A Week of Opportunity

This is going to be an interesting week. I'm slated on Wednesday to speak to the graduating class of our area high school and on Saturday our church is set to do our greatest evangelistic outreach of the year. Who says that preachers only work one day a week?

I want you to think about these opportunities with me:

When Wednesday evening rolls around I get to share with the future leaders of our communities. These young men and women are preparing to step out of everything that seems familiar into a world where they will make some of the most important decisions of life for themselves. I have been given a chance to encourage, prepare, and instruct them for what lies ahead. Although this is not an "evangelistic" speaking engagement it does provide an opportunity to point us all to the Creator of life.

Saturday provides another type of outreach. This event is primarily evangelistic as we attempt to show the love of God in our service to the community, share the Word of God with those who listen, and a chance to participate in the joy of the Lord. Our community day event has become something extraordinary for our church to be involved with. We do more than offer free food, good music, great fellowship, and fun events for the kids - we offer Christ to a world in need.

For those of you who may be interested the definition of opportunity is: a favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances...a favorable or suitable occasion of time.

Opportunities show up in many different ways. Your opportunities may come at the grocery store, at the ball game, at work, or with the next door neighbor. If there is one thing that I have learned as a pastor it's this: take every opportunity that the Lord provides and use it for His glory. Who knows what life will be touched by a baccalaureate message? Who knows which family can be reached by a simple event in the community? Every opportunity that the Lord gives to us should be taken seriously.

Isaiah 55 teaches us that God's Word does not return to Him void but will accomplish what He sent it out to do. If we are given an opportunity to share His Word we should count it a blessing because we know that we have been given an opportunity to be on his agenda.

I ask you to be in prayer about these events. I ask you to pray the words of Isaiah 55 about the promises of God's Word. I ask you to pray for the lives that will be touched. God has a plan - it's our job to join Him in it. To God be the glory.