Lourens Swart serves with me at Industrial Ministry. Members of the organization bring short messages to those workers at businesses who request it. He writes: “When I drive home from Industrial Ministry in the morning, it is as if the Spirit of the Lord still carries me on a cloud. It is thus that I drive one morning when the word comes to me, ‘stop’. I deem it strange – there is nothing for which I need to stop, but I stop. It was just as I wanted to drive further that I saw a young man pass by. I know it’s dangerous, but I open the door and say to him: “You may ride along.” I take the Bible from the seat next to mine and put it on the seat at the back. The youngster, Lionel, gets in smiling. “I have just delivered a short message to the blokes at the factories,” I say. “I know the Word,” he says. “I am a Xhosa, but grew up with coloured people. They taught me Afrikaans, and also about the Word of the Lord. I know the Bible, but something is lacking.” “Are you a child of God?” I ask. “No,” he says doubtfully. I stop the car, take my Bible and read “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1 : 12). I then ask him with a prayerful heart: “Do you want to accept Jesus?” “Yes sir,” he says. We close our eyes and there beside the road Lionel asks for forgiveness of his sins and says to Jesus: “Dear Jesus, I accept You.” We are both overjoyed. We say goodbye and he promises to serve Jesus now. Probably I’ll never see him again on earth, but I still pray for him; that the dear Lord bless him lavishly so that he may also lead others to Jesus.”
This reminded me of the following: An angel of the Lord said to Philip: “Get up and go toward the south on the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ” On the road an Ethiopian sat on his wagon reading from the book of Isaiah. The Spirit then said to Philip: “Go over to that carriage and stay close to it.” Philip then asked the Ethiopian: “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied: “How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?” Philip explained to him the gospel about Jesus. The Ethiopian did not see him again and joyfully continued on his way. (Acts 8:26 – 39).
People read the Bible and know about Jesus, yet something often lacks. The Bible says we may know for sure that we have eternal life if we believe in Jesus as our Redeemer! Whoever has the Son has this life … I am writing this to you so that you may know that you have eternal life – you that believe in the Son of God (1 John 5:11-13).
Thank you God that You send people to preach the gospel. Amen
Gert Berning
