My neighbor from our culdesac was out walking his dog today. He does this every day since he had open-heart surgery. I couldn't help notice the uncanny timing of me walking out to Katy's car (normally I'd drive mine from the garage and so I never would have had the opportunity to talk to him, but I was using her car today) just as he was coming around the corner. I had a sense that this was God's timing and didn't want to waste the opportunity. I have shared the gospel with him and his wife in the past, but we were able to talk for awhile and so I brought it up again and asked him if he had thought about what we talked about before. I think, too often, we think we have to wait for "the topic" to come up naturally, but more and more I feel the urgency to speak truth to people out of love and concern for their souls and pray for God to do a heart change in them. How much time we waste talking about nothing important with people!

He told me that he came very near to death several times. Yet, he said that the after-life is something that he would worry about when he gets there, and right now he only thinks about this life and being a good person, a good citizen. I told him that according to the Bible, once he died, it would be too late and that God has given us Jesus and His Word so that we can know Him now and be prepared for death. I talked about the fact that none of us are "good" people in the sense that God requires, which is why we need Jesus. He didn't seem concerned, and said that he has no fear of death. But as I was standing there, I felt so aware of the fact that God may, perhaps, use my words and prayers to bring this man to repentance and faith in Jesus. If you're reading this, please pray for him and his family. His name is Terry and his wife is Julie.

I pray that God would help me to be bolder as I get older and not take the easy path and waste my time talking about nothing significant.

"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?" -Romans 10:14