not a believer at the time I was saved.
He wondered why I spent so much time and money on that religious stuff. He said I needed to get a good job like my brothers. I was really going to tell him “what for” one day and really show him how much I had learned, and how much he did not know!
Well my chance came. I had it all planned out. Of course I ask God to guide my words. I began telling him what he needed to know about coming to Christ.
Then a strange thing happened. I had to stop. I said, “Dad, you deserved a better son than what you had in me!” Wait a minute! This could not be God giving me the words to speak could it? I look so weak now, so needy! I tried again to “educated” my dad, but nothing came out but, “I am so sorry; would you forgive me?”
Well, I felt that the most important thing I could have said to my dad went unspoken. What an idiot I was to say the wrong thing at the wrong time! I cried, and cried, feeling I had blown a rare opportunity to be a witness for Christ.
Then the most wonderful thing happened. I just looked up at this man, who was never able to share his feeling with any of us, and I saw something in his face I had never seen before. He got it! He really got it! He got the message of Christ’ forgiveness, through me asking for his forgiveness. He muttered something about it being ok, but he was too shocked to do much else. In later talks, all this became an open door to talk to my dad !
So the scripture says. ” ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” II Cor. 12: 9-10.
It never occurred to me that I would be humbled in front of an unbeliever and somehow the power and presence of Christ would then become evident. My pride said that I should be honored along with Christ in such moments. But He always has something better. I guess He really knows what He is doing after all. JWP