Robert Anderson, Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network/BCMD President and Pastor of Colonial Baptist Church, Randallstown, MD
By Robert Anderson, Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network/BCMD President and Pastor of Colonial Baptist Church, Randallstown, MD
Recently, I was in a beautiful country in East Africa, and upon exiting a wild game reserve, our vehicle got a flat tire. We all jumped out of the SUV to change the tire which took us about thirty minutes.
Reflecting back, I am reminded of Paul’s testimonial to Elder Timothy,
“But The Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth” (2 Timothy 4:17).
Let me explain, while in the game reserve we saw antelopes, wild pigs, zebras, and hippos. However, no visit to the game park seems complete until you see the lions, and after about a hour we saw the king of the beasts, the lion. Furthermore , in our efforts to leave the part we encountered a swarm of tootsie flies…literally thousands, and yet, only three got into our vehicle. Here is my point, the flat tire could have occurred while we were in the heart of the game reserve with the lion or tootsie flies. We were rescued from the lion’s mouth, and the flies’ attack!
In our trip to Africa, while visiting the Christian workers there, we also hoped to make contact with an unreached people group, and we did. The Lord gave us an opportunity to proclaim the gospel and seven to nine young men prayed to receive The Lord Jesus Christ, and The Lord kept the mouth of the lions shut.
I have heard our new State Executive Missional Strategist say many times that the greatest act of love is to share the redeeming message of the gospel with others. However, many people are scared to initiate sharing the gospel (Good News), but the Bible says that “there is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (I John 4:18 NKJV).
If I can go across the Atlantic and across the continent of Africa to share the wonderful words of life, then surely I can go across the hall, across the room, or across the street and become a friend and love my neighbor by sharing the gospel.
My friend, God is able to handle any and all opposition visible or invisible, man or demon, friend or foe. The wild game is out there and Satan is a roaring lion seeking to devour, but Jesus is greater for He is the Lion of Judah, and He will stand by you and strengthen you just as He did for Paul.
For this new Fall season, let’s look for those divine opportunities to boldly share God’s love and grace. Let the church say, ‘Amen!’