I think God was saying, "since you are already here, there is someone I’d like you to talk to."
A couple months ago I had major back surgery at the UCLA medical center. I was very grateful for the morphine pump; every time I hit the button it put a smile on my face. After surgery I had a nice conversation with the head nurse as she talked freely about her Christian life and shared the major point of stress she was facing. I listened a lot, asked questions and shared with her some biblical perspectives of her situation. After we prayed, she said there was another nurse that she wanted me to talk to who was going through a hard time. So at 11 PM she brought Carmen into my room so we could talk. Carmen shared her difficult journey with me and it was obvious that she needed God to help her. When I asked her about her church background, she said she had gone to church as a child but not since. I explained that there was a big difference between "Churchianity" and Christianity and that the difference was a personal relationship with Christ. I drew out the Bridge diagram to explain how she could cross over into a personal relationship with God. She really wanted that and knew she needed God. So at her request, I led her through a prayer to receive Christ into her life. Because she was going off shift in the morning and I wasn't going to see her again, I gave her assurance of her salvation and suggestions on how to begin growing in her new relationship with Christ. I also encouraged her to start going to church with her friend, the head nurse. She left my room at midnight, the day of my surgery. That was a wonderful experience. The miracle was that Carmen found Christ even though I was on morphine. My perspective is that I don't think God allowed me to have back surgery so I could lead her to Christ. Rather, I think God was saying, "Since you are already here, there is someone I'd like you to talk to." Praise God for that opportunity.
Kent
God replaced one banker for another so I could tell her about Christ, but…
I was trying to open a new account at Wells Fargo and the bank officer needed some additional information. When I returned, I had to start the process over with a new banker, named Alicia. I was grumpy. When Alicia asked me about the booklet I was carrying I said, “It is to train Christians how to lead people to Christ” with very little enthusiasm. I was still grumpy. She wanted to know more. That’s when God kind of thumped me. So I said, “It is to help people know how to experience forgiveness, eternal life and a personally relationship with God.” She was interested and told me that she had not been to church in years. I explained there was a big difference between Churchianity and Christianity, between religious activities and rituals and a personal relationship with Christ. She wanted to know more so I asked for a piece of paper in order to draw the Bridge Diagram for her. She gave me a post-it. I drew out the infinite separation between God and man … on a post-it! When I finished she said she wanted to cross over into a relationship with God. I explained the prayer. She wanted me to lead her in a prayer but she couldn’t leave her desk…in the midst of eight other busy desks in the banking section. So I said, “let’s just keep talking the way we are and I’ll give you the words to say, and you say them silently in your heart to God.” I did and she did…holding back the tears in her eyes. After I went over the acrostic, ESPN, there was much joy in her heart. That night she shared the Bridge Diagram with her husband and the next day she told me that they would be coming to our church that weekend. Amazing! God replaced one bank officer for another so I could tell her about Christ, but then he had to thump a grumpy me to get my attention.
Steven came out of his coma just in time...
Steven was an eleven year old boy who had been suffering from a brain tumor. When he was in his final stages and in a coma, some friends asked me to go with them to visit Steven in the hospital and to comfort his parents. On arrival, Steven was not in a coma and was talking and responding to his parents. Sometimes just before death, the body rallies and this was that time. So I asked his parents if Steven had prayed and received Christ as his Savior. They were not sure, so with their permission, I drew the Bridge diagram and explained how Steven could receive Christ and know that he would be going to heaven. When I finished, Steven told his dad he wanted me to lead him in a prayer to receive Christ. He understood that he was forgiven and that when he closed his eyes here on earth for the last time, he would open them in the presence of Jesus in heaven. Everyone sensed that God was present in that special hour. Steven came out of his coma just in time to find Jesus and to guarantee that his final departure would be to heaven.