Listen… you might be interested

It has been “one of those weeks” in my life this week. I have shared before that I am a bi-vocational pastor. My primary occupation is pastor.

My “other” job is selling final expense planning. Tuesday I was in Dayton and I had an appointment with someone who had called in on one of our TV ads.

I showed up, she was in a hurry to go somewhere, so I extended to her the courtesy to re-schedule the appointment. To which she finally told me that she was “not interested.”

I asked her what she was “not interested” in because I hadn’t even told her what we do. She gave some excuse and then asked me to leave. I did.

As I think about that experience, I can relate it to other experiences I have had when talking to people about their eternal life. After 30-plus years in the ministry, I have heard a lot of excuses. But I still have to ask the question of myself “What is it that you’re not interested in?”

They don’t know what I know about eternal life with the Lord. How beautiful Heaven is going to be. How much God loved us that He allowed His Son to die for us. God loves us unconditionally and He will accept anyone who will turn to Him. It doesn’t matter about our past, or what we’re doing right now, or what our plans are for the future.

The Bible says in Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.” And then in Romans 10:13 it says, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” It doesn’t get any plainer than that. Given a choice, heaven or hell for your eternity…where would you like to spend it?

God created you, and He made a way for you to be saved from the sins of this life so that you could spend your eternity with Him.

Would you ask Him into your heart right now? Ask Him to forgive you of your sins and receive his free gift of external life. It will be the very best decision you have ever made. Don’t say “no” to something you may not know about.

Jesus loves you just like you are, but He loves you too much to leave you like that.

Pastor Thad Gifford is lead pastor of the Crossroads Community Church, 62 E. Second St., London. He can be reached at (740) 852-7800, e-mail him at sermon8er@aol.com or at their website www.3c-church.org.