When I first came to know the Lord I was of the opinion that now I am ‘in’ (in what?) I can now do the same things…. just a little differently. I was rescued from the past darkness and strategically placed into His marvelous light, and now I am a ‘new creature’; at least so I thought. My rude awakening was revealed recently as I attempted to ‘do the work’ of an evangelist by inviting those who have turned their backs on God and have not been in church for some time. I even made phone calls to loved ones and was rejected with the response, “I have so much to do tomorrow,” Ughhhh!…Ouch!…those words hit me like a dagger. I felt God’s anguish for the first time as I teared up, because these are people who I love dearly and desire to see them in eternity. But I am not giving up.

Here I was, at the entrance of Publix (by myself) with a lack of boldness and courage, to encourage others, to tell them of the good news (the Gospel) of Jesus. Now, I have a clearer understanding of a lost world that I was once a part of. A world that does not want to submit to God’s authority. I felt God’s pain through resistance and resentment towards Him as I was looked on as some crazy person. For the first time I clearly saw what this kind of service to God meant. I observed and listened to the conversations of individuals and families as they passed by. They were all in some form of misery or doubt looking for answers within themselves or the world’s offering’s. Lost! When I first got there I thought this would be easy. Just one more flyer and card to give out. But time seemed to be standing still allowing me time to reflect on the journey ahead with the best navigator ever.

It is not my job to judge as quoted in Matthew 7:1-5 which states, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” It is evident my fellow Brothers and Sisters (laborers in the vineyard) we have a lifelong job to do.

So as I ‘took the plank out of my eye’, seeing more clearly I had an Isaiah 6:5 experience, “Woe is me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” I now have thorough wisdom into the reality of the ‘Great commission’ in Matthew 28: 18-20-"Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

I reminisced on my days when I would ‘boldly’ go anywhere and advertise carnival; and now I was ‘timid’ to hand out a flyer to the unsaved. God will hold us accountable on ‘Judgement Day’; and based on this experience, there will be ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’ as quoted in Luke 13:28, “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.”

I have been blessed to lead many former addicts to Christ through my ministry at a drug rehab center in Florida. Thus, I pray that this ‘new way’ is not seen as a ‘quick fix’ just to to temporarily ease the pain like the DOC (drug of choice) did. I pray that once we have enjoyed the newfound freedom there will be no turning back to the life of misery. I pray that God will open our hearts to his will and there will be a permanent transformation. I pray that the Holy Spirit will make us open-minded, willing to take suggestions, and teachable. I know that God in his own ‘strange’ way will give us an experience to feel His pain for those who want to go on this journey with Him. Do you know the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is in us? Use it!

You think about it!

Good morning!

Remember, ‘nothing changes if nothing changes’ and, ‘the same person will always use’.

From the desk of Andy Ansola