Thanks to Cindy Hanson’s comments about my testimony, a light bulb lit up inside me:
“… nice story, glad yours ends with cash, my experience, however, is the true gift besides salvation, is being a husband and father to your family and offering love and kindness to the community you live in. Not saying money isn’t a good payout,but I believe it to be a rare one. I too am glad you visited your insurance man. God rocks. (Cindy Hanson)
Believe it or not, I have not paid much attention lately to the fact that the Lord brought $50,000 to my publishing company after I was saved on May 20, 1985. It somehow gets loss in the shuffle over the years.
Now, at the time it was a BIG deal. I even daydreamed that maybe I would be this successful Christian businessman with a jet, flying to Full Gospel Businessmen’s meetings across the nation, giving my testimony on prosperity. But hey, give me a break, I was a baby Christian; this was where I was at. Maturity takes time.
Cindy pointed out that receiving cash as a part of the salvation experience was a rare happening, but is it? What do scriptures reveal?
Now when He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
But Simon answered and said, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”
And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
…When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken.
…So when they brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him. (Luke 5: 4-6, 8-9, 11
I do not believe in the so-called prosperity gospel, but the facts are that Peter, Andrew, James and John dropped everything and followed Jesus because the Lord blessed their fishing business. The fish meant money in their pockets and food on the table for their families. It was what they desperately needed, and the Redeemer used their needs to capture their hearts.
Jesus said:
If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works…(John 10:37-38)
Think of all the masses of people crowding around Jesus wherever He went. Do you think these people were thinking about eternal salvation and forgiveness of sins? No, almost all were not. Most needed healing miracles or food or something. And Jesus met them where they were at so that He could capture their hearts.
Now, the revelation that I received because of Cindy’s comments concerns us Christians and how we evangelize homosexuals, perverts, drunks, drug addicts, gangs, prostitutes and the like. We tend to hold our noses, point our fingers at their sins and tell them that they are “rotten sinners going to Hell.” No wonder they don’t like us, right?
How would Jesus evangelize these groups?
Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. (Luke 5: 3)
Jesus climbs into people’s boats (their lives), discovers their needs, meets their needs…and then, day by day, cleans them up.
Wow! Hello Larry Who! I need to follow His example.
Larry Who 